Cinemana Mare Nostrum (6)

Festival start: 24 June 2026      Festival end: 26 June 2026

The Cinemana festival was founded in 2021 at the Alliance Française de Tunis offices.

It's a festival dedicated to emerging Tunisian short films, bringing together film students, independent filmmakers, and cinema lovers to train, meet industry professionals, and showcase their own work in competition for awards.

The Alliance Française, the world's largest associative cultural network, operates around two complementary strategic missions: promoting the French language and developing cultural projects that encourage diversity, mobility, and intercultural dialogue.

In this context, the Alliance Française de Tunis launched and supported the creation of the Cinemana festival, conceived as a key platform for training, professional development, and cultural outreach.

Cinemana primarily serves young filmmakers, students, independent creators, and enthusiasts, offering them opportunities for training, visibility, and networking with audiovisual industry professionals. The festival nurtures emerging talent through specialized workshops, professional meetings, competitive screenings, and focused artistic mentorship. It provides a practical pathway for cultural and professional development, especially for young people.

In 2025, the festival evolved significantly with its transformation into Cinemana Mare Nostrum. This new direction reflects a strategy of regional expansion and greater impact, positioning the project within a shared Euro-Mediterranean space. The inclusion of Italy and Malta alongside Tunisia marks the first step toward building a sustainable Mediterranean cultural network based on the exchange of films, expertise, and audiences.

Beyond geographic expansion, Mare Nostrum embraces a strong ethical and social dimension. The festival now places ecology at the core of its programming and artistic vision, raising awareness among participants and audiences about environmental challenges facing the Mediterranean region. This focus adds significant value in terms of cultural responsibility, aligning with current priorities of both institutional and private partners.

Supporting Cinemana Mare Nostrum enables us to: strengthen employability and professional development for young creators, build a lasting Mediterranean cultural network, enhance partners' visibility through a project with strong social, educational, and environmental impact, and promote Tunisian cultural creation on the international stage.

Through its institutional foundation, educational mission, and international reach, Cinemana Mare Nostrum represents a cultural investment with lasting impact, serving youth, intercultural dialogue, and regional artistic development.

Cash Prizes: 1,033€

At the end of the festival, five awards will be presented to participants:

International Organization of La Francophonie Award (OIF REPAN) for Best Documentary: 1000 TND

Kamel Lazaar Foundation Award for Best Film on the Environment and SDGs: 1000 TND

Alliance Française de Tunis Award for Francophone Cinema: 1000 TND

University of Manouba Award for Best Technical Achievement: 500 TND

SiciliAmbiente Award - Screening of one of the short films at one of the most important festivals dedicated to the environment and human rights.

ARTICLE 1 – ORGANIZER

The Alliance Française de Tunis is organizing the sixth edition of the CINEMANA MARE NOSTRUM Film Festival.

It takes the form of workshops, a project development lab (with pitching and awards), and an international competition.

ARTICLE 2 – TIME AND LOCATION

This festival will be held on June 24, 25, and 26, 2026, at the Cité des Sciences in Tunis.

The awards ceremony will take place on June 26, 2026, during the festival's closing night.

ARTICLE 3 – ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

-The festival is open to all short film genres, including fiction, documentary, 3D, animation, and experimental.

-Accepted formats are: non-encrypted DCP, Apple ProRes File, and H264. Any other format must be evaluated by our organizing committee.

-Participation is open to anyone aged 18 to 30 residing in Tunisia, Italy, Malta, Senegal, France, Greece, and Egypt.

-Participation is free.

-Only one film per person or collective may be submitted (collective works are accepted but must be submitted by a single representative of the collective).

-The film must be subtitled in French or English.

-Short films must not exceed 20 minutes in length and must have been completed within the last 2 years (films selected in previous editions will not be accepted).

-The organizer reserves the right to disqualify any participant who does not comply with all applicable laws and to reject any film that: violates the reputation, privacy, or image of third parties; contains disparaging, defamatory, aggressive, or insulting remarks; incites discrimination based on gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, age, or political opinions; or incites crime, hatred, violence, or suicide.

This list is not exhaustive.

-Individuals directly involved in organizing, executing, implementing, promoting, or running the competition may not participate.

ARTICLE 4 – SUBMISSION PROCESS

International Competition

Submit via the FestHome platform, completing all required sections.

Submission period: February the 13th to May the 11th

ARTICLE 5 – SELECTION

Two selection committees—one for student or no-budget films ("Premier Regard" Jury) and one for structured films ("Méditerranée" Jury)—will choose the films selected to participate in the festival.

Selected films must be sent to the Alliance Française de Tunis by email at stagiaire.alliance@alliancefr.tn in the requested format. Otherwise, the film cannot be screened.

Selection results will be announced by email.
No film withdrawals will be accepted after selection has been announced.

ARTICLE 7 – BROADCASTING, COMMUNICATION, AND PRESS RIGHTS

Each participant acknowledges and agrees that by submitting their short film to the competition, they transfer their broadcasting rights (reproduction and performance rights) for the festival period. They also acknowledge having obtained the necessary permissions for the short film to be shown as part of the Festival.

If selected, the festival reserves the right to present an excerpt to local, national, and international television networks, not exceeding 10% of the work's total duration. The festival also reserves the right to use film excerpts for festival communication and promotion (teasers, stories, etc.) for several years. Additionally, photographs from the films may be used for promotional purposes (print media, internet, catalogue, etc.).

Award-winning or selected films may be screened on a non-commercial basis at events promoting the CINEMANA MARE NOSTRUM Festival.

Participation in the competition constitutes authorization for royalty-free reproduction of images extracted from the film for other events organized by the Alliance Française de Tunis.
No compensation or payment of any kind may be requested.

ARTICLE 8 – ORGANIZERS' LIABILITY

The organizers cannot be held liable if, due to force majeure or circumstances beyond their control, the competition must be modified, postponed, or partially or totally cancelled. No damages may be claimed if the aforementioned scenarios occur.

The organizers reserve the right to modify deadlines based on the association's convenience.

In cases of force majeure, modifications to these regulations may be made (except regarding participation conditions), before the participation deadline, and will be considered appendices to these regulations.

ARTICLE 9 – ACCEPTANCE OF REGULATIONS

Simply participating in this competition implies full and unconditional acceptance of these regulations and their results.

The organizer reserves the right to invalidate at any time and without notice the participation of any participant who has not complied with these regulations.

Any missing information or false declaration of identity or address will automatically result in the participant's elimination.

ARTICLE 10 – WAIVERS AND DISPUTES

The organizing committee is solely authorized to settle matters not covered by the regulations and to grant waivers.

ARTICLE 11 – INADMISSIBILITY

If a participant fails to respond to two requests from the organizing committee, their application will be considered void and replaced by another.