The award winners of the competition will be shown in one triumphant session.

The opening screening of the Leiden Shorts film festival will be held in Kijkhuis, room 1. Doors will open at 19:00.

Experience the bizarre, grotesque, and fantastical through some of our most eccentric shorts.

While in today's world, where everything may seem like a choice, the individuals who are related to us through blood cannot be chosen.

Sometimes, writing our feelings down in a letter is easier than saying them out loud. The films in this session tell stories of tradition and discrimination, changing political systems, and the complexities of interpersonal relationships.

A sense of belonging is essential to human happiness, yet its loss may be devastating.

The films in this session explore the materiality of human existence, its implications, and its complexities. They illustrate the processes by which bodies are altered, transformed, reproduced, or rendered powerless.

Although sometimes seen as distinct entities, humans and nature are inextricably linked and co-dependent.As humans, we are born into nature; we need it to survive, yet we abuse and destroy it.

How is capitalism embodied within us as a society?

How do we make films? Bluntly, one could say it is about images paired with sound. Yet, films are coded—by genres, by history, by technical constraints, and by societal expectations.

Policing [noun]. The act of maintaining public order and security, enforcing the law, or regulating or controlling something.

As technology advances, so does its influence on our lives. From digital filmmaking to social media, VR environments for rehabilitation, and AI algorithms making decisions for us, technology surrounds us.

The films in this session delve into the complex ways in which we interact with the world around us, from our relationship with nature and the people who have influenced our lives, to the unspoken emotions we keep hidden and the desire for personal liberation.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

No matter the circumstance, people always long for liberation.

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

Society manifests itself within our bodies.

The crimes we see and the ones that remain invisible.

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

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

What happened by the water?

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

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.

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

The world is far from a static place.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Identities are built on the streets we live on.

Where did you come from, where will you go?

As I was stepping back, I found myself moving closer.

Let the sound dictate your vision.

A day of kid-friendly activities with a selection of short films curated exclusively for young children (ages 3 to 10)!

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

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

Let’s Talk About Sex.

We are shaped by the acts we commit, and those we endure.

Is human nature one with nature?

Still Processing...

Being like everyone else is just plain boring.

We stand simultaneously in the unsettling and the homeland, trying to start a dialogue between them.

Tight-knit families or unravelling thread?

From the shadows ... into the light.

The past is the fabric of the present.

What’s the value of human labour?

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

What does it mean to be a man?

The way we live together shapes our individual lives.

Letters dedicated to the ones we love(d).

When our masks crumble, the true self steps forward.

It’s the end of the world as we know it.

People Shaping Places Shaping People.

Every step you take, I’ll be watching you.

Our identity is woven in the tissue of time, shaped by our memories, choices and encounters.

How does one develop the sense of belonging to a place? And how does this same place define our own identity?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers to compete for the Student Award.

A selection of short films from this edition of Leiden Shorts. Access to the screening is free, access to De Buurt is €1,50. Seats are limited and registration is required via Eventbrite.

A selection of short films from this edition of Leiden Shorts.

Maps are far from neutral records of space. The process of mapping is always subjected to a dual representation, tinged with the prejudices of our rendering, and affected by the collective memory of how we record space. [...]

These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers in competition for the General Award. We advise watching this session with "General Competition I", which contains four more films also competing for the General Award.

These five films have been pre-selected by our programmers in competition for the General Award. We advise watching this session with "General Competition II", which contains four more films also competing for the General Award.

Could we ever start our lives over as if it were a game?

These six films have been pre-selected by our programmers and are competing for the Dutch Award.

Come and enjoy experimental films in an intimate setting at the smallest cinema room in Old School!

As programmers, sometimes we agree to disagree on each other’s tastes, but these films are not to be missed. Content warning: graphic imagery, sexual content, nudity (16+)

Decolonizing Western climate activism starts by decolonizing cinema. The destructive forces of climate change are inherently impartial. [...]

Nostalgia can dangerously cloud the reality of our climate crisis. Images of wildfires in Australia, floods in Venice, and plastic pollution in the sea are becoming omnipresent. [...]

“With dark ecology, we can explore all kinds of art forms as ecological” – Timothy Morton, The Ecological Thought Inspired by Timothy Morton’s concept of “dark ecology”, this session attempts to re-define what an ecological film looks like. [...]

Who controls commodities, who consumes them, who bears the weight of their waste? ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ – one of the hallmark phrases of late 20th century environmental activism [...] Content warning: graphic content

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. [...]

Being like everyone else is just plain boring. Experience the bizarre, grotesque, and fantastic through some of our most… eccentric animated shorts. [...]

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The relationship between parent and child is anything but simple. Sometimes, the generation gap feels immense. [...]

Isn’t it all just an act? All the world's a stage and we are all in a constant act of performance. [...]

It’s hard to build a FÅMILY. Do you need help assembling your FÅMILY unit? [...]

Growing up hurts. Coming of age is a universal struggle, but each one of us experiences it differently. [...]

How does our personal experience shape our view of the world? We may all live in the same world, but we all experience it differently. [...]

With the great power of filmmaking comes great responsibility. Documentary film presents a variety of challenges for its makers around the ethics and responsibility of representation. [...] Content warning: animals violence, suicide

In a galaxy not so far away… As technology encroaches into all aspects of our lives, the separation between human beings and technology becomes increasingly blurred. [...]

The costs of capitalism cannot only be counted in dollars and cents. There are always concealed costs connected to our global economic activity. [...]

Making money requires major compromises. Finding stability in life often comes at a cost, and at times, one’s home, family, and identity may have to be sacrificed. [...]

How do we emancipate the human body from its politicization? In recent years, a wave of revolutions and protests around the world have reminded us that politics is embodied in every aspect of our daily lives. [...]

What is the relationship between movement and stasis? Cinema, or the motion-picture, has always been defined by its relationship to movement and time. [...]

How does the stillness of an image become a marker of time? Cinematic time moves differently than lived experience, conjoining the past and the future through the frame. [...]

Feel the beat. The relationship between sound and image is vital to cinema and plays an essential role in its narratives. [...]

Girls just want to have fun...damental rights. The embodied reality of a womxn is constantly being affected by the gaze of society. [...] Content warning: graphic images