The [CI] International Competition, present since the first edition of Curtas Vila do Conde, in 1993, is always one of the main focuses of attention at the festival and works as a showcase of the best that is made worldwide in the field of short films. , presenting a diverse selection, both in terms of the geographical origin of the films and in terms of style: fiction, documentary and animation, which makes known the different aspects of contemporary cinema.

This section has made it possible to discover new works by established authors and new emerging talents.

The [CI] International Competition brings together the widest range of proposals, showing both the most recent works by renowned authors in this format and new values ​​that emerge every year, the result of the selection work that is guided by criteria of quality, originality and diversity. , not only of geographic origin but also of production methodology and budget. About 35 short films are selected, from a universe of more than 3500 works submitted, whose origin is from more than a hundred countries, offering a true panorama of world production. The final choice, however, does not intend to present all this geographic diversity, but the real contribution of the selected works to the evolution of cinematographic art, taking into account the different contexts of its production.

There are 13 sessions lasting approximately 75 minutes, in prime time on the festival's program schedule.
All films are presented in national premieres, some are absolute premieres.