In 2017, ‘Fake news’ was named word of the year, and the term has become a household term when discussing media.

This session showcases the films that have received the highest ratings by the audience throughout the festival.

The Award winners of all competitions will be shown in one triumphant session.

No matter the circumstance, people always long for liberation.

The world is far from a static place.

The best short films from all over the world. These four films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the International Award.

The best short films from all over the world. These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the International Award.

As programmers, sometimes we agree to disagree on each other’s tastes, but these films are not to be missed.

The existential concepts of life and death are eternal.

Despite living in a world filled with billions, we cannot help but feel alone at times.

This section takes us on a marvellous visual journey into the present and future, exploring the relationship between human beings and technology.

The world can be explored through the lens of people, cultures, and situations.

Each year, we highlight the best Dutch short films in all their diversity. From fiction to documentary and from animation to experiment, these six films showcase the broad talent and quality of Dutch cinema.

Sometimes we can forget how important it is to be helpful and respectful to our loved ones.

Nights carry a myriad of possibilities: to come together or embrace solitude, to put one’s thoughts to rest or be kept wide awake.

The opening screening of the Leiden Shorts film festival (open to the public) will be held in Kijkhuis, room 1.

In a supposedly postcolonial world, colonial patterns are being reproduced time and time again.

How do we understand life through the recollection of past memories?

How do we remember? Is everything we remember real? And what happens to a memory once it’s forgotten?

The crimes we see and the ones that remain invisible.

Films can not only take direct snapshots of reality, but seem the go-to medium to educate people about nature, in all sizes.

A session of animated shorts that will make your kids’ imagination soar! Curated exclusively for young children (ages 3 to 10), this session tells a story without the use of language or subtitles.

We come of age by walking through a path fraught with curiosity, trauma and precarity.

We may all live in the same world, but we all experience it differently.

The best and brightest young and upcoming filmmakers from all over the world. These five student films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the Student Award.

Society manifests itself within our bodies.

What happened by the water?