This category accepts shorts from all genres, which are not already eligible to compete for the Student or National award. Between 5 and 10 films, pre-selected by the Leiden Shorts programming team, will be judged by a professional international jury. The winner will receive a cash prize of € 1000.

Films submitted in this category compete for the National Award. To qualify for this category the film must be: (1) produced in/funded by the Netherlands or (2) the director and/or the main producer must be based in the Netherlands. This new competition, started in 2020, aims to support Dutch film and to make it more accessible to the (inter)national public. Between 5 and 10 films of this category are pre-selected by our programming team and will be judged by a professional jury. The winner will receive a cash prize of € 500.

This category accepts submissions from registered (film) students. With the Student Award, Leiden Shorts’ aims to stimulate the next generation of film directors and to offer them a helping hand to kick start their career. Between 5 and 10 films by young directors are pre-selected by our programming team and will be judged by a professional jury. The winner will receive a cash prize of € 500.

All films screened during the festival compete for the audience award and have the chance to win a cash price of € 500.

For the 15th edition of Leiden Shorts, there wasn’t a professional jury nor a single winner; instead, the public decided which films received an award. The three films with the highest overall rating each received a prize of €500,- and the Retrospective Audience Award.