We Are Leiden Shorts
About Us
We envision Leiden Shorts as both an alternative and sustainable creative space for national and international filmmakers to showcase their distinct voices. Our vision is in part to aid in the exploration of the storytelling power that short films have. Leiden Shorts aims to create a conversation that has far reaching impacts and can be sustained outside of the festival. We believe in cinema as a tool for social change, and we want to become an outspoken figure in both Leiden and the Netherlands’ cultural scene. We fully embrace diversity and inclusivity, not only in culture but also in discipline, medium and expression.
Highlighting passionate work that explores underrepresented narratives through unique aesthetics is at the heart of our curatorial practice. Our central focus is on creating a diverse and cohesive experience where a variety of different media can come together, where technology in cinema is met with interactive documentaries, VR films and other groundbreaking media
Above all, Leiden Shorts views art as a self-sustaining cycle that simultaneously shapes communities while it is shaped by the communities it’s created in. Our film competitions, as well as our growing collaborations with international figures and arts festivals, are just some of the ways in which we move to transform the future of short film.
Our Story
Founded in 2009, LISFE (Leiden International Short Film Experience) was created by 5 cinema-loving expats. While they were studying at Leiden University, the first and oldest university in the Netherlands, they felt that short film was grossly underrepresented as an art form and sought to create a space where short film could truly be appreciated as a medium.
From their love of short film, a cineclub was born. Held in sporadic locations, it was an open space for cinephiles of all genres. Above all, this cineclub shone a new and open spotlight on short films.
Today, what was originally a one-day festival has grown into Leiden Shorts, one of the most prominent short film festivals in the Netherlands. Twelve editions later, our now 4-day festival has gone from screenings in Leiden’s underground art spaces to collaborations co-hosted by Leiden’s cinemas. Still, we have kept that same passion for short film that was at the core of our inception. This passion for quality, highly innovative art that was the basis for LISFE’s creation remains one of the pillars that defines Leiden Shorts today.
Contact
Non-profit foundation Leiden Shorts, organized by Stichting Cinemaclub Leiden, is designated as an ANBI-organisation by the tax collectors office.
BTW nr.: 822333375B02
KvK nr.: 27377960
IBAN: NL42ABNA0427377536
Leiden Shorts Festival, Vrouwenkerksteeg 10, 2312 WS Leiden – NL