LSFF2020
The 17th London Short Film Festival
10th—19th January 2020
We’re back for #LSFF2020.
-
Friday 10th January 2020
-
Fri 10 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
OPENING NIGHT: Memos for the Next Millennium
The early works that have defined LSFF's seventeen-year-long preoccupation with the experimental. -
Fri 10 Jan 2020
ICA Theatre
OPENING NIGHT: More Than Just a Pretty Face - Alt Drag Revolution
In partnership with East London troublemakers Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest, we delve into the rich history of alt-drag. -
Fri 10 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
NEW SHORTS: Funny Shit (at ICA)
Kicking off the 17th edition of LSFF, we’re packing comedies of a darker hue and more Lynchian leaning. -
Saturday 11th
-
Sat 11 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
NEW SHORTS: In My Skin
Ruminations on struggling to fit in and feeling uncomfortable in your own skin. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Dirty Commie Bastard!
Ephemeral films dig into the absurd rhetoric used to warn citizens of insidious communist tactics. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Houses in Motion
Space, the physical self, and emotional states all metamorphosize in these multiform ruminations on territory, death and desire. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
NEW SHORTS: A Winter's Matinee of Romantic Films
From strange corners and hopeless places, a programme of uncynical and unconventional love stories. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Lo-Budget Mayhem
A returning crowd-pleaser, LSFF brings you the short and the strange of frugal filmmaking. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Oscillations
Wikihow texts, Nina Simone and Citebeur pornography intersect in this programme of cinematic juxtapositions. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
BFI Southbank NFT1
UK COMPETITION: A Little Tenderness
These sensitively handled works look to spaces for retreat and the power in softness. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Animation Variety Show
Flavours from across the animation landscape. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
NEW SHORTS: Peripheral Visions
An international compendium of experimental short film. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
FROM EARLY: The Foundations of the Grime Aesthetic
As a movement, grime is hard to define. -
Sat 11 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
THE BEST OF BLONDIE
Appraising Blondie's ’70s and early ’80s video aesthetic with their mega-compilation screening on original VHS. -
Sunday 12th
-
Sun 12 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
NEW SHORTS: Uncanny Valley
This eclectic selection delves into the emotional and physical relationships that people build, for better or worse, with their immediate surroundings. -
Sun 12 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: American Nightmare
In this treasure trove of oddities, we look at how the ephemeral film functioned in the everyday. -
Sun 12 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
Fantasies of young love, the parodic horror of dental surgery and sublime hymnal singing all feature in this competition programme. -
Sun 12 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
NEW SHORTS: Visions of Albion
From the ‘listening ears’ of Dungeness, through the industrial districts of Manchester, and back down to the Essex coastline, these shorts survey the state of our small island. -
Sun 12 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: The Birds and The Bees
With this selection, we take a dive into the world of the sexual education film. -
Sun 12 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Remake/Remodel
Veering between found footage, home movies, YouTube snippets and music video aesthetics. -
Sun 12 Jan 2020
The Pickle Factory
PLATFORM: Diana Vidraşcu
Diana Vidrașcu’s work explores the fallibility and subjectivity of memory, time and reality. -
Sun 12 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
POGGI & VINEL: Faith in Incoherence
The short film works of Jessica Forever directing duo, Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel. -
Sun 12 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
THE NEW EXPERIMENTALISTS: The Arts Foundation Finalists
Four powerful new voices span CGI and hand-drawn animation, documentary and artist’s video. -
Monday 13th
-
Mon 13 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: Fits and Starts: Short Film Funding
The industry's gatekeepers offer advice and insight into getting your short film funded. -
Mon 13 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: State of the Union
We look to the power of unions, freelancing culture and the prerogatives of directors in safeguarding their time and labour. -
Mon 13 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NEW SHORTS: WTF: Outside the Box
Our gift to you each LSFF, a programme of WTF wonders both irreverently baffling and irrevocably brain-melting. -
Mon 13 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
NEW SHORTS: Outer Limits
A generous helping of twists and turns, paranormal activity and the phantasmagorical. -
Mon 13 Jan 2020
Science Museum IMAX Cinema
PLATFORM: Rainer Kohlberger
A retrospective of the boundary-pushing work of Austrian artist Rainer Kohlberger at the Science Museum's IMAX. -
Mon 13 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Funny Shit (at Regent Street)
We’re packing comedies of a darker hue and more Lynchian leaning, with belly laughs and bittersweet chuckles. -
Mon 13 Jan 2020
BFI Southbank NFT1
UK COMPETITION: Concealment Feeds the Fear
Amidst nostalgia, grief and generational secrets, the duality of absence and presence is felt. -
Tuesday 14th
-
Tue 14 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: Beyond Nollywood: The Myth of Cultural Translation
This panel discusses the depiction of Nigeran experience on-screen, hosted by curator and author Nadia Denton. -
Tue 14 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 2
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Houses in Motion (REPEAT)
Space, the physical self, and emotional states all metamorphosize in these multiform ruminations on territory, death and desire. -
Tue 14 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: Articulating Diaspora
Dissecting the articulation of diasporic identity through film with Nadia Denton, Hetain Patel and more. -
Tue 14 Jan 2020
BFI Southbank NFT2
PENELOPE SPHEERIS SHORTS
This cross-section of Spheeris's early short films reveal a rule-breaking talent concerned with contemporary life and a desire to reclaim the female body. -
Tue 14 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
NEW SHORTS: In Motion
The destination falls into obscurity with this programme of journeys: sometimes poignant, sometimes thrilling, and sometimes dangerous. -
Tue 14 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
DOCUMENTARY: The Measure of a Moment
To help combat the constant tug of productivity anxiety, these shorts present quietude and the joy of play. -
Tue 14 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
BALOJI: Live
Belgian-Congolese musician Baloji performs live alongside a programme of his genre-bending music videos. -
Tue 14 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
CAN A DOOR BE FASCIST?
What effect does the historical context of a building, a location, or even a song have on our experience of it? -
Wednesday 15th
-
Wed 15 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: Performative Practice on Film
This panel of artists working across film and performance art discuss how to record, edit and communicate visceral ideas. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
BFI Southbank NFT3
NEW SHORTS: Relaxed Screening
In partnership with Oska Bright Film Festival and British Film Institute, LSFF presents a choice selection of shorts from this year’s festival. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 2
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Oscillations (REPEAT)
Wikihow texts, Nina Simone and Citebeur pornography intersect in this programme of cinematic juxtapositions. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: Spaces Between: Interdisciplinary Funding
A panel exploring the support and resources available to artist filmmakers and moving image artists. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Up to and Including Her Limits
The female characters at the centre of these shorts contend with a loss of control, processing the resulting emotional scars and spiralling selfhoods. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
NEW SHORTS: London Lives
Fiction bleeds into biography as we find ourselves behind the closed doors of London’s cultural melting pot. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
DOCUMENTARY: Common Vulnerabilities
This programme questions the ways we look at events happening somewhere else, to someone else. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Fringe! Lovers and Fighters
Queer and questioning visions of desire, identity and summoning the power within. Curated by Fringe! Queer Arts & Film Fest. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
BFI Southbank NFT1
UK COMPETITION: In Living Colour
Pigment and pixels coalesce in this programme of chromatically infused artists’ film. -
Wed 15 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
BLACK AUDIO VISIONS: Transforming The Gaze Through Sound
Through the lenses of pan-African cinema-makers, we explore the auditory experience of ‘listening’ to a film. -
Thursday 16th
-
Thu 16 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: Imprints: Intimacy Directing and Safeguarding on Set
A practical primer session and open conversation on the practice of 'intimacy directing.' -
Thu 16 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 2
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (REPEAT)
Fantasies of young love, the parodic horror of dental surgery and sublime hymnal singing all feature in this competition programme. -
Thu 16 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: Imprints: Documenting Sex and Sexuality
To bookend the day, a theoretical discussion on the responsibilities a filmmaker faces when narrativizing intimacy. -
Thu 16 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
EUROPEANS: Dramas From a Divided Union
While British politics is dominated by a divisive Brexit, what are the themes consuming other EU countries? -
Thu 16 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
DOCUMENTARY: Relating to Each Other, Communing with Ourselves
As intimate as a family, as expansive as the internet and as lengthy as decades. -
Thu 16 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN
An ensemble of performers from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire and special guests revisit the rebellious undercurrents of early ‘80s London and the ‘systems music’ scene -
Thu 16 Jan 2020
BFI Southbank NFT1
UK COMPETITION: Joyful & Triumphant
For our cynical times, a celebration of human connection and good intentions. -
Thu 16 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
NEW SHORTS: Abrasions
Unafraid to challenge audience limits, these works wantonly disregard both convention and pleasantries. -
Friday 17th
-
Fri 17 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: The Politics of Production: Artist Filmmakers' Co-ops
This session looks to the remaining London co-ops and artists' spaces for support and community. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 2
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Remake/Remodel (REPEAT)
Unpacking the role of archive and artefact in memory-making. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Stage
INDUSTRY: Politicising Form: Artist Filmmakers in Conversation
Join a host of artist filmmakers in conversation as we discuss the benefits of experimental forms as a means of communicating socially and politically pertinent issues. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
BFI Southbank NTF3
HOW TO DEAF
Now a yearly staple, these short films meditate on the D/deaf experience. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NEW SHORTS: We'll Never Be Those Kids Again
Caught in the messy throes of adolescence, these shorts retread the thorny steps from teendom to adulthood. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
NEW SHORTS: Gothic!
These macabre shorts toy with that unsettling, exciting possibility of something ominous in the shadows. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
DOCUMENTARY: Heterosexual Social Contract
How does the influence of normative structures affect our intimate relationships? -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Studio
ASMR: Senses Working Overtime
Exploring the divisive online phenomena of ASMR through moving image, dance and gender performativity. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NO FACT OF BLACKNESS
Contemporary artists draw from black British lineages and play with conventional notions of experimental filmmaking. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
FLESH & FLUIDS
Through the work of four artist filmmakers, we take an unflinching look at the human body. -
Fri 17 Jan 2020
Rio Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Midnight Movies
Thrills, chills and spills screened, as is LSFF tradition, at the witching hour. -
Saturday 18th
-
Sat 18 Jan 2020
Rio Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Fringe! B-Movie Resistance
When the going gets tough, the queers grab their cameras and make B-movies. Curated by Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Festival. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
BALOJI: The Future is Ours
Short films exploring experimental, contemporary African cinema, curated by filmmaker-musician Baloji. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
TANGLED ROOTS: The Origins of Black Metal
Music videos, archive interviews and documentary outtakes -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
Rio Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Sketch Night
LSFF's classic variety show of comedy shorts and live sketches. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
PUBLIC INTIMACIES: Talking to Myself
This programme looks to diaristic articulations of self and the literal form of women ‘talking aloud’. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
NEW SHORTS: U OK hun?
A cross-section of the tricksy dynamics of subcultures and the various lives pulsating through Web 2.0. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 2
PUBLIC INTIMACIES: Autoethnography as Refusal
Illustrated lectures explore how lived experience and academic inquiry can reclaim spaces mediated by whiteness. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
PUBLIC INTIMACIES: Anne Charlotte Robertson
Over the course of nearly two decades, Anne Charlotte Robertson obsessively produced the now renowned Five Year Diary. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
NEW SHORTS: Music Videos
An overhauled LSFF 2020 offering of diverse music videos from across the globe. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
THE BODIES BENEATH: Weird, Wonderful Short Films From Before The 1960s
A time capsule of the strange and forgotten moving image work of yesteryear. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
Rich Mix The Studio
CLOSING NIGHT: LSFF 2020 Awards + Party
Join us as we bring this year's festival to a close, celebrating the diversity of talent in new short filmmaking. -
Sat 18 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
HUSTLE WITH MY MUSCLE: The Short Films of Tom Rubnitz
Music videos, performances and oddities from Rubnitz’s all too brief career. -
Sunday 19th
-
Sun 19 Jan 2020
Rio Cinema
NEW SHORTS: Award Winners (at Rio Cinema)
All the award winners from LSFF 2020 in one programme. -
Sun 19 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 2
PUBLIC INTIMACIES: Correspondences: A Programme of Films by Alia Syed
Curator Jemma Desai presents a selection of works from British experimental filmmaker Alia Syed. -
Sun 19 Jan 2020
Curzon Soho
NEW SHORTS: Award Winners (at Curzon Soho)
All the award winners from LSFF 2020 in one programme. -
Sun 19 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
RECOLLECTIVE RESISTANCE: Part 1 + Kamal Aljafari Q&A
Kamal Aljafari's hybrid documentary follows the story of his family after they receive an order from the Israeli government to evacuate their home. -
Sun 19 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
PUBLIC INTIMACIES: Profession: Documentarist
Seven independent female filmmakers talk about their relationship to their sense of nationhood and work as documentarians. -
Sun 19 Jan 2020
Soho Theatre
PLATFORM: Wong Ping
The crude, grotesque and political of Hong Kong artist-animator Wong Ping. -
Sun 19 Jan 2020
Regent Street Cinema
RECOLLECTIVE RESISTANCE: Part 2 + Kamal Aljafari Q&A
Kamal Aljafari’s experimental work, Recollection, bears witness to the destruction, repopulation, and gentrification of Jaffa. -
Sun 19 Jan 2020
ICA Cinema 1
NEW SHORTS: Award Winners (at ICA)
All the award winners from LSFF 2020 in one programme.