Clermont-Ferrand opens with its widest South Asian short slate
The world’s busiest short-film market puts Tamil, Malayalam, and Bengali premieres in the same competition week as its buyer meetings.
Rohit Menon · Clermont-Ferrand ·
Clermont-Ferrand has always been the room where a short either finds a life or goes home. This edition’s South Asian slate is the largest the festival has booked, and the market desk is pairing each selected film with a twenty-minute buyer meeting instead of a hallway pitch.
Sales agents who used to wait for features are sitting in on shorts. The reason is practical. A festival laureled short with clean delivery can be licensed in weeks, while a feature still needs a year of finishing funds.
Filmmakers heading to France should treat the market badge as part of the premiere, not an extra. The screening gets the applause. The meeting books the next screen.
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