Festivals are becoming essential features of the landscape of the filmmaking art and industry. They are major tools for revealing films and making them known and also venues for knowledge and recognition with the permanent aim of setting cinema at the heart of cultural dynamism. In this spirit, the Montpellier International Festival of Mediterranean Film is continuing its work of exploration in 2009, borne by favourable trends—increasing attendance by professionals (483 in 2008) and an increasingly sought-after competition with more than €60,000 of prizes and €40,000 in services and aid. The best recent productions from the Mediterranean region are screened (120 films as the official selection and for previews) and the festival is a show-case for production in Languedoc-Roussillon, favoured today by the encouragement given by the Regional Council and the setting up of the Languedoc-Roussillon Cinéma bureau. Finally, it is a focus for debates with professionals and the public in the form of thematic conferences or round table discussions. For any information, about the Festival, see the General Regulations