France Culture, Konbini and the ACID, with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, are offering students the opportunity to watch eight feature films, meet the directors, choose their two favorite films, and award them a prize. The two winners, in the fiction and documentary categories, will be rewarded at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Last year, around 2500 students from all over France participated and awarded the prize to “No Other Land” by Basel Adra and “It’s Not Goodbye” by Guillaume Brac. The selection of the eight films for this 2026 edition was equally demanding. According to Lucile Commeaux, a journalist and critic who can be heard on France Culture’s “Le Regard Culturel” each morning and a member of the selection committee, this prize is “in the realm of public service.”
Lucile Commeaux notes that student jury members naturally gravitate towards socially engaged films or those with characters they can identify with. The meetings with the directors are particularly appreciated and rich in sometimes surprising exchanges. “They ask very precise, very pragmatic questions,” says Lucile Commeaux, who finds it refreshing to see young people take such an interest in films and their production.
Among these jury members, some of whom return year after year, there may even be future critics or filmmakers. According to Commeaux, the students participating in this jury are in a more active position when it comes to films:
“I think they watch films more attentively than when they go to the cinema. This allows them to exercise their critical thinking on the most popular medium today: the image. For them, it’s a golden opportunity to cut their teeth on a popular object.”
To become a member of the jury for this new edition, simply bring your student card and fill out the form before March 31, 2026, at midnight. If selected, you will be able to watch the 8 films in the selection below and meet the filmmakers. The hardest part will be choosing which one deserves the prize!
The Unknown of the Grande Arche by Stéphane Demoustier (Le Pacte)
Indomitable by Thomas Ngijol (Pan Distribution)
The Flooded by Louise Hémon (Condor)
Foot of the Work by Valérie Donzelli (Diaphana)
Documentary category:
Sudan, Remember by Hind Meddeb (Dulac) – ACID supported film
Put your soul on your hand and walk by Sepideh Farsi (New story) – ACID supported film
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat by Johan Grimonprez (Les Valseurs)
She Doesn’t Hear the Motorcycle by Dominique Fischbach (Epicentre)
/2026/03/24/000-66974t4-69c2aab599e28586035336.jpg "The director of Mont-Saint")
