4 minutes
4 minutes can be a moment or an eternity. It is the length of time in which light comes from Earth to Mars. 4 minutes is too little for a good song and too much for a bad song. 4 minutes is the only rule of the Très Court International Festival, the common variable of the great diversity of the selected audiovisual productions. 4 minutes is a challenge for film directors, thus forced to go straight to the essentials. Last but not least, 4 minutes is the time span in which the spectators will roar with laughter, will jerk and will ask questions to themselves, but they will never be bored.
Everywhere at the same time
Where and when
In 2018, the 20th edition of the Très Court International Festival will take place from June 1 to June 10 in almost 80 cities from over 20 countries. From France to New Caledonia, from Panama to Egypt, from Istanbul to Amsterdam, spectators around the world will have the pleasure to discover more than a hundred movies distributed in an international competition, a thematic selection for children and a selection of feminine and feminist films. One of the main features of the Très Court festival is that it is present on all continents! This international character is given with a strong local presence, especially through selections made by the festival’s partners from the four corners of the Earth.
In Romania, the festival coordinated by the French Institute in Cluj will take place in 15 cities and several rural communities (Arad, Bucharest, Buzau, Baia Mare, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Colinele Transilvaniei, Dealurile Tarnavelor, Huedin, Iasi, Miercurea Ciuc, Odorheiu Secuiesc, Oradea, Pitesti, Rasnov, Singeorz-Bai, Timisoara), presenting a competition of very short Romanian films. The result will be an amazing diversity of spectators, which reflects the eclecticism of the movies presented. In Bucharest, the festival will take place on June 2 and 3, at the Elvire Popesco Hall, at the French Institute in Bucharest.
The selections
As every year, around 3,000 very short movies are subject to the selection team’s attention, and over 100 of them are kept. The selected works are merged into coherent and diversified cinematographic mosaics.
The international competition reflects the latest trends in the cinematographic creation on the five continents: 41 movies compete to gain a place in the record, as well as in the hearts and votes of a demanding audience.
The “Paroles de femmes” competition brings strong and contrasting female characters into the spotlight. Playing with the boundary between fiction and reality, this selection proposes a horizon tour of the female perspectives, in a very short version, of course.
The Family Selection is dedicated to little and big children, aged from 6 to 106, eager to travel to fantastic worlds imagined by some of the most creative directors!
The Romanian competition presents 15 movies of a maximum of 4 minutes that compete for the votes of the Romanian spectators and for the prizes offered by Orange. This year’s themes are closely linked to the socio-political reality we live in, so you will find topics such as family, technology, traditions and especially this year, the corruption theme – as a result of a partnership that the French Institute made with the Initiativa Romania association and their anticorruption festival titled Once upon a time in Romania.
The Jury
The Jury of the Romanian Competition consists of Xavier Leroux – Deputy Director of the French Institute in Cluj and the Chairman of the Jury, Claudiu Turcus – Film Critic, Professor at UBB Cluj Faculty of Theater and Television, Calin Bocian – Short Film Director and Projector, Raluca Mateiu – the coordinator of the Très Court Festival, Mihaela Matei – Orange representative – the main partner of the Festival.
