The London International Animation Festival 2023

The London International Animation Festival proudly showcases the whole spectrum of creative animation, showing that animation is for everyone…

Founded in 2003, LIAF aims to dispel the popular misconception that animation is just cartoons for kids by screening the broadest possible range of intelligent, entertaining and provocative current films on offer from all around the world as well as retrospectives and specialised sessions from countries and animators who don’t normally elicit such attention.

Our annual 10-day Festival includes gala premieres, retrospectives, Q&A’s with filmmakers, workshops, audience voting, and the Best of the Festival screening. LIAF has grown to become much more than an annual Festival – we are programming more events, tours, screenings and masterclasses all year-round to as many cities and countries that invite us. LIAF strives to be the best, and we do so with a very small, very dedicated staff.

The London International Animation Festival is a member of the Alliance of British Animation Exhibitors, promoting UK talent through curated screenings at home and overseas to increase the visibility and recognition of UK animation talent.

The London International Animation Festival is one of the largest animation festivals in the world. We usually screen around 300 films each year in competitive, student, curated and retrospective programmes. LIAF also generates a smaller touring programme around the UK. When you enter your film to LIAF it is automatically considered for the tour as well, although we will send you separate invitations if we wish to screen your film outside of the festival.

There is a small administrative fee of £10 per film (if entered by May 31) or £15 (if entered after June 1). Payment can be made via PayPal to [email protected]. If you do not have a PayPal account, signing up is easy via the Paypal website.

To be considered eligible for selection in LIAF 2023, your film should have been completed AFTER 1 January 2022. The Festival Director reserves the right to grant exceptions to this criteria in exceptional circumstances.

To be accepted for selection, your entry must arrive in a format that can be viewed by pre-selectors and the jury members. Please load your film to Vimeo or YouTube and provide a link and (if applicable) password – OR, send a VOB or MPEG file via WeTransfer or DropBox.

Pre-selection decisions regarding all entries are made by the Festival Director, relevant advisors and a pre-selection committee. The selection process will be made by October 2023. All selected films will receive a formal invitation from the Festival Director. All unsuccessful films will receive notification via email.

The screening order of each programme and the programme in which each film is screened will be at the sole discretion of the Festival Director. All submission materials will be retained by LIAF for use in our archive – for reference in programming other screenings and events.

You can enter your film directly to LIAF by downloading an entry form here and emailing it to us at: [email protected] and paying the £10 fee (if entered by May 31) or £15 fee (if entered after June 1). Payment can be made via PayPal to [email protected].