The origins

Located in the heart of the Champagne region, War on Screen showcases cinema and territory as means of understanding conflict, and strategies for peace. Through a programme which embraces all genres – comedy, social drama, science-fiction, espionage, historical saga – whilst giving prominence to arthouse cinema; two international competitions; retrospectives and special focuses, the festival explores the many ways of approaching the subject of conflict from an unusual viewpoint. 

Every year the festival screens over 100 feature and short films from around the world, combining all genres and formats, in addition to professional events, workshops, special screenings introduced by the film crew members, a selection of films for children from the age of 3, round table discussions, master classes, and exhibitions. 

Based on its theme, rooted in the area in which it was founded, War on Screen is more than just a festival. It also seeks to develop a policy of supporting creation, editing, research, and education by establishing both national and international partnerships. 

The history of a territory

At the heart of the festival is Châlons-en-Champagne and its surroundings, the department of the Marne and the Grand Est region, which have been the setting for wars for over 2,000 years. The need for this festival became collectively self-evident, to facilitate our area bearing witness to the strength and vitality with which filmmakers, reporters and videogame designers portray conflict.  

The festival programme exposes not only what leads to conflict, but also what conflict generates, both during and after the event, and acknowledges the subsequent shattering of human life, even from a distance. For over ten years, the breadth of this subject has revealed itself a little more each year, giving rise to a programme that is original, highly diverse, and which combines all styles of cinema, bringing together all genres and languages.