LIFF

The 29th Leeds International Film Festival programme has now been out for nearly a week and no doubt many of you are making plans about what to see. With over 300 screenings and events, there’s an awful lot to choose from and the selection of trailers shown on Light Night made everything looks so great, or terrifying, or weird and often all of those things.

The Leeds Movie Fans Meetup Group have already started picking out some events to attend, you can find out more about these on their page.

I think I’ve just about worked out my own plan, you can find it over on Letterboxd (a wonderful website for film lovers) which is where you can also find a list of most of the LIFF29 films. I’ve also made a Google spreadsheet and Calendar which you may help your planning (please note these don’t contain accurate end times).

We were hoping to provide some previews and recommendations but we’ve been too busy poring over the programme, eliminating clashes and trying to come up with our own plans. If you have any recommendations or would just like to share your thoughts on the festival then please do get in touch and we’ll happily share them.

Friday 9th October 6:30pm, Leeds Town Hall.

This Friday it’s Light Night Leeds and the launch of the 29th Leeds International Film Festival. With so many interesting things happening as part of Light Night it sometimes feels like a waste to be sat in the town hall watching films, but there’s also a great sense of excitement as the festival programme is revealed.

Once again there will be a showcase of trailers for the festival films, followed by a 45-minute showcase of legendary Scottish-born, Canadian experimental film artist Norman McLaren. The screening’s line up includes McLaren’s three personal favourites Begone Dull Care (1949), Neighbours (1952) and Pas de Deux (1968) as well as Opening Speech: McLaren (1960), A Chairy Tale (1957) and La Merle (1958).

As for the festival programme, we’ll just have to wait and see what the team have put together this year. Will we get to see Oscar hopefuls such as Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight, Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs, Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, Todd Haynes’ Carol, Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl or Lenny Abrahamson’s Room? Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise feels like a perfect fit for Fanomenon and could we see a virtual return of Kevin Smith with Yoga Hosers? Of course the real delight of the film festival are all the films you’d never heard of and are unlikely to see elsewhere. Usually we’re not too keen on trailers but they can be great for highlighting these gems and making everything at the festival feel unmissable.

What are you hoping will make the programme this year? Let us know in the comments below.