Call for films - Official selection

[Rules for the January 2025 edition, subject to change for January 2026]

Selection and conditions of admission

About fifteen first feature films, about twenty first short films, about thirty school films and about twenty animated shorts are selected to take part in the Competition.

The films presented at the Premiers Plans Festival are chosen by a selection committee, under the responsibility of the General Delegate and the programmer. The decision of the Premiers Plans selection committee is final. Each selected film will be screened no more than three times during the Festival.

Unless an exemption is granted, films may be entered in the following competitive categories if they meet the conditions indicated (all films must be made after 1 January 2023):

First and second European feature films

First (priority) or second feature films are accepted (earlier works, on video or made for television, are not counted)
Produced or co-produced mainly in Europe^[1]
Last longer than 59 minutes
Digital broadcast format: DCP^[2] or HD video file^[3]
Not commercially distributed or broadcast on TV in France

Diagonales

First films are accepted (earlier works, on video or made for television, are not counted)
Produced or co-produced mainly in Europe^[1]
Of any length
In digital broadcast format: DCP^[2] or HD video file^[3]
Not commercially distributed or broadcast on TV in France

First European short films

Produced or co-produced mainly in Europe^[1] (excluding schools)
Under 59 minutes for dramas
Under 40 minutes for documentaries
Digital broadcast format: DCP^[2] or HD video file^[3]

First French short films

Produced or co-produced in France^[1] (excluding schools)
Under 59 minutes for dramas
Under 40 minutes for documentaries
Digital broadcast format: DCP^[2] or HD video file^[3]

School films

Produced in a European film school or faculty^[1]
Less than 59 minutes long
Digital broadcast format: DCP^[2] or HD video file^[3]
Animated shots / Animated films

First short film or school film

Produced or co-produced mainly in Europe^[1]
Less than 59 minutes long
Digital broadcast format: DCP^[2] or HD video file^[3]

Chenaplans / Youth selection

First short film or school film (animated film)
Produced or co-produced mainly in Europe^[1]
Less than 59 minutes long
Digital broadcast format: DCP^[2] or HD video file^[3]
Accessible to young audiences aged 3 to 9

^[1] Countries on the European continent as well as the former Soviet Union countries.
^[2]2K resolution only. JPEG 2000 format only. Files must be named in accordance with the Digital Naming Convention. DCPs must be sent to us unencrypted (without a KDM key).
^[3] QuickTime .mov 1080p (video codec: ProRes 422 or 422 HQ, audio codec: PCM)

Pre-selection

The application form must be completed online before 27 September 2024 on our website http://www.premiersplans.org/festival/index.php.

Selected films and transport of media (copies, DCP, files, etc.)

The selection of films will be announced in mid-December 2024.

Photos of the film and the director must be provided.
For each film in competition, the Festival requests that the digital copy, if possible subtitled in French or, failing that, in English, be sent as soon as the selection is announced and no later than 16 December 2024.
For short films in DCP, a back-up copy in ProRes 422 HQ is required.
French-language films must be supplied with English subtitles.
Transport of the projection media to Paris or Angers will be at the sender's expense and must be ‘carriage paid’. Any copy sent carriage forward will be refused. No remuneration may be requested by production or distribution companies for the screening of films in competition.
The Festival will be responsible for the return of screening material within a fortnight of the end of the event. Premiers Plans reserves the right to organise the screening of certain prize-winning films before returning them.
In the event of loss or damage to the copy between receipt and return, the Festival will only be liable for the replacement value of the copy or part concerned.

Prizes

[The amount and number of prizes are given for information only, based on the previous edition and subject to change].

Several prizes are awarded by the juries and the public:

4 prizes for feature films
1 prize for Diagonales
6 prizes for short films
3 prizes for school films
3 prizes for animated shots
3 awards for script readings
4 acting prizes
2 prizes for the Chenaplans

The prizes will be paid within 3 months of the end of the event.

The winner may use the prize money within 18 months of the date of the awards ceremony.

Communication

The winners, their producers and distributors are obliged to include a mention of their selection for the Festival or the full name of the prize, together with the Festival logo, on all advertising and promotional material (poster, credits, film announcement, press kit, website).
The Festival undertakes to supply the Festival laurels.

Please note

These rules are written in French and English. In the event of any dispute over the interpretation of the text, the French version shall prevail. The Festival management reserves the right to take any decision relating to matters not covered by these rules.
Applications for admission to the competition of the Festival Premiers Plans d'Angers imply unconditional acceptance of these rules.
The civil court of Angers has sole jurisdiction in the event of a dispute.

Contact and information

Programming Office: +33 7 61 40 56 70 / jumai.laguna@premiersplans.org

The offices are closed from 19 July to 17 August 2025.