LEFFEST18º
Lisboa Film Festival 08–17.11.2024

Sections

Official Selection – In Competition

One of the LEFFEST’s main focuses was always the discovery and unveiling of cinema’s great abundance, contemplating several different cinematographies in terms of geography and content.
More info

Official Selection – Out of Competition

The main purpose of the Official Selection - Out of Competition is to offer the audience, with a broad perspective on international film production, the chance to watch the national premieres of some of the most anticipated films of the following season, as well as displaying the latest works by internationally acknowledged directors.
More info

Retrospective Jonás Trueba

Jonás Trueba has established himself as a leading figure in a new generation of Spanish filmmakers, particularly after winning a prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival. His eighth feature film, "Volveréis", which centres on a couple who decide to break up by throwing a party, was showcased in the Filmmakers' Fortnight. Trueba's work is characterised by its focus on the intimate and the subtle details of everyday life, forming an artisanal ecosystem that features a consistent crew and a small ensemble of actors who also contribute as co-writers. Notable collaborators include Vito Sanz, with whom he has worked since "Los ilusos" (2013), and Itsaso Arana, who made her debut in "Reconquista" (2016) and has been involved in all his subsequent feature films. Both Jonás and Itsaso will be present for the complete retrospective of the director's work.
More info

Retrospective Miguel Gomes

The selection of his latest film, Grand Tour, for competition at Cannes, where Miguel Gomes won the Best Director award, crowned a body of work that has distinguished itself from the outset at major international festivals. "Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto" (2008), his second feature, was a revelation at the Directors' Fortnight, where Gomes would later return with "Mil e Uma Noites" (2015), "Diários de Otsoga" (2021), and "Tabu" (2012), his most successful film, which won an award in Berlin.

Gomes is a filmmaker who breaks down barriers between categories and invents forms, absorbing the classics to create a new cinema, with work characterised by an "affective relationship" with the unexpected. This marks his first full retrospective in Portugal.
More info

Retrospective Patricia Mazuy

A rare filmmaker with a distinctive and powerful style in French cinema, Mazuy is the creator of seven feature films. She began her career with Peaux de vaches (Cannes, Un Certain Regard, 1989), which explores contemporary rural life, followed by the remarkable Saint Cyr (Cannes, 2000), set in the 17th century. Her last two films will have their Portuguese premieres at LEFFEST: Bowling Saturne (Locarno Film Festival, 2022), a contemporary noir, and La Prisonnière de Bordeaux (Cannes, Filmmakers' Fortnight, 2024), which examines class relations and female emancipation, featuring outstanding performances by Isabelle Huppert and Hafsia Herzi.
More info

Michael Haneke - Unprecedented films in the theatre

Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke is one of the most acclaimed directors in contemporary European cinema, with an exceptional body of work that has garnered over 60 awards. He is among the few directors to have won two Palme d'Ors at Cannes.

LEFFEST presents his previously unseen television films and three feature films for the cinema, including "The Castle"(1997), based on Kafka, all newly restored in digital format. These are essential films for anyone wishing to explore the work of a provocative and unsettling filmmaker, who famously remarked, "Art should be a provocation." Haneke’s films offer a profound reflection on contemporary society, exposing its fears and hidden anxieties.
More info

Discoveries

Views and journeys of filmmakers little known to the public.
More info

Special Sessions: Series

More information soon.
More info

Images of War, War of Images

This program aims to create a reflection on the evolution of the visual representation of war and its consequences - in the individual and collective imagination, in art, in the relationship with others, and in many other spheres.

To this end, LEFFEST is organising 20 screenings, along with discussions featuring directors Rithy Phan, Udi Aloni, João Botelho, and Ossama Mohamed; thinkers Slavoj Žižek, Leila Shahid and Sylvie Lindeperg; and war journalists Nida Ibrahim, Alexandra Lucas Coelho, and Noël Quidu. The event will also include an unprecedented exhibition entitled War and Peace, showcasing photographs by Marie-Laure de Decker and Noël Quidu, along with many other surprises.
More info

Palestine

In these times of war and genocide, as an international film festival, we believe it is our duty to remember and reflect on the history and current situation of Palestine, while celebrating its contemporary artists.
More info

Erotic Cinema - Challenging the Limits

Through a cycle of 20 films and a cine-concert, we revisit the concept of eroticism, with the aim of understanding its evolution and meaning in the history of cinema.
More info

Special Screenings

LEFFEST presents several special screenings in dialogue with the rest of the programme.
More info

The Impossibility of Being Kafka

On the Centenary of His Death.
More info

International Film School Meetings

The event will feature a competition of short films produced at some of the world's most prestigious film schools, judged by an international jury.
More info

Camões in Living Flesh

On the 500th anniversary of the poet's birth.
More info

A journey through some of the great artists of the 20th century

Following the solo exhibition about Carlos Cobra at MUDE – Museum of Design – LEFFEST is organising a special film programme in the museum's Auditorium, showcasing remarkable Portuguese and international artists from the second half of the 20th century. This presents a unique opportunity to view a collection of cinematic rarities.
More info