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:
| Deadline | Date |
|---|---|
| Super Earlybird | 11 December 2025 |
| Earlybird | 26 March 2026 |
| Regular | 25 June 2026 |
| Final | 30 July 2026 |
| Notification | 17 September 2026 |
| Festival dates | 29 October to 15 November 2026 |
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:
| Competition | Cash Prize | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition | GBP 2,000 | International short films (Oscar-qualifying) |
| World Animation Competition | GBP 1,000 | International animation (Oscar-qualifying) |
| British Short Film Competition | GBP 1,000 | British short films (BAFTA-qualifying) |
| Documentary Short Film Competition | GBP 1,000 | Documentary shorts |
| Fantastic Short Film Competition | GBP 1,000 | Genre short films |
| Yorkshire Short Film Competition | GBP 500 | Yorkshire-based filmmakers |
| Leeds Screendance Competition | GBP 500 | Dance films |
| Leeds Queer Short Film Competition | GBP 500 | LGBTQ+ short films |
| Leeds Music Video Competition | GBP 500 | Music videos |
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
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.
LIFF 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.
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.
Past Winners
The 2024 Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition winner was An Orange from Jaffa (dir. Mohammed Almughanni), a tense film about a Palestinian man crossing an Israeli checkpoint. It also won the Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand and reached the Oscar shortlist for the 97th Academy Awards. The 2024 Audience Award for Fiction Feature went to Memoir of a Snail (dir. Adam Elliot), released by IFC Films. The 2024 Audience Award for Documentary Feature went to No Other Land (dirs. Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor), which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.
The 2023 Audience Award for Fiction Feature went to Goodbye Julia (dir. Mohamed Kordofani), which premiered at Cannes 2023 in Un Certain Regard. The 2023 Audience Award for Documentary Feature went to Tish (dir. Paul Sng).
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
- No Other Land (2024) - LIFF 2024 Audience Award for Documentary Feature. Won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards. Berlinale Documentary Award winner. Dogwoof distributed in the UK.
- Memoir of a Snail (dir. Adam Elliot, 2024) - LIFF 2024 Audience Award for Fiction Feature. Won the Cristal Award at Annecy. IFC Films released in US theaters. Nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.
- An Orange from Jaffa (dir. Mohammed Almughanni, 2024) - LIFF 2024 Louis le Prince winner (Oscar-qualifying). Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand. Oscar shortlisted for Best Live Action Short Film.
- Goodbye Julia (dir. Mohamed Kordofani, 2023) - LIFF 2023 Audience Award for Fiction Feature. Cannes 2023 Un Certain Regard. Array/NEON distributed in the US.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
LIFF's 21 specialist programmers review submissions by category, not by generalist committee. Match your film to the correct competition strand: Fanomenon for genre films, Constellation for narrative features, Cinema Versa for documentaries. The Fanomenon section is LIFF's most distinctive strand and accepts horror, science fiction, and cult cinema that other major UK festivals do not program at this scale.
For short filmmakers targeting Oscar qualification, the Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition is the primary route. Submit at the Super Earlybird deadline (GBP 36) for the lowest fee. Yorkshire-based filmmakers should target the Yorkshire Short Film Competition; the 2025 winner Rocket Fuel by Jordon Scott Kennedy went on to a BAFTA Television Award nomination.
Industry Reputation Notes
LIFF sits below the BFI London Film Festival in acquisition activity and industry attendance but above most UK regional festivals in programming scale. Its Oscar-qualifying status for Live Action Short and Animated Short makes it one of only a handful of UK festivals with a direct Academy Award pathway. Compared to Edinburgh International Film Festival, LIFF has more stable funding through Leeds City Council and BFI multi-year grants (GBP 580,000 for 2026-2028) and a stronger genre programming identity through Fanomenon.
Watch
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.
