Festival des 3 Continents (Three Continents Festival)

Overview

The Festival des 3 Continents is a competitive festival dedicated exclusively to cinema from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The 48th edition runs November 20 to 28, 2026, in Nantes, France. The festival presents feature-length fiction and documentary films by filmmakers from or originating from these three continents, including Indigenous American and Black American filmmakers. The festival's artistic director is Jerome Baron. The festival is organized by the association Les 3 Continents, a non-profit under French law, with support from the City of Nantes, the Loire-Atlantique Department, the National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC).

Founded in 1979 by brothers Philippe and Alain Jalladeau, the festival was the first in Europe to focus exclusively on cinemas from the Global South. At the time, knowledge of non-Western cinema in Europe was fragmentary. The festival's first edition screened African-American cinema in the presence of Charles Burnett and Melvin Van Peebles, and awarded the first Montgolfiere d'Or to Souleymane Cisse for Baara (Mali).

The festival runs for 8 days and screens approximately 10 films in its International Competition, all requiring at minimum a French premiere. The Official Selection is published on the festival's website in early November.

Submission Details

Submissions are made through the Festival des 3 Continents online registration form. The festival accepts open submissions for its Official Selection.

Submission fee: EUR 18

Deadline for the 48th edition (2026): July 17, 2026

Eligibility:

• Films directed by filmmakers who originate from or are nationals of a country in Africa, Latin America, or Asia. Indigenous American and Black American filmmakers are also eligible.
• Films must be at least 45 minutes in length
• Films must have been completed after November 1, 2025
• Films submitted for the International Competition must have at minimum a French premiere (no prior programming in festivals, commercial screening, TV, or VOD broadcasting in France)
• Films must be in the original language with English or French subtitles
• Both fiction and documentary films are accepted, regardless of subject, type, or form
• A screener link should be shared via the registration form. If a DVD is sent, shipping costs are paid by the sender. DVDs are not returned.

Filmmakers whose films are selected will be personally contacted. Filmmakers whose films are not selected will not be contacted. The Official Selection is published on the festival website in early November.

Key Sections

• International Competition - approximately 10 films from Africa, Asia, and Latin America competing for the Montgolfiere d'Or and Montgolfiere d'Argent. All films require at minimum a French premiere.
• Panoramas and Retrospectives - curated programs dedicated to specific regions, filmmakers, or thematic threads within Global South cinema
• Produire au Sud - international co-production workshop running during the festival (see Industry Programs below)

Industry Programs

Produire au Sud is the festival's international co-production workshop, created in 2000. The workshop is an 8-day training program for young producers and directors from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Near and Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. It runs during the festival in Nantes and has expanded internationally with satellite workshops in Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Salvador de Bahia, Beirut, and other cities.

The workshop includes:

• 3 days of master classes: introduction to international co-production, co-production contracts, funding research, international sales, case studies
• 1 day of pitch training and public presentation of projects
• 2 days of individual consultations on script, production, and international sales

Produire au Sud has operated for over 20 years and has built a network of alumni producers across the Global South. Many projects developed through the workshop have gone on to premiere at major international festivals.

What Filmmakers Should Know

The Festival des 3 Continents is the only European festival dedicated exclusively to cinemas from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This geographic focus means competition is among peers from these regions rather than against the full global field. For a Global South filmmaker, a selection here provides access to European audiences, French distributors, and critics who attend specifically for Global South cinema.

The Montgolfiere d'Or is one of the most historically meaningful prizes available to a Global South filmmaker in Europe. Past winners include filmmakers who went on to define national cinemas: Souleymane Cisse (Mali, 1979), Hou Hsiao-hsien (Taiwan, 1983 and 1984), Abbas Kiarostami (Iran, first screened at Nantes in 1988), Jia Zhangke (China, 1998 and 2000), and Fruit Chan (Hong Kong, 1997).

Four filmmakers have won the Montgolfiere d'Or twice: Hou Hsiao-hsien, Amir Naderi, Abolfazl Jalili, and Jia Zhangke.

The festival also screens selected films in Saint-Nazaire (December 3, 2025 for the 47th edition) and in Paris at the Cinema l'Arlequin (January 7 to 11, 2026), extending the reach of selected films beyond Nantes.

Major Awards

• Montgolfiere d'Or (Golden Balloon) - Best Film in the International Competition, funded by the Festival des 3 Continents and the City of Nantes
• Montgolfiere d'Argent (Silver Montgolfiere) - second prize, funded by the Loire-Atlantique Department and the festival
• Prix du Public - audience award
• Prix du Jury Jeune - young jury award
• Mention Speciale - special jury mention (can be awarded for specific achievements, e.g. performance)

2025 Montgolfiere d'Or: The World of Love by Yoon Ga-eun (South Korea, fiction)

2025 Montgolfiere d'Argent: Hair, Paper, Water... by Truong Minh Quy and Nicolas Graux

2025 Mention Speciale: Anika Bootz, lead actress in The Message by Ivan Fund

2025 Prix du Public: The Attachment by Mamadou Khouma Gueye

2025 Prix du Jury Jeune: Sucuarana by Clarissa Campolina and Sergio Borges

Festival History

The Festival des 3 Continents was founded in 1979 by brothers Philippe and Alain Jalladeau, cinephiles and travelers who named the festival after the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds) in Italy. The first edition was programmed by the Jalladeau brothers, Claude Michel Cluny, Serge Daney, and journalist Catherine Ruelle. It drew 7,000 attendees and awarded the first Montgolfiere d'Or to Souleymane Cisse for Baara (Mali).

Throughout the 1980s, the festival revealed cinemas that had escaped Western attention. In 1980, it introduced the cinema of Kerala and South India (including Adoor Gopalakrishnan) and the work of Brazilian Nelson Pereira dos Santos. A retrospective on Philippine cinema contributed to the creation of the Philippine Cinematheque. In 1981, the festival presented the works of Ritwik Ghatak and Guru Dutt, two masters previously unknown outside their home countries. In 1983 and 1984, a Taiwanese filmmaker named Hou Hsiao-hsien won back-to-back Montgolfiere d'Or awards, helping launch the Taiwanese New Wave. In 1988, Abbas Kiarostami made his first appearance outside Iran at Nantes.

The Montgolfiere d'Argent was introduced in 1992 as a second prize. Between 2003 and 2006, a separate Montgolfiere d'Or was awarded specifically for documentary films.

Produire au Sud was launched in 2000 to train young producers in international co-production. The workshop celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2021 with a retrospective of 20 films that had passed through its workshops.

As European festivals increasingly turned their attention toward Global South cinema, the Festival des 3 Continents maintained its pioneering role through retrospectives, panoramas, and the continued discovery of new voices.

See Also

To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. For festival strategy guidance, see Film Festival Strategy. For international co-production and film markets, see International Film Markets. For distribution deals that originate at festivals, see Distribution Deals Explained.