This is actually a serious question. I'm part of a non-profit association which, among other things, organizes an annual short-movie festival. Participation is totally free, apart from the cost of sending the movie dvd, and of course there are gonna be winners and prizes. Now, this is nothing like Cannes or Venice, but we arrived at the 9th edition and we had participants from all over the world, so we're not exactly small, despite the city we're based in.
So if you're a filmmaker or an animator (Yes, there's an animation section), please think about it, it's not like you have something to lose.
Here's the regulations in .pdf format.
You actually have lots of time, because the festival will be on December 2013 or January 2014.
If you have questions, or if this thread is against any forum's rules, please let me know.
EDIT: If you know a filmmaker/animator, that's good too.
