Canon Video Grant – Short Film Documentary 2026

The Canon Video Grant – Short Film Documentary is an international opportunity for professional videographers and photojournalists to fund a short documentary film (maximum 8 minutes) covering a social, economic, political or cultural subject in a journalistic manner.

The grant is worth €8,000, plus a short-term loan of a Canon video camera and two cine lenses (combined value not exceeding €15,000). There is no entry fee and applicants of any nationality are welcome to apply, provided they can communicate in French or English.

To be eligible, applicants must be professional photojournalists or documentary/video makers who have completed at least one prior video reportage. Applications must include a signed application form, proof of identity, a professional affidavit, CV/biography, anonymous note of intention with synopsis (max 2 pages), a projected budget, and a completed video report. All video submissions must be in H264 codec, .mov or .mp4 format at 1080p resolution.

Importantly, submissions must be entirely free of artificial intelligence tools or generative AI technology. The selected finalist will be asked to supply raw footage for verification.

The international jury will assess dossiers in July 2026, with the winner announced at the 38th Visa pour l'Image – Perpignan International Festival of Photojournalism (31 August – 5 September 2026). The winner must attend in person to receive their grant and present a teaser of their project. The completed film will be screened at the 39th festival in September 2027.

The winner agrees not to reapply for five years and must not submit the same project to any other award or grant prior to the Perpignan 2026 festival.