Regard – Saguenay International Short Film Festival (french: Festival Regard or ''Festival international du court métrage au Saguenay''), also known as the Saguenay International Short Film Festival, or simply Regard (stylized as REGARD; "Look"), is a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

festival taking place annually in the city of Saguenay,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. Founded in 1996, it is one of the main

film festivals A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

dedicated to shorts in North America. Since 2022, Justine Valtier is the festival's general and artistic director.

History

Regard was founded in 1996 by Éric Bachand, then a recently graduated art student from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi. Bachand had the idea for the festival while volunteering for the

Festival du nouveau cinéma The Festival du nouveau cinéma or FNC (English: ''Festival of New Cinema'') is an annual independent film festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring independent films from around the world. Over 160,000 people attend each year. One of ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Regard was initially called "Regard sur la relève du cinéma québécois" ( "Look on the next generation of Quebec cinema"), and it was later renamed "Regard sur le court métrage au Saguenay" ( "Look on the short film in Saguenay") before adopting its current name. The first edition took place in the Le Ménestrel room of the

Cégep de Chicoutimi The Cégep de Chicoutimi is a post-secondary institution in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located in the Chicoutimi borough of the City of Saguenay. It is one of four CEGEPs in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. The Cégep de Chicouti ...

; it screened both

feature-length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

and

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

and received an audience of about 30 people per projection. In Regard's second year, filmmaker

Sébastien Pilote Sébastien Pilote (born 1973 in Saint-Ambroise, Quebec) Bachand and Pilote conceived of the festival as a cultural bridge between the cities of

Jonquière Jonquière (; ; 2021 population: 60,250) is a borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Saguenay River, near the borough of Chicoutimi. History Jonquière ...

and

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi () is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and com ...

, which were subsequently merged into the city of Saguenay in 2002. They were inspired by the

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (French: ''Festival international du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand'') is an international film festival dedicated to short films held annually in Clermont-Ferrand, France. History I ...

, in France, as well as the

Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival The Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, FCIAT) is an annual film festival, which takes place in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada.Sean Gordon"How one region in hard- ...

, in Quebec. The 6th edition of Regard was the first one to be solely focused on short films. Initial editions of the festival also differed from the current ones in that they were non-competitive. The 10th edition of Regard, in 2006, received 10,000 audience members. By 2015, according to its then general director Ian Gailer, the festival was growing by about 4-5% each year. In 2017, two awards given out by the festival were made

Academy-Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-qualifying by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

. The 2020 edition of the festival was cancelled on its second day due to the progression of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in Canada. The 2021 edition, which was restricted for the same reason, made use of

drive-in theaters A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers ...

. In 2023, the 27th edition of Regard was its most attended yet, receiving 30,000 audience members.

Awards

14 awards were handed out at the 2023 edition of Regard: * Grand Prize * Canadian Grand Prize * Jury Prize * Best Animation Short Film Award * Best Documentary Short Film Award * International

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Critic's Award * Quebec Critic Award AQCC * Public Award – Parallel Competition * Public Award – Official Competition * Americana Award * Shoot No Matter What (french: Tourner à tout prix) Award * Philippe Belley Award * Short and Queer Award * Best Youth Short Film Both the Grand Prize and the Canadian Grand Prize have been

-qualifying since 2017, meaning that the films that win them are automatically eligible to be nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under various names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, "Best Short Subject, One- ...

, for Best Documentary Short Film or for

Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

References

Short film festivals in Canada Film festivals in Quebec Film festivals established in 1996 1996 establishments in Quebec Saguenay, Quebec {{Canada-film-festival-stub