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 info@liaf.org.uk. If you do not have a PayPal account, signing up is easy via the Paypal website.
To be considered eligible for selection in LIAF 2026, your film should have been completed AFTER 1 January 2025. 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 Film Freeway, Vimeo or YouTube and provide a link and (if applicable) password.
Pre-selection decisions regarding all entries are made by the Festival Director and a pre-selection committee. The selection process will be made by October 2026. 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.
LIAF prefers to screen from DCP, H264 or Apple ProRes digital files. Please email a TESTED copy of your film to info@liaf.org.uk via WeTransfer or another file transferring service.
If your film exists on DCP we are happy to screen from this format but we require a HD quality (at least 720p) digital back-up copy as well. All DCPs should be open and NOT require a KDM.
LIAF does not generally screen 16mm or 35mm film prints in competition however the Festival Director reserves the right to grant exemptions in exceptional circumstances and these will be considered on a case by case basis as part of the formal invitation process. Please advise the Festival Director at that time if screening from a 35mm print is an option.
All screening material must be in London by 1 October 2026.
