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Festival coverage

Leeds International Film Festival

3 October – 19 October 2023

The Oscar-qualifying Leeds international Film Festival opens this year with Yorgos Lantimos' Poor Things and has a packed line-up of high profile films and intriguing independent selections to enjoy.

With not all the films announced as yet, we're still adding details, so watch this space for more information.

The festival runs from 3 to 19 November.

Other years (8)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Chronicles Of A Wandering Saint
    Review preview for Chronicles Of A Wandering Saint

    Even if you might get a hint of the film’s final destination before it arrives, the way Bustillo achieves his aims will leave you with a warm glow.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    When a devout elderly woman finds a statue she think is long lost, what she decides to do next upends her life.
  • Orlando, My Political Biography
    Review preview for Orlando, My Political Biography

    Capturing the experience of living in a world where one’s gender doesn’t fit better than almost any other film to date, Preciado’s work is all about claiming space and present day narrative.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Docufiction interpretation of Virginia Woolf's novel.
  • Evil Does Not Exist
    Review preview for Evil Does Not Exist

    Hamaguchi isn’t scared to completely change the rhythm of his film on a dime, something that is likely to frustrate as many people as it delights.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    A rural village faces disruption from the construction of a glamping site for Tokyo tourists.
  • River
    Review preview for River

    Yamaguchi and his regular writer, Makoto Ueda, have such a deep understanding of their characters that it’s the emotional timeline, rather than the physical one, that becomes the subject of real concern.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    One winter in Kibune, Kyoto, people find themselves stuck in a two minute time loop. As others try to work together to find out what's going on, one woman finds herself increasingly isolated.
  • Samsara
    Review preview for Samsara

    While attempting to describe the crux of Samsara is, essentially, as impossible as catching lightning in a jar, join me on a journey of imagination and we’ll give it a go.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    Samsara is the Buddhist cycle of death and reincarnation. From the temples of Laos, alongside with teenage monks, we will accompany a soul in its transit from one body to another through the bardo.
  • Your Fat Friend
    Review preview for Your Fat Friend

    Viewers are likely to go away appreciating Aubrey’s frustrations and perhaps, if they share them, feeling validated, but without the tools to do anything about them.

    Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
    Popular anonymous blogger Aubrey Gordon spent five years writing about the realities of living as a self-described “very fat person.” Now, she is about to face the public for the very first time.
  • All Of Us Strangers
    Review preview for All Of Us Strangers

    Protagonist Adam (Andrew Scott) lives in a neatly furnished home, no longer feels the need to hide his sexuality, and tells himself he’s fine, but the music says otherwise.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A screenwriter embarks on a relationship with a neighbour at the same time as making a journey into his troubled past.
  • La Palisiada
    Review preview for La Palisiada

    La Palisiada emerges as a cinematic riddle, a playground where Sotnychenko revels in teasing the audience.

    Levan Tskhovrebadze · 4 out of 5
    Two old friends, a detective and psychiatrist, investigate a murder of their colleague.
  • Melk
    Review preview for Melk

    Jacob Oostra's work in sound design is part of an overwhelming naturalism, an intimacy of sensation and a sense of intimacy.

    Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
    A mum who has lost her baby tries to work through her grief as she attempts to donate her milk.
  • Poor Things
    Review preview for Poor Things

    Lanthimos skillfully transforms this lustful carnival into a coming-of-age drama, emphasising the protagonist's mastery of sexuality as a connotation of her mental evolution.

    Levan Tskhovrebadze · 4.5 out of 5
    The story of a young woman who has been brought back to life.

A–Z of Leeds International Film Festival 2023 reviews

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