Leeds International Film Festival

Overview

Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is one of the largest annual film events in the UK and the longest in duration, running for 18 days every November in venues across Leeds and West Yorkshire. Established in 1987, LIFF presents over 250 features and shorts each year, with annual submissions exceeding 5,000 from more than 120 countries. The 40th edition runs 29 October to 15 November 2026.

LIFF is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for the categories of Live Action Short Film (through the Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition) and Animated Short Film (through the World Animation Competition). It is also BAFTA-qualifying and BIDA-qualifying for British short films.

The 39th edition (2025) ran 30 October to 16 November and presented 260 films across more than 300 screenings and events at venues including Hyde Park Picture House, Vue in The Light, Everyman Cinema, Howard Assembly Room, and Cottage Road Cinema. The 2025 programme included opening film Blue Moon (Richard Linklater), Jafar Panahi's Cannes Palme d'Or winner It Was Just an Accident, Lynne Ramsay's Die, My Love, and Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab.

Leeds Film has been awarded GBP 580,000 in multi-year funding from the British Film Institute (BFI) National Lottery Audience Projects Fund to support "Leeds Film Expanded" from 2026 to 2028. LIFF is organised by the Leeds Film team at Leeds City Council and receives principal funding from the BFI.

Submission Details

LIFF accepts submissions through FilmFreeway. Submissions for the 40th edition (LIFF 2026) are open.

Submission Deadlines:

Entry Fees: Fees start from GBP 36 at the Super Earlybird rate and increase at each deadline tier. Reduced fees are available at the Earlybird and Super Earlybird deadlines. Submit before 25 June to take advantage of reduced entry fees.

Eligibility:

• Short films: under 40 minutes
• Feature films: over 41 minutes
• All genres accepted: narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental
• Only films completed after 1 January 2025 will be considered for competitive categories
• LIFF only selects music videos made with the permission of the music artist
• Non-English language films require embedded English closed captions or subtitles
• Submissions must be made via FilmFreeway

LIFF has a team of over 21 programmers who specialise in each submission category. Filmmakers are welcome to attend the festival, with opportunities to network and meet other filmmakers and programmers.

Key Sections and Competitions

The LIFF programme is organised across five main sections:

• Constellation (Official Selection) - new narrative features, including the Constellation Feature Film Competition for UK premieres of exciting new filmmaker work. Major 2025 highlights included Blue Moon, Nouvelle Vague, It Was Just an Accident, Die, My Love, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, and The Voice of Hind Rajab. British highlights included Pillion (Harry Lighton's debut), Ish (Imran Perretta), Dreamers (Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor), Dragonfly (Paul Andrew Williams), and The Choral (Nicholas Hytner).
• Cinema Versa - documentary programme
• Fanomenon - fantastic genre films, including the Fanomenon Feature Film Competition for original new genre cinema. The 2025 Fanomenon competition featured 7 features from Algeria, Argentina, Colombia, Estonia, France, Germany, and the USA. Also includes Day of the Dead and Night of the Dead genre marathons.
• LIFF Shorts - nine short film competitions with a combined total of GBP 8,000 in cash prizes
• LIFF Spotlights - special event screenings and highlights

Short Film Competitions and Cash Prizes:

Each competition's winners are chosen by juries of filmmakers, critics, programmers, and industry professionals. Short film winners are announced at a special event at Howard Assembly Room.

What Filmmakers Should Know

LIFF's Oscar-qualifying status makes it one of the most valuable UK festivals for short filmmakers. The Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition winner qualifies for Academy Award consideration in the Live Action Short Film category, and the World Animation Competition winner qualifies in the Animated Short Film category. This creates a direct pathway from a UK regional festival to Oscar nomination eligibility.

The Fanomenon section is a distinctive feature of LIFF. While most UK festivals of this scale focus on art cinema and documentary, LIFF maintains a dedicated genre competition that programmes horror, science fiction, and cult cinema. The 2025 Fanomenon competition winner was Roqia (Yanis Koussim), described by the jury as "a searing portrait of religious possession" set against Algeria's "Black Decade" (1992-2002). Special mentions went to The Black Hole (Moonika Siimets) and The Virgin of the Quarry Lake (Laura Casabe).

The Constellation Feature Film Competition champions new, trailblazing cinema from around the world. The 2025 winner was Perla (Alexandra Makarova), with the jury citing its "immersion in period detail" and "meticulous production design, cinematography, and sound." A special mention went to We Believe You (On vous croit) (Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte Devillers).

The 2025 Audience Awards received over 16,000 votes. The Audience Award for Best Fiction Feature went to The Voice of Hind Rajab, followed by Happy Birthday, Sentimental Value, Calle Malaga, and It Was Just an Accident in the top 5.

For Yorkshire-based filmmakers, the Yorkshire Short Film Competition (GBP 500 prize) provides the most important local platform. LIFF also advertises freelance programmer opportunities in early 2026, including entry-level roles for those with no experience but a passion for film. Volunteer recruitment takes place over the summer.

Major Awards

• Constellation Feature Film Competition - jury prize for best new narrative feature (2025 winner: Perla, dir. Alexandra Makarova)
• Fanomenon Feature Film Competition - jury prize for best genre feature (2025 winner: Roqia, dir. Yanis Koussim)
• Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition - GBP 2,000, Oscar-qualifying
• World Animation Competition - GBP 1,000, Oscar-qualifying
• British Short Film Competition - GBP 1,000, BAFTA-qualifying
• Documentary Short Film Competition - GBP 1,000
• Fantastic Short Film Competition - GBP 1,000
• Yorkshire Short Film Competition - GBP 500
• Leeds Screendance Competition - GBP 500
• Leeds Queer Short Film Competition - GBP 500
• Leeds Music Video Competition - GBP 500
• Audience Awards - voted by festival audiences across feature films (over 16,000 votes in 2025)

Festival History

Leeds International Film Festival was established in 1987 and has grown into one of the UK's largest annual film events. It is the longest UK festival by duration, running 18 days every November. The festival is organised by the Leeds Film team at Leeds City Council and receives principal funding from the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund.

Leeds Film also operates year-round programmes including the LIFF Spring Film Weekender every April, outdoor Cinema on the Square every July, Leeds Young Film Festival (LYFF) for families at Easter, and the Independent Directions Film Festival (INDIs) every February. The 2026 edition marks the 40th anniversary of LIFF, coinciding with Leeds celebrating 400 years since receiving its city charter.

The festival's growth has been supported by BFI multi-year funding. The current funding cycle (2026-2028) provides GBP 580,000 for "Leeds Film Expanded," reflecting the festival's role as a major platform for new and diverse filmmaking talent in the UK. LIFF principally showcases films from new and diverse filmmakers whose work may not otherwise receive UK profile.

See Also

For festival submission strategy and budgeting, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For UK independent cinema, see Independent Filmmaking Strategies. For festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. For genre filmmaking, see Genre Filmmaking Guide.