Leuven International Short Film Festival (Kortfilmfestival Leuven)

Leuven International Short Film Festival

Kortfilmfestival Leuven

Also known as: Internationaal Kortfilmfestival Leuven, Leuven Kort
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Kortfilmfestival Leuven presents short fiction, animation, documentary and non-narrative films over nine days, with the STUK arts centre in Leuven as its festival centre. At its core are the Flemish and European competitions. In 2012 it became the first Belgian festival to qualify for the Academy Awards, so the jury winners of both competitions go on the Oscar longlist for best short film; the festival has also been BAFTA qualifying since 2016 and nominates a short film for the European Film Awards. Directors in the European Competition vote for a Peer Award, and the Flemish Audiovisual Fund presents its Wildcards at the festival.

Each year more than 200 short films from around the world screen in over 25 programmes, alongside a country in focus, thematic compilations, children's programmes, VR, masterclasses and the Pitch Your Script competition. The festival started in December 1995 as Leuven Kort and is organised by Fonk vzw. The 2026 edition runs from 27 November to 5 December 2026.

Country

Belgium

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Short, Virtual Reality

Dates

27 November 2026 — 5 December 2026

Awards and prizes

European Competition: Jury Award (EUR 1,000 from the festival, a European Film Awards nomination and Academy Award qualification for live-action fiction), Audience Award (Dalton Distribution purchase prize) and Peer Award, chosen by the selected directors; the Peer Award winner joins the jury of the next edition. Flemish Competition: Best Flemish Short Film (Academy Award qualifying), Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay. Fiction: Jury Award, Audience Award, Best Debut and Best Acting Performance. Animation: Jury Award and Audience Award. Documentary: Jury Award. Other prizes: Pitch Your Script Award, Press Award, Humo Award and the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF) Wildcards for fiction, animation, documentary, FilmLab and screenplay.

Festival rules

Films are submitted through FilmFreeway. For the 2026 edition, short films of up to 35 minutes completed after 1 January 2025 are eligible. The European Competition (live-action fiction, animation and documentary) requires at least 50% European production; Europe means geographical Europe, excluding transcontinental countries such as Russia and Turkey. The Flemish Competition has its own submission category. Other short films can be entered for the international non-competitive programmes: animation, short films for children without dialogue, non-narrative shorts, VR, comedy shorts and yearly thematic programmes. There are no premiere requirements and no online restrictions. Films not in English must have English subtitles; English subtitles are also required for Dutch-language films and recommended for English-language ones. A film selected for a competition programme cannot be withdrawn. Technical uses of AI (transcription, subtitling, audio cleaning, upscaling) are allowed; generative AI is accepted only when it is intrinsically relevant to the film's content or theme. All applicants are notified by email about selection.

Contacts

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