LSFF 2024 Programme Announced

Alongside the festival’s regular New Shorts programmes, from over 5,000 international submissions, the team presents an extensive programme of Special Events, curated by new voices from London’s independent film collectives and at new venues across the capital from 19-28 January 2024. The Orbital project, designed to expand LSFF’s reach in multiple directions across the city, means that the festival will host screenings in South, North and West London, alongside the iconic East and Central London venues the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Curzon Soho, BFI Southbank and Rio Dalston.

The festival programme also contains screenings for families and young people for the first time, encompassing animation, workshops and creative activities. This year’s hilarious festival trailer is made by NFTS graduate and LSFF award-winner Hugh Clegg and will launch with the full programme on Wednesday 6 December.

Special Events screenings this year include the short films of Afro-Cuban filmmaker Sara Gómez, screening in London for the first time, a retrospective of renowned filmmaker and music video director Ian Pons Jewell, a celebration of British rave culture in Rave Cinema, and a screening of the rarely-seen short films of Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon. The legacy of BFI’s Film on Film festival continues with the best UK Short Films on Film, all screening from original film prints in NFT1. Short film platform Minute Shorts partners with the festival to present a celebration of new voices and creatives and celebrated filmmaker Ngozi Onwurah (Welcome II the Terrordome) presents her new short film Neighborhood Alert followed by a masterclass, both at Peckhamplex in South London.

Other new venues for the festival this year include ActOne in Acton, the Phoenix cinema in East Finchley, the Design Museum and the Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise. Film collectives and independent curators working with LSFF for the first time include Sine Screen, focused on narratives from China and East Asian countries, Brixton Community Cinema, Barbican Chronic Youth alumni Makella Ketedzi and Sena Gikunoo, Latin American cinema collective Cinema Mentiré, and curation students from the London College of Communication, led by Ed Webb-Ingall. T A P E Collective return to the festival with new programmes, and sequels to their Bonded and Black Country series.

Families and children are invited to experience LSFF for the first time this year, with curated programmes of children’s animation, a workshop and screening for teenagers with T A P E Collective, and BAFTA-winning filmmaker Esther May Campbell presents a day of activities and screenings with Wasteground Circus. Based on a children’s book of the same name, the day will encompass image-making, photography and a screening of Albert Lamorisse’s beautiful 1956 children’s short, The Red Balloon.

Accessible and disability-focused events remain a priority for LSFF, with a new collaboration with Oska Bright film festival at Garden Cinema this year. The annual programme of films that reflect and celebrate the Deaf experience, My Eye is My Ear, also returns to BFI Southbank.

This year the festival welcomes the return of valuable industry partnerships to support the programme and the Industry activity, this year taking place at our Industry Hub at ICA. The festival is delighted to be returning to

NOWNESS China joins the festival as a valuable new partner, with two screenings of their award-nominated films from young Chinese creatives taking place across the programme. We continue our partnership with BuildHollywood to run a poster and billboard campaign across London, thanks to the team’s generous support.