Leeds International Film Festival

Leeds International Film Festival

Also known as: LIFF
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Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is rooted in a city where Louis Le Prince filmed moving pictures in 1888, and its main international short film competition carries his name. Founded in 1987 and presented by Leeds Film, the festival shows more than 250 films over 18 days in venues across Leeds, with a focus on new filmmakers from the UK and abroad.

Constellation is the main section for new features and holds a competition for first and second features; Cinema Versa covers documentaries; Fanomenon presents fantasy, sci-fi, horror and other genre cinema with its own feature and short competitions; LIFF SHORTS runs competitions for international, animated, documentary, British, Yorkshire, queer, screendance and music video shorts. Audience awards go to features. The 40th edition runs from 29 October to 15 November 2026 and includes The City Plays Itself, a retrospective on cities on film marking 400 years since Leeds received its Royal Charter.

Country

United Kingdom (UK)

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Feature, Music Video, Short

Dates

29 October 2026 — 15 November 2026

Awards and prizes

Feature film competitions: - Constellation Competition: first or second features and filmmakers new to UK audiences. - Fanomenon Competition: new fantastic genre features (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, dark comedy, action, thriller). Audience awards for features, including best narrative film, best fantastic genre film and best documentary. Short film competitions with cash prizes (LIFF 2026, £8,000 in total): - Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition: £2,000 - World Animation Competition: £1,000 - British Short Film Competition: £1,000 - Documentary Short Film Competition: £1,000 - Fantastic Short Film Competition: £1,000 - Yorkshire Short Film Competition: £500 - Leeds Screendance Competition: £500 - Leeds Queer Short Film Competition: £500 - Leeds Music Video Competition: £500 A cash prize goes to the director, or is shared equally between co-directors. Winners are chosen by juries of filmmakers, critics, programmers and industry professionals.

Festival rules

Films are submitted through the festival's FilmFreeway page. One category is enough: programmers also consider a film for the other categories it is eligible for, and ask the filmmaker before selecting it for a different one. Competition films for LIFF 2026 must be completed after 1 January 2025. Feature films run 41 minutes or more; short films 40 minutes or less including credits; screendance and queer shorts 20 minutes or less. Music videos are selected only with the permission of the featured artist. Films not in English should have English subtitles, ideally descriptive subtitles. A work in progress is accepted only if it is nearly finished. Any use of AI must be described in the cover letter or director's statement. Someone submitting on a filmmaker's behalf must have their consent. Feature film competitions require a UK premiere; short film programmes have no premiere policy. Selected films provide a DCP and subtitles; the festival does not pay screening fees. Films for children and families may be referred to the sister event, Leeds Young Film Festival.

Contacts

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