The LAKFF is a popular international short film festival and takes place annually in Landshut, the medieval capital of Lower Bavaria, close to Munich. It is open to international short films of all genres. There are 12 awards to be won in eight competition categories with a total value of EUR 18,000 prize money. At three venues, on nine screens, around 200 selected short films delight around 5,000 visitors.

The 26th Landshut Short Film Festival will take place from March 11th to March 16th, 2026.

G-S-A Competition / D-A-CH Wettbewerb
Open for short films from Germany, Austria & Switzerland in German language.

BMW Grand Prix – Jury Award: EUR 5,000
Audience Award: EUR 2,000
Best Comedy – Jury Award: EUR 500

International Competition
Open to short films from anywhere in the world.

International Short Film Award – Jury Award: EUR 2,000
Audience Award: EUR 1,000

Deadline_Award
Open to Horror, Fantasy & Sci-Fi short films from anywhere in the world.

Deadline_Award – Jury Award: EUR 1,000
Deadline_Audience Award EUR 300

Animation Competition
Open to animated short films from anywhere in the world.

Best Animation Short Film – Jury Award: EUR 750

Documentary Competition
Open for short films from Germany, Austria & Switzerland

Best Short Documentary Film – Jury Award: EUR 1,000

Shorts For Kids Competition
Open to short films for children made in Germany, Austria & Switzerland in German language.

Shorts For Kids Award – Audience Award: EUR 1,000

Lokalrunde Competition
Open to short films made in Lower Bavaria, have Lower Bavaria as their theme or have Lower Bavarian protagonists in front of or behind the camera.

Lokalrunde Award – Audience Award: EUR 500

Special Awards

DaHome Award – Jury Award: EUR 2,000

For more details, please see Rules & Terms

1. The G-S-A Competition / D-A-CH Wettbewerb is open for short films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland in German language. In this category three prizes will be awarded.

BMW Grand Prix: awarded by a jury; the trophy money is EUR 5,000
Bayernwerk Audience Award: the trophy money is EUR 2,000
Best Comedy: awarded by a jury; the trophy money is EUR 500

Submitted films must not be longer than 30 minutes.

2. The International Competition is open to short films from anywhere in the world. In this category two prizes will be awarded.

Dräxlmaier International Short Film Award: awarded by a jury; the trophy money is EUR 2,000
BBI Audience Award: the trophy money is EUR 1,000

Submitted films must not be longer than 30 minutes.

3. The Deadline_Award is open to genre short films from anywhere in the world. It is a special award for an outstanding international Horror, Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction or Thriller Short Film.

Deadline_Award: awarded by a jury; the trophy money is EUR 1,000
Deadline_Audience Award; the trophy money is EUR 300

Submitted films must not be longer than 30 minutes.

4. The Animation Competition is open to animated short films from anywhere in the world.

The trophy money is EUR 750 and is awarded by a jury.

Submitted films must not be longer than 30 minutes.

5. The Documentary Competition is open to short documentary films made in Germany, Austria & Switzerland.

The trophy money is EUR 1,000 and is awarded by a jury.

Submitted films must not be longer than 30 minutes.

6. The Shorts for Kids Competition is open to short films for children made in Germany, Austria & Switzerland in German language.

The trophy money is EUR 1,000 and is awarded by the audience.

Submitted films must not be longer than 30 minutes.

7. The Lokalrunde Competition is open for short films made in Lower Bavaria, have Lower Bavaria as their theme or have Lower Bavarian protagonists in front of or behind the camera.

The trophy money is EUR 500 and is awarded by the audience.

Submitted films must not be longer than 30 minutes.

8. The DaHome Award is a special Jury award and is awarded to an international short film that deals with the subject of Heimat / homeland in a special and extraordinary way.

The trophy money is EUR 2,000 and is awarded by a jury.

9. All submitted films must have been completed after January 1st, 2024.

10. The screening formats at the festival are: DCP, full HD high-res files, Apple ProRes

11. If the original version of the film is not in English or German language, the film must be subtitled in English or German language.

12. In submitting your film or video you guarantee that you have all the relevant permissions, licenses and releases for your film or video to be screened in a public exhibition.

13. The organizer has the right to show preview trailer of the submitted and selected film at the websites, social media sites of the festival and on TV as part of the festival coverage if this is not expressly revoked by the submitter.

14. If more films are submitted than can be shown in the festival programs, a preliminary jury will decide on the admission to the various programs and competitions. Accepted films are divided between the different competitions and programs by the artistic festival management. The decision of the preliminary jury is final.

15. A screening fee will not be paid.

16. Festival passes and travel allowance:

Participating filmmakers have the opportunity to obtain accreditation for free and receive up to three festival passes per accepted film. All other team members can be accredited for a fee of Euro 30 per person.

One travel allowance is granted for each accepted film. The travel allowance can only be applied for once by one person, even if they have several films in the festival program. The travel allowance cannot be paid in cash but will be transferred to the person registered for it after the festival. The travel allowance for participants is from:
• Bavaria € 80
• Rest of Germany € 150
• European countries € 250
• Rest of the world € 350

Unfortunately, we cannot cover the costs of hotels and accommodation.

17. With the submission the sender agrees that his or her specifications will be stored and used in purpose of the festival and accept the regulations of the festival.

18. By submitting a film the submitter accepts all entry conditions and the privacy policy of the Landshut Short Film Festival.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • It was a great pleasure being part of this very special and professional festival! Thank you for the opportunity to show my Film „Grenzer - A Border Tale“ alongside an outstanding selection of other great shortfilms from around the whole world! I would love to be part again in the Future!

    May 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much! We are looking forward to hear from you new projects.

  • Laura Hornberger

    I loved the atmosphere in the smaller movie theater for the documentary blocks. The theater was always full, great questions from the audience and good conversations with other filmmakers and drinks afterwards in the “Schwarzer Hahn”.

    Thank you very much for the opportunity to show “One Fat Summer”. It was a pleasure to be part of LAKFF 2025! <3

    April 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much for your nice words, we are looking forward to hearing from you in the future.

  • Chris Dohr

    Like always - it was a pleasure. Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival is without a doubt one of the best Short-Film-centered Festival in whole of Europe. Nice people everywhere, great curation, awesome networking opportunities and all in the lovely town of Landshut. A big recommendation.

    April 2025
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    Response from festival:

    The honor is on our side. It was a great pleasure meeting you again at the festival in Landshut. We look forward to your next film!

  • Astrid Rothaug

    Fantastic festival, thank you for letting me and my film be part of this years program!

    March 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much for your nice words and it was a pleasure to screen your fantastic film!

  • I travelled to Landshut for the Short Film Festival with two cast members and we had a great time! Our short film "Lichtblick - Glimmer of Hope" was shown in a DACH Competition block and was included in a special screening for a 60+ audience - this was my favourite moment.

    The communication with the festival was always fast and efficient. I massively appreciated them offering a flat fee for my travel costs.

    Looking forward to coming back soon!

    March 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much for your nice words! We´re looking forward to watch your new film.