"Harpya" competed at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, held from 10 to 24 May. It was the third time Servais had one of his short films selected for the festival. He had previously participated with "Goldframe" (1969) and "Operation X-70" (1971); the latter won the Special Jury Prize at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. "Harpya" was subsequently shown out of competition at a series of other festivals, including the 1979 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It was released in French cinemas in March 1980 as part of "Mondocartoon", a programme of ten animated short films selected by and and distributed by Pink Splash with the tagline (). "Harpya" was shown in the United States as part of the 1981 International Tournée of Animation.