FESTIVAL CONCEPT

Now on its seventh year, the number of LEFFEST occurrences can no longer be counted on one hand. The stage is set once more to bring together the best that 7th Art has to offer.

One of the Festival´s primary goals is to provide the convergence of diverse cultural experiences: from cinema to literature to music to the visual arts. Promoting dialogue between filmmakers, thinkers, artists and audiences, it has grown into an ideal place to reflect and discuss contemporary themes.  

Designed to be more than just an event for the showcase of movies, the LEFFEST is thus committed to offering the public a chance to participate, to interact, to debate, and to be surprised.

Its choice and varied programme introduces audiences to some of the best acclaimed films, but also to little known films, not only from Europe, but from all over the world, and opens new horizons for Portuguese film production.

The Festival is attended by world-class personalities who are used to sharing their experiences with the public, through panel discussions, masterclasses, workshops, performances, debates, exhibitions and other events. David Cronenberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Pedro Almodovar, Cindy Sherman, David Byrne, and Lou Reed are among those who have graced the Festival with their presences.

Selecting only the best films for its competition, the screening of works by influential filmmakers and audacious newcomers can also be expected.

The Festival plays tribute to prominent figures of the cinema world, through retrospectives of their complete works, as well as introducing singular filmmakers who held their own amidst the merciless demands of the cinema industry. It also reveals artists whose work is strongly connected to cinema.

Taking place between the country´s capital and the sea, and presenting an ambitious selection of movies (handpicked by people who live and breathe cinema), the LEFFEST has brought Portugal to the forefront of the cinema festivals circuit.