Martine Guyot-Bender, the Christian A. Johnson Excellence in Teaching Award Professor of French and Francophone Studies, recently attended the 34th installment of Côté Court, the longest-running short film festival outside of Paris. Over a five-day period, Guyot-Bender, whose current research includes shorts in both France and Cambodia, watched approximately 40 short films.
“Mornings at the festival were dedicated to professional discussions featuring round tables, film analysis, and presentations on the production and creation of short films,” she said. “Afternoons and evenings were reserved for screenings, many of them debut works,” she added, noting that many producers and filmmakers attended to discuss this growing field.
Guyot-Bender said that though “shorts are often viewed as stepping stones to feature-length films, a number of emerging filmmakers are also committed to the short form as an artistic and esthetic choice. Short formats allow filmmakers to produce very personable pieces without relying on large producing companies.”
She said the main challenge is that the distribution of shorts remains quite limited, thus the importance of this festival. “Spectators, including in France, who go to the movies to see a series of shorts are quite rare,” she said, “but, as the festival insisted, an increasing number of platforms now focus exclusively on shorts, both documentary and fiction. In France, they include Cinema Bref, L’agence du court métrage or Tënk.”
Posted June 23, 2025
