About LIFF

11 days filled with premieres, special film events, parties and more: that’s the Leiden International Film Festival. LIFF was founded in 2006 and has grown into one of the most important film festivals in the Netherlands. The 2024 edition will take place from October 10 to October 20, and will feature over 100 films from all over the globe, ranging from arthouse films to mainstream movies, and everything in between!

For the last eighteen years, the Leiden International Film Festival has shown a wonderful selection of films that stand out and are worth a look. Premieres of gems that no one knows about yet, indie films that will be talked about for years to come, and award-winning crowd pleasers from major international festivals.

The nineteenth edition of the Leiden International Film Festival focuses on the three pillars that have made the festival so great, each with its own competition during the festival: Independent (independent films, American Indie Competition), Emerging (makers of the future, First Feature Competition) and Extraordinary (exceptionally special, Bonkers! Competition).

That is what LIFF is all about: screening the best films (for the first time) in the Netherlands, and all that without making a big fuss about it!

Films from established authors and independent makers with their own style. Premieres, previews, and festival favorites.

American Indie Competition

Original, authentic, and always special. American indie is filmmaking without the big money of Hollywood. In this program, you will see not only the best independent American films but also the stars of the future. The makers are talented, promising, and at the beginning of their careers. Today in the LIFF American Indie Competition – tomorrow on stage at the Oscars. But we know how they started: as filmmakers who want to do things their own way. And that’s something you keep seeing.

Discoveries from all over the world. Upcoming and standout films by talented and promising directors and actors.

First Feature Competition

In the First Feature Competition, we present international filmmakers and their first full-length films. Discover your future favorite director today – at the Leiden International Film Festival.

A film festival is often about more than just watching films. The screenings that are so special that they simply don’t fit inside a box can be found under Extraordinary: Selections.

Bonkers! Competition

Bonkers! is a whirlwind trip through innovative, strange, and otherworldly films that break the boundaries of genres and look for new ways to reverently smash sacred houses. Sometimes absurd, sometimes shocking, but always good, or at least good for a discussion afterwards. Join us down the rabbit hole and experience the film festival in its, shall we say, purest form.

The title says it all: the Audience Award is won by the film that has been given the highest score by the LIFF audience. Your vote counts!

LIFF is active in secondary schools throughout the year. With film teaching materials, and with the Scholieren Filmfestival Leiden, a unique project in which we help six Leiden schools organize their own film festival.