Feature films in Official Selection

Article 1
The spirit of the Festival de Cannes is one of friendship and universal cooperation. Its aim is to reveal and focus attention on works of quality in order to contribute to the evolution of motion picture arts and encourage the development of the film industry throughout the world.

Article 2
The Festival de Cannes chooses and invites the films which will be presented in Official Selection.

Article 3
Only films that meet the following conditions may be chosen for invitation in the Official Selection:

1. Films that have been produced during the twelve months preceding the Festival.
2. Films that have not been released anywhere other than their country of origin.
3. Films that have not been presented at any other international motion picture event.
   If the film has been selected in an international section (competitive or not) of a festival, it becomes ineligible for the Festival de Cannes. A selection is international if it presents films from different countries;
4. Films that have not been exhibited on the Internet.
5. Films that respect the aims of the Festival as defined in Article 1.
6. If participating in the "short film" category, films that do not exceed 15 minutes in length, including credits.
7. Every feature film invited to be in competition must be released theatrically in France in accordance with French legislation pertaining to media chronology rules. Any beneficiary, producer or authorized representative submitting a feature film commits to honoring this clause.

Article 4
Once a film has been selected it cannot be withdrawn from the Festival programme during the event.

Article 5
During the entire duration of the Festival de Cannes, none of the films invited may be shown outside the Festival's official theatres before its official screening.

Article 6
All films must be presented in their original language, with French subtitles. By "original language" is meant the language in which a film is or will be exhibited in its country of origin.

It is for the Board of Directors to decide whether or not a film that does not exactly meet this criterion may participate in the Festival.

French films must be subtitled in English on the print. All subtitling expenses are to be met by the film's producer. Moreover, all films with dialogues in a language other than English or French will be electronically subtitled in English. The screening of those subtitles will be operated by the Festival service provider.

Article 7
The producers of feature films participating in Competition at the Festival de Cannes agrees to refrain from entering their films in competition at other international motion picture events should their films be awarded the Palme d'Or or the Grand Prix.

Films chosen to be part of the Official Selection agree to use the "2023 Official Selection" logotype of the Festival de Cannes on all publicity. What is more, when publicising awards, the award winners and distribution companies agree to use the exact wording of the awards as set out in the logo guidelines of the Festival de Cannes. The Festival de Cannes' logo guidelines are available on the official website.

On your communication supports (poster, advertising, DVD packaging, video), the Festival de Cannes logo must imperatively be on the top part of the poster, preferably centered, on a line apart from other festival logos.

It is used horizontally and without any modification. All elements are inseparable. The enlargement or reduction is done in a homothetic way.

The position of the logo will have to be submitted to the approval of the Festival de Cannes.
Contact: vveecke@festival-cannes.fr

Article 8
Feature films to be submitted for the Official Selection must be entered by March 21st, 2023. The registration deadline for short films is March 17th, 2023.

An entry form must be filled out on the MY ACCOUNT portal prior to this date.

Only Shorts films should be uploaded directly online.

Feature films submitted for selection must reach the Festival Office by March 28th, 2023. Short films must be uploaded no later than March 21st, 2023.

Article 9
Complete documentation for each selected film is to be made available to the Film Department when required.

The final print of each invited film must reach the sole receiving shipping agent accredited by the Festival de Cannes by the beginning of the Festival.

If the final print does not reach the Festival by the beginning of the event, the film won’t be screened. This deadline is imperative.

A stand-by print of each film with subtitles must be provided to the Festival de Cannes before the start of the Festival.

Article 10
Expenses for the shipping (for both import and export), screening and translation of films and/or cassettes presented to the Selection Committee with a view to their possible selection, are to be met by the film's producers or relevant body.

All expenses for the transportation (round trip) and insurance of prints are also the responsibility of their owner.

The Festival de Cannes covers storage and insurance costs for the prints of selected films while they are inside the official boundaries of the Festival, in Cannes.

Should a print be lost or damaged, the Festival's responsibility may only be engaged to the extent of the value indicated by the producer on the Technical Data Sheet.

Article 11
The President of the Association Française du Festival International du Film has the power to settle all cases not covered by the present rules and regulations.

Article 12
Participation in the Festival de Cannes implies acceptance of all the aforementioned regulations and respect of Preselection conditions.

Should any dispute arise regarding the interpretation of an article in these regulations, their original French version is binding.

These rules apply to all sections of the Official Selection - except LA CINEF (cf. LA CINEF Rules).