Organizer Information
Arts Convergences is a French organization that uses culture and artistic creation to raise awareness of mental health and challenge public perceptions of people living with mental illness. Its video prize invites filmmakers and creators to address the lives, experiences, difficulties, and abilities of adults affected by mental illness, with an emphasis on changing social perceptions and highlighting their talents and humanity.
Title & Description
6th Arts Convergences Video Prize
The Arts Convergences Video Prize – 6th Edition is an international video competition for very short films addressing the theme of mental illness and how it is perceived by society. The organizers encourage creative approaches that explore the challenges of social integration while avoiding stereotypes and drawing attention to the talents and emotional experiences of people living with mental illness.
Applicants may use any film genre, including documentary, comedy, thriller, or news-style filmmaking, as well as different production methods such as live-action video, still images, motion, or animation. The submitted work must be between 90 seconds and 4 minutes long.
Categories
- Video Art / Short Film
- Film & Moving Image
- Documentary
- Animation
- Experimental Moving Image
- Social Awareness / Mental Health
Eligibility
The competition is open to individuals aged 18 or over who hold the moral and economic rights to the submitted video and can demonstrate those rights if required. The call is not restricted by nationality according to the provided rules.
The video must address mental illness. Films must comply with French law and may not contain defamatory, discriminatory, racist, antisemitic, xenophobic, revisionist, violent, or otherwise unlawful content. Advertisements, institutional films, prevention campaigns, experimental artistic videos, series episodes, and music videos are excluded.
Program Benefits & Awards
Three principal cash prizes are offered:
- Grand Prize: €2,000
- Jury Prize: €1,500
- Public Choice Prize: €1,500
Additional prizes may also be awarded.
The organizers will present selected videos to the public at a leading cultural institution, with presentation costs covered by Arts Convergences. Selected and awarded works will also receive promotional support.
Fifteen shortlisted videos will be eligible for the Public Choice Prize, which is determined through an online public vote approximately three weeks before the awards ceremony.
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 19 October 2026
- Public Choice shortlist: Approximately 3 weeks before the awards ceremony
- Awards ceremony: December 2026 — exact date and location to be announced
Location
France
Additional Details
Videos must be 90 seconds to 4 minutes, excluding end credits. Credits may not exceed 15 seconds and must include the compulsory 6th-edition prize acknowledgment. Videos in languages other than French must include French subtitles or they will be disqualified.
Applicants must own or have secured all necessary intellectual-property rights for images, photographs, music, locations, people, and other elements used in the film. Only original or royalty-free music may be used.
An important consideration for selected filmmakers is the prize's rights-transfer clause: selected candidates grant Arts Convergences worldwide, non-commercial rights to reproduce, screen, broadcast, translate, and otherwise present their video for 10 years. Applicants should review this provision carefully before submitting.