Festival du film de Vendome (discontinued) / Little Film Festival

Overview

The Festival du film de Vendome was a short film festival held annually in December in Vendome, a city in the Loire Valley of central France. The festival ran 23 editions from 1992 to 2014 before being discontinued in 2015 due to budget constraints. The venue, Ciné Vendôme (2 Rue Darreau, 41100 Vendôme), now hosts the Little Film Festival, a summer children's cinema program now in its 8th edition, running from June 28 to August 31, 2026.

The original Festival du film de Vendome was organized by Ciclic, the regional agency for books, images, and digital culture for the Centre region (now Centre-Val de Loire). It was the first film festival in the Centre region and programmed over 200 international films annually across national and European short film competitions, feature film panoramas, documentary selections, animation programs, and retrospectives. The festival drew approximately 11,000 admissions in its 2013 edition. All films presented received support from local or regional government bodies, making it a festival dedicated to publicly supported cinema.

The Little Film Festival is a different format: a summer-long program of eight films for young audiences at the Majestic Vendôme cinema, including two exclusive premieres and catalog films. It is a screening program rather than a competitive festival, and it does not accept open submissions.

Key Sections

Original Festival du film de Vendome (1992 to 2014, discontinued):

• National Short Film Competition - French short films (fiction, documentary, animation, experimental) under 60 minutes, supported by territorial collectivities
• European Short Film Competition - European short films competing for the Jacques Tati trophies
• Feature Film Panorama - European feature film premieres
• Documentary Selection - creative documentaries supported by regional funding
• Animation Program - special focus on animation, tied to Ciclic's animation studio in Vendome
• Young Audience Selection - films for children and adolescents
• Student Programming - sections programmed by local high school students
• Focus on a European Country - annual spotlight on a specific European cinema
• School Screenings - organized screenings for school groups

Little Film Festival (current, 2026):

• Young Audience Screenings - eight films for children, including two exclusive premieres
• Summer Programming - running June 28 to August 31, 2026 at the Majestic Vendôme

Submission Details

Original Festival du film de Vendome (discontinued):

• Submissions were made via FilmFestPlatform.com
• Films completed after January 1 of the relevant year
• Maximum 60 minutes
• Projection formats: DCP, Blu-ray, HD digital file (MOV or AVI)
• Country of production: France (for national competition)
• Genres: fiction, documentary, animation, experimental
• Submission deadline was typically early September

Little Film Festival (current):

• No open submissions
• Programming is curated by Ciné Vendôme
• Contact: Ciné Vendôme, 2 Rue Darreau, 41100 Vendôme, Tel: 02 54 80 22 50

What Filmmakers Should Know

The original festival is discontinued: The Festival du film de Vendome is no longer active. It was discontinued after the 23rd edition in December 2014. The decision was announced in February 2015 by Ciclic and the Communauté du Pays de Vendôme, citing budget constraints and the withdrawal of the conseil général from funding two years prior. Olivier Meneux, director of Ciclic, stated that "the festival was becoming too heavy to carry for the region." Filmmakers should not attempt to submit to a festival that no longer exists.

The Little Film Festival is not a competitive festival: The current programming at Ciné Vendôme is a summer children's film series, not a competitive festival with open submissions. It programs curated films for young audiences, including premieres and catalog titles. There is no submission process, no jury, and no awards. Filmmakers with children's films seeking competitive recognition should look to active festivals such as the Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival or the Ciné Junior festival in the Paris region.

Historical significance for short filmmakers: During its 23 editions, the Festival du film de Vendome was a notable platform for emerging European short filmmaking. The national competition programmed 23 short films in its final edition (2014), selected from films supported by French territorial collectivities. The Jacques Tati trophies recognized the best films in both national and European competitions. Past winners include Jean-Gabriel Périot (Grand Prix 2013 for Le Jour a vaincu la nuit), who went on to direct the feature A German Youth (2015). Xavier Legrand competed in 2013 with Avant que de tout perdre, which was later developed into his Cesar-winning feature Custody (2017).

Ciclic's transformation: After discontinuing the festival, Ciclic redirected its resources toward a new residency program called Image Image, which opened in September 2015 in Vendome. Image Image supports approximately 15 short films per year and hosts around 20 filmmaking teams annually, doubling the number of short films previously supported through the festival's ecosystem. Filmmakers interested in residency opportunities in the Loire Valley should contact Ciclic directly rather than seeking a festival submission portal.

Venue information: Ciné Vendôme is a 5-screen cinema located at 2 Rue Darreau, behind the TER train station in Vendôme. It operates a year-round generalist and art-house program. During the original festival, art-house programming was coordinated jointly between Ciné Vendôme and the festival. Ticket prices for regular screenings are EUR 5.60 per session for art-house films. The cinema can be contacted at 02 54 80 22 50.

Major Awards

Original Festival du film de Vendome (discontinued):

• Grand Prix (National Competition) - Jacques Tati trophy for the best French short film
• Grand Prix (European Competition) - Jacques Tati trophy for the best European short film
• Prix Spécial du Jury - jury special prize
• Prix du Jury Jeune - young jury prize
• Prix du Jury Étudiant - student jury prize
• Prix CinEcole - prize for films with educational applications

Little Film Festival (current):

• No competitive awards

Festival History

The Festival du film de Vendome was founded in 1992 as the first film festival in the Centre region of France. It was organized by Ciclic (Agence régionale du Centre pour le livre, l'image et la culture numérique), a public cultural cooperation institution created by the French state and the Centre regional government. The festival received support from the Centre regional government, the Communauté du Pays de Vendôme, the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), and Sacem.

The festival was held annually in December, typically over one week. The 22nd edition ran December 6 to 13, 2013. The 23rd and final edition ran December 5 to 12, 2014. The festival's mission was to highlight emerging cinematic creation, particularly through short film competitions, while showcasing films that had received support from local and regional government bodies.

The festival was discontinued in February 2015. The announcement cited budget constraints and the withdrawal of the conseil général from funding. Ciclic redirected resources toward the Image Image residency program, which opened in September 2015 in Vendome to support short film production through residencies rather than festival programming.

The venue, Ciné Vendôme, continues to operate as a 5-screen cinema. Since the original festival's discontinuation, the venue has hosted the Little Film Festival, a summer children's film program now in its 8th edition (2026). This program runs from June 28 to August 31, 2026 and screens eight films for young audiences, including two exclusive premieres. It is a curated screening series, not a competitive festival.

See Also

For active children's film festivals in Europe, see the Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival. For short film festival opportunities, see the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. For French cinema and European film markets, read International Film Markets. For broader festival circuit planning, read Film Festival Strategy.