Festival de Cannes 2026

Documentaries and short films must be submitted directly to the Cannes Festival and its parallel sections, the Directors’ Fortnight and the Critics’ Week and submissions fees must be paid. 

• This screenings in Montréal are open for narrative features only. Cannes very rarely programs documentaries and for this reason will prioritize features films while in Montreal. 

Submission fees: 

• Films submitted to Cannes Film Festival – L’Officiel via Telefilm Canada and screened in Montreal will be exempted from the festival submission fees.  
• Eligible feature films submitted to Critics’ Week will receive a promotional code applicable on the regular Critics’ Week’s submission fee.  

N.B. Due to the increased number of entries over the last years, and the high volume, we cannot guarantee that all films will be screened while the programmer is in Montreal.  

The programmer will choose the titles to prioritize and will watch the maximum that can be screened in 4 days. If your film is not evaluated and screened in Montreal, you will be notified, and you will have to submit it directly on the festival platform and pay the related entry fee, by early April. 

Eligibility criteria for all sections:  

• To be considered eligible, a film: 
  • Have been completed within the 12 months prior to the festival. 
  • Must have a World Premiere status. 
• Specific to the Critics’ Week, a film: 
  • Must be the director’s first* or second feature film. 

*By “first feature film” the festival means that it must be a first cinematic film (fiction, documentary, or animation) from a director who has never directed a film longer than 59 minutes, that was theatrically released or selected in an international Class A festival.  

Complete the Telefilm application before February 6, indicate the sections for which you want to submit the film (Festival de Cannes – Official Selection and/or Critic’s Week). 

• Insert your downloadable screening link and password in the form. 
• Films in English are accepted without French subtitles at the evaluation stage. 

N.B.  Your image editing must be final. However, your film can still be in post-production, and this is not an issue at all. The programmers are used to viewing works at the post-production stage (with no color timing, no sound mix, no final music, missing effects, etc.) and, as such, know how to “fill in the technical gaps.” 

Technical specifications to follow: 

• Only downloadable Vimeo links are accepted. 
• All titles should be in MP4 format, at a bit rate of 15 000Kb/s 
• 1920 x 1080 @23.976 or 24 Frames Per Second 
• Colour Space should be Rec 709 

We accept audio in either 2.0 channels, or 5.1 channels 

The Festival de Cannes and the Critics’ Week are managed by two distinct entities. Delegates will screen separately and evaluate the entries for their respective sections. 

Once the screenings in Montréal with the Festival de Cannes – l’Officiel are over, if a film is preselected (“shortlisted”) we will inform the applicant of the next steps via email. Films that have not been preselected by the festival delegate will also receive a notification by email from Telefilm in March. 

The Critics’ Week selection committee will screen your film in Paris, and they will email you directly their decision by April 20^th. 

FESTIVAL DE CANNES – L’OFFICIEL 

The Official Selection presents 80 features among its various categories: Competition, Out of Competition, “Un Certain Regard” and Premières. 

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT 

Created by the Société des réalisateurs de films (SRF), this parallel section programs approximately 25 features. The films are eligible for several prizes given by different partner associations. 

CRITICS WEEK 

This parallel and competitive section is reserved to debut or second features and only showcases 10 features. The films are eligible for several prizes.