LIFF Spring Film Weekender returns from 21-23 March

You don’t have to wait a whole year for your next LIFF experience as we now present two mini film festivals before the main event returns in November: the LIFF Spring Film Weekender in March with three days of previews and exclusive screenings at Vue in The Light; and Cinema on the Square in August with outdoor screenings on the giant concert stage on Millennium Square as part of Summer Series. Leeds International Film Festival returns for its 39th edition from 6-23 November 2025.

LIFF Spring Film Weekender 2025 arrives at the very start of spring this year, running from 21-23 March. We present 9 acclaimed features, including previews of films released in the UK this spring and exclusive screenings of films only showing at the Weekender like Souleymane’s Story, The Mohican, In Vitro, and The New Year That Never Came.

If you want to see several films in the Weekender, you can save with our ticket bundles: 2 films for £18/£16 concession (£9/£8 per film); 3 films – £24/£21 concession (£8/£7 per film); or 4 films for £30/£26 concession (£7.50/£6.50 per film). If you want to book between 5 and 9 films, you can still save with £7.50/£6.50 per ticket. Ticket bundles apply to different films only and can't be used to buy multiple tickets for the same film. Discounts apply at checkout.

This year’s Weekender opens on Friday 21 March with Souleymane's Story, a gripping social drama set on the streets of Paris about an asylum seeker in a race against time to stop his deportation. Also on the Friday, we present Santosh, a captivating procedural crime thriller set in rural Northern India.

On Saturday 22 March, the day starts with Holy Cow, an authentic, touching and rousing French rural tale about a teenager’s adventures with friends, girlfriends, and cheesemaking. The Mohican, receiving its UK Premiere at the Weekender, is a thrilling man-on-the-run drama set in the beautiful island landscapes of Corsica. Blue Road - The Edna O’Brien Story is an intimate and insightful film about the sensational life of Irish author Edna O’Brien who influenced a generation of writers. The final film on the Saturday is Dying, a darkly comic and epic family melodrama from Germany.

On Sunday 23 March, the day starts with Misericordia, a slyly subversive reinvention of the French rural drama by the director of Stranger by the Lake. In Vitro is a tense and atmospheric sci-fi thriller exploring the dangers of biotechnology. The Weekender closes with the English Premiere of The New Year That Never Came, a funny and moving ensemble drama following six very different people on the day before the fall of communism in Romania.

We hope to see you at the start of spring for this year's LIFF Weekender!