News.
Leeds International Film Festival announces appointments, dates, venues and shape of 2024 edition
21st July 2024
The forward-thinking Festival welcomes 21 new programmers to the team appointed from open applications championing new industry talent
The Festival announces spotlights on legendary actress Smita Patil and groundbreaking Leeds artist-filmmaker Stuart Croft
Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) has today announced its dates for 2024 along with Festival spotlights on legendary actress Smita Patil and groundbreaking Leeds artist-filmmaker Stuart Croft, in partnership with Leeds Art Gallery and The Stuart Croft Foundation, and the appointment of 21 new programmers joining the Festival team.
Established in 1987, Leeds International Film Festival is one of the largest annual film events in the UK and one of the longest, running for 17 days every November in venues across Leeds and West Yorkshire. Presenting over 250 features and shorts every year, with annual submissions of over 5000 from more than 120 countries, LIFF principally showcases and supports films from new and diverse filmmaking talent and which may not receive profile in the UK otherwise.
The 38th edition of the Festival will run from 1st to the 17th November 2024 at venues across the city including events and screenings at Everyman Leeds, Vue Leeds in the Light, Hyde Park Picture House and Howard Assembly Room. The full LIFF 2024 programme will be announced in October when tickets and passes will be on sale. The Festival is now accepting film submissions for LIFF 2024 until 31 July.
This year the Festival is proud to welcome 21 new programmers to the team. These position appointments were made from open applications, championing new industry talent and supporting entry-level programmers in their careers.
- Programme and Outreach Officers / Programmers, Features | Martha Cattell and Ellie Hales
- Features Programmer | Alice Miller
- International Short Film Consultant | Céline Roustan
- Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition | Lead Programmer Liz Chege and programmers Allegra Bell, Miranda Bentley, Gurnesha Bola, Kristen Harding, Jason Liwag and Saulė Savanevičiūtė
- British and Yorkshire Short Film Competitions | Lead Programmer Robb Barham, and programmers Khara Linton-Salmon and Olivia Thomas
- World Animation Competition | Programmer Heather Bradshaw and programmer Georgia Dixon-Lynch
- Documentary Shorts | Lead Programmer Jenna Isherwood and programmer Ted Steptoe
- Fantastic Features and Shorts | Programmer Melissa Gueneau and programmer Zoë Wren Boyd
- Leeds Music Video Competition | Programmer Robyn Lawrence
This year’s LIFF programme spotlights the life and work of Indian actress Smita Patill and Leeds artist-filmmaker Stuart Croft.
Stuart Croft (1970-2015) was a hugely talented artist-filmmaker from Leeds whose work imaginatively collapsed the boundaries between the art gallery and the cinema. He went from Lawnswood School in Leeds to exhibitions in New York, Venice and Beijing. His work subverts genre conventions and narrative expectations in a playful and thought-provoking way, and his influences range across film history from groundbreaking art films to classic Hollywood cinema.
In partnership with Leeds Art Gallery and The Stuart Croft Foundation, LIFF presents a special season of films that inspired Stuart’s unique vision paired with his own looping moving image works. This season is programmed to complement the immersive exhibition ‘Stuart Croft: Eternal Return’ at Leeds Art Gallery (08 November 2024 – 6 April 2025).
In Celebrating Smita Patil: A Film Retrospective, LIFF celebrates the work of legendary performer Smita Patil. Smita Patil was just 31 when she passed away in 1986. With her screen debut in 1975, Smita Patil forged one of the most superlative bodies of work that an actor has ever produced. Across the space of 11 years, Patil collaborated with many of the best filmmakers of her generation. Her disarming beauty and acting prowess made her the iconic face of Parallel Cinema, India’s first post-colonial art film movement (1968 – 1995). This unique retrospective will aim to open a door into the world of Smita Patil, celebrating her films, activism, and enduring stardom.
LIFF Director, Chris Fell has said: “With the dates and venues for LIFF 2024 now confirmed, we are thrilled to introduce our fantastic new and expanded programming team as we aim to bring a wider range of film discoveries to Leeds from across the UK and around the world. By continuing to open up future programming roles in this way, we want to ensure our festival reflects a diverse range of perspectives, voices, and experiences.”