The following regulations are only valid for the Directors' Fortnight.

The Official selection (Competition, Out of Competition, Un Certain Regard), the Critics' Week and the ACID are all processed by distinct entities.

ARTICLE 1. REQUIREMENTS

Except in special cases, all films submitted for the Directors' Fortnight must fulfil the following requirements:

1 - Films must have been made within the 12 months preceding the 2026 Cannes film festival.
2 - With the exception of its country of origin, the film should not have been presented at any international festival or film event (except in the context of a film market).
3 - Films must not have been shown on the Internet or broadcasted on TV or commercially released in France.
4 - If selected, a DCP or a 35mm print will be required for the screening.
5 – Every invited feature film must be released theatrically in France in accordance with French legislation pertaining to media chronology rules.

ARTICLE 2. SELECTION

The films screened during the Directors' Fortnight are selected under the responsibility of the Artistic Director, appointed by the board of directors of the Société des réalisatrices et réalisateurs de films (the SRF).

ARTICLE 3. FILM SUBMISSIONS

Films submitted for preselection can be presented:

- Without subtitles, if the original language is French.
- With English subtitles for all other languages, including for English-language films.

Dates for submissions :
Feature films: November 3 2025 – March 13 2026
Medium length films: November 1 2025 – March 14 2026
Short films: November 1 2025 – March 14 2026

ARTICLE 4. SUBMISSION FEES

The preselection process begins only after entry fees are paid.
Payment is made through secured online payment at the time of the registration (only payment by credit card such as: Visa, Mastercard / Eurocard, and American Express is accepted). Whether or not VAT is applicable depends on which category your company belongs to.
Since registration fees cover a large part of the running costs of the Directors’ Fortnight, they are non-refundable.

Feature films (running time upwards of 60 minutes)
Registration with a viewing link (URL) or with an upload to the Directors' Fortnight platform is now compulsory.
Submissions for feature films must include payment of an entry fee of € 155 excl tax.
Subject to the agreement of the Film Department, it is possible to send a DCP for the selection committee to view in a screening room. If applicable, a supplement of €50 excluding tax will be applied.

Medium length films (running time between 30-59 minutes)
Submissions for medium-length films must include payment of €55 excluding tax.

Short films (running time 29 minutes and under)
Submissions for short films must include payment of €35 excluding tax.

ARTICLE 5 . PRESELECTION – MATERIAL / SHIPPING

Submissions are validated upon reception of the viewing material.
Picture-locked & work-in-progress versions are accepted but no more than one version will be considered.
All files uploaded to the Directors' Fortnights’ platform will be erased by mid-May 2026.

Feature films
Feature films can be considered if sent with a downloadable viewing-link or with an upload to our platform during the registration process.
Subject to the agreement of the Film Department, a screening of the film in a screening room can be arranged (DCP format).

Preselection material will be returned to the sender, at their expense, upon written request only. This request must be received by the Directors' Fortnight office no later than June 25th, 2026.

Medium length and short films 
Short and medium-length films will be considered only after being uploaded to our platform during the registration process.
Any other formats will not be considered.

ARTICLE 6 . PRESELECTION - SHIPPING AND INSURANCE

For all films sent to the Directors' Fortnight for preselection, shipping and return shipping, insurance costs, custom taxes and fees, and print transport within Paris, are to be paid for by the sender.
In case of loss or damage to a print, the Directors' Fortnight insurance company will reimburse an amount not exceeding the value of the lab print.

ARTICLE 7 . SELECTION – SUBTITLING

If the film is selected you will be asked to provide a DCP or a 35mm print.

Films selected by the Directors' Fortnight are screened in Cannes with French subtitles (for anglophone films), English subtitles (for French films) and English and French subtitles (for non-anglophone or francophone films).

On a case by case basis, electronic English subtitles must be prepared for the screenings at the Théâtre Croisette. Subtitling expenses shall be borne by the producer.

In the case of selection, the producer must provide English and/or French subtitle files to the Titra Film laboratory, as appointed by the Directors' Fortnight, for the creation of electronic subtitling for official screenings (in English for foreign films in languages other than French or English).

ARTICLE 8 . SELECTION - SHIPPING AND INSURANCE

For selected films, only transport costs between screening locations during the Festival are covered by the Directors' Fortnight. This does not include screenings organized by the producer or rights-holder of a film. Storage and insurance costs at the cinema where the screenings are held in Paris (for pre-selection) and in Cannes are also covered by the Directors' Fortnight.

In case of loss or damage to a print, the Directors' Fortnight insurance company will reimburse an amount not exceeding the value of the lab print.

ARTICLE 9 . SELECTION - MATERIAL

If selected, the following elements must be delivered to the Film Department :
- Synopsis of the film in French or English
- Final duration of the film
- Production countries ranked in descending order of the percentage of participation in the film budget
- Biography and filmography of the filmmaker
- Technical and artistic information
- 5 HD stills from the film
- 2 extracts from the film of at least 45-seconds each
- Trailer of the film
- Film poster (several copies)
- Press kit

For the purposes of promotion for the entire selection, the Directors' Fortnight website may, for as long as it wishes, use any photo or digital film clip not exceeding three minutes.

ARTICLE 10 . SCHEDULES

Definitive dates, times and locations of screenings during the Festival will be given to the participants late Aprilay 2026 at the latest.
During the Festival, selected films may not be screened elsewhere in Cannes before their official presentation at the Directors' Fortnight, at the risk of being excluded from the event.

ARTICLE 11 . AWARDS

The Directors’ Fortnight is a non competitive section, however a film presented in the Fortnight can compete in independent Cannes prizes.

- All first features presented at the Directors' Fortnight are eligible for the Caméra d'Or prize, awarded during the official awards ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival.
- All documentary feature films presented at the Directors' Fortnight are eligible for the Oeil d'Or prize, awarded during the official awards ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival.

The films presented at the Directors' Fortnight are also eligible for the following prizes (based on criteria set by each partner association): the SACD prize and the Europa Cinemas prize for feature films.

In addition, spectators at the Théâtre Croisette will vote by secret ballot to reward a feature and from the selection. The Audience Choice will be awarded during the closing ceremony of the Directors' Fortnight. 

ARTICLE 12 . RERUNS AFTER THE FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

The selection of a film in the Directors' Fortnight entails the following screenings:

- screenings mandatory during the festival at the Théâtre Croisette and other associated theaters (Licorne, Alexandre III, Arcades, Olympia).

- screenings mandatory during our ‘Quinzaine en salles’ programme in June 2026 in France : commercial ticketing and at the Forum des Images in Paris, which will rerun the selection with a single screening per film :  non-commercial ticketing for a flat rate of €300 excluding VAT per film for the rights-holder.

Reruns of the Directors’ Fortnight are scheduled to take place internationally in various countries starting in the fall of 2026. The rights holders of the selected films will make their best efforts to facilitate these screenings at a preferential rate with the venues hosting the event. The rights holders will be contacted directly by the local organizers.

Acceptance of the invitation to the Directors' Fortnight constitutes definitive agreement to all screenings in France.

Any company or person who accepts the invitation of a film to the Directors' Fortnight  will be required to enforce this agreement with the international seller and distributors of the film, if applicable.

ARTICLE 13 . PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL

The producers and distributors of any film presented at the Quinzaine des Cinéastes undertake to appear on all promotional media (posters, trailers, etc.), during the theatrical release of the film in all countries, the logo of the Quinzaine des Cinéastes downloadable from our site.

ARTICLE 14 . ORGANIZERS’ LIABILITY

The Directors' Fortnight reserves the right to use all data from registration forms as provided for by the law no78.17 of 6 January 1978 (In accordance with the data-processing, files and freedoms act, any participant has the right to access and correct only data concerning them. This right is exercised by the Société des réalisatrices et réalisateurs de films (the SRF).
The Directors' Fortnight cannot be held liable for registration applications not received.
The board of directors of the Société des réalisatrices et réalisateurs de films (the SRF) has the right to settle all cases not outlined in these regulations. It reserves the right to suspend, cancel, or postpone the event or to modify the rules and regulations, at any time, according to the requirements of its exploitation. No compensation of any kind will be made to the participants.

ARTICLE 15. FIGHT AGAINST MORAL, SEXIST, AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT.

The Directors' Fortnight is actively committed to combating harassment and violence in all its forms and condemns any discriminatory or disrespectful remarks or actions of any kind, including sexist, racist, homophobic, and transphobic ones.
By accepting these regulations, you agree to uphold these values.
All acts of aggression, harassment, and intimidation are prohibited and have no place at the festival or during its preparation.
We do not tolerate any form of this illegal behavior.
It is understood that sanctions will be applied, proportionate to the seriousness of the offense, which may include exclusion from events organized by the Directors' Fortnight.
In this context, the Directors' Fortnight reserves the right to share any information it deems necessary with its partners in Cannes.

Participation in The Directors' Fortnight implies acceptance of the aforementioned rules and regulations.
Should any dispute arise regarding the interpretation of an article in these regulations, their original French version is binding.

For any information concerning the submissions, please contact the Film Department

Phone : +33 1 44 89 99 99
Mail : bdf@quinzaine-cineastes.fr