Très Court International Film Festival

ℹ️ Festival ceased — association dissolved in October 2025. The Très Court International Film Festival will not be held in 2026 or subsequent years. The Tout en Très Court association, which organized the festival since 1999, unanimously voted for its dissolution at its General Assembly on October 11, 2025, due to insufficient financial and human resources. The 27th edition, in June 2025, was the last.

Le Très Court: The Art of Cinema in Four Minutes Flat (1999-2025)

Born in 1999 at the Forum des images in Paris, the Très Court International Film Festival was the brainchild of Marc Bati and Pascal Toutain, two cinema enthusiasts convinced that brevity could be a formidable vector for creativity. The gamble was audacious: to create a festival entirely dedicated to films under four minutes, a format that compelled filmmakers to extreme narrative and aesthetic concentration.

A Unique Format That Stimulated Creativity

The four-minute constraint — including credits — was at the heart of Le Très Court's identity. This radical limitation pushed directors to the essential, producing works of remarkable density and inventiveness. All genres were represented: fiction, animation, documentary, experimental film, music video, video art. The result was a cinematic fireworks display where each film offered a surprise, where humor rubbed shoulders with emotion, where formal audacity met narrative depth.

A Demanding International Selection

Each year, the festival received thousands of films from around the world. The selection committee chose about a hundred works that made up the programs of the official competition. The films were grouped into thematic sessions that offered the public an accelerated cinematic journey across the continents.

A Simultaneous Festival Worldwide

One of Le Très Court's most remarkable features was its simultaneous and international dimension. Throughout the festival, the same programs were screened at the same time in over 100 screening venues spread across some thirty countries on five continents. This global synchronization made Le Très Court a truly planetary event, where spectators in Paris, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Dakar, or Montreal shared the same cinematic experience at the same instant. The competing films were subtitled in about ten languages to enable this worldwide distribution.

Paris, Cradle and Heart of the Festival

While Le Très Court resonated worldwide, Paris was its epicenter. Parisian screenings took place in iconic venues of the capital, offering the public the opportunity to discover the official selection under the best conditions. The festival was coordinated from Paris and Tours by the Tout en Très Court association, which also ensured the circulation of films within the international network of partner cinemas.

A Springboard for Filmmakers

Le Très Court was recognized as a springboard for young filmmakers. The ultra-short format, accessible in terms of production, allowed emerging directors to gain recognition and develop their creative universe. Many now-renowned filmmakers took their first steps at Le Très Court, and the festival's awards had become valued distinctions in the professional short film industry.

The End of an Adventure (October 2025)

On October 11, 2025, the General Assembly of the Tout en Très Court association unanimously voted, and with deep emotion, for the cessation of the Très Court International Film Festival and the dissolution of the association. The official statement cited insurmountable financial difficulties and a lack of human resources despite the board of directors' efforts to stabilize the structure. The 27th edition, in June 2025, will thus remain the last of the festival, putting an end to more than a quarter-century of global cinematic adventure. The cancellation of the 2026 edition (originally scheduled from June 1 to 7, 2026) was confirmed by several partner screening venues, including the city of Chambray-lès-Tours.