The competitions are the beating heart of the festival. Besides the European Competition, there are Flemish competitions for fiction, animation and documentary. The perfect chance to find out which young directors will be making it big in the film scene. On Sunday, 1 December, the highly sought after VAF Wildcards will be awarded at the festival!

Popular programmes like Shorts for children, Animation Nations and Virtual Reality return. Immerse yourself in the Labo programme or be amazed by short films from famous directors in Big Names, Short Films.

This year there is a special focus on Portuguese and Palestinian short films and the Artist in Focus: Fien Troch. The Focus on Portugal will be shown in two programmes, in collaboration with the Portuguese festival Curtas Vila do Conde.

Series with acclaimed or hailed short films that are a must-see for every film fan: Oscar Shorts, Best of European Film Awards, Best of Peer Award and the winners of this edition.

During the guest screenings, local partners of the festival show their favourites: VRT CANVAS, Humo, Kortfilm.be and Sabam. You can also enjoy several film concerts. In addition, the official opening and closing nights are not to be missed.

Kortfilmfestival Leuven does not only show short films, the festival is also synonymous with a wide range of activities for filmmakers and other professionals. You can get to know the makers during the Q&As, but there are also workshops and networking opportunities for scriptwriters, film critics and other professionals.