The LIDF27 will take place in November 2027 and feature the usual mix of great films and post-film discussions alongside director masterclasses and workshops. The Call for Films is open now. We are looking for the best short and feature length documentaries from around the globe.

The LIDF is delighted to be partnering with the Alexandria Green Film Festival (AGFF). The AGFF aims to foster the concept of green cinema production between the UK and Egypt, with a focus on environmental challenges and disparities between the Global North and South. This partnership will establish a reciprocal, cross-cultural partnership between our two organisations, centred around the intersection of cinema, environmental, and social justice. Our objective is to co-develop the capacities of emerging filmmakers in both countries in green cinema production, environmental filmmaking, and activism as tools to address environmental and social justice.

Due to ongoing Covid concerns the 2021 festival will take place on-line. This will result in a slight delay. In partnership with Filmocracy we will provide an on-line platform of live screening from the 27th to 30th January and an additional two weeks of on demand viewing. Details of how to sign in and buy tickets will follow.

When Mom is Gone
Dir. Zeynep Gulru Kececiler
Winner, Best Short Film LIDF20

L’Ultimu Sognu – Last Dream in Petra Bianca (L’ultimu Sognu – Dernier rêve à Petra Bianca)
Dir. Lisa Reboulleau
Special Mention, Short Film LIDF20

Men Inside (Des Hommes)
Dir. Alice Odiot & Jean-Robert Viallet
Winner, Best Film LIDF20

One Word
Dir. Viviana Uriona
Special Mention, Best Film LIDF20

The LIDF on-line concludes this weekend. Why not use lockdown time to enjoy the full programme at your leisure. Festival Passes are available HERE!

The entire LIDF20 programme will be available on-demand in our virtual Cinema 2 (8th Feb to 22nd Feb). After 4 days of scheduled screenings in virtual Cinema 1 activities shift to Cinema 2. Choose what to watch when you want to watch up until the 22nd February. Hosted by our new sponsor FILMOCRACY.  

Click HERE to find out more and book your Festival Pass.

Programme A-Z

Programme 4th – 7th February (on demand until 22nd February)

Festival Pass

Three great films, Get your Festival Pass HERE

18.00

Living there isn´t hell, it´s the fire of the desert. The plenitude of life that stayed there like a tree (Vivir allí no es el infierno, es el fuego del desierto. La plenitud de la vida que quedó ahì como un árbol)
Javiera Veliz Fajardo | 2019 | Chile | 58
‘Living there ….’ is about the wind, birds, sweat, hands, a wheelbarrow, drought and burial. Could it be possible to disappear in the desert? Totoral is a town that disappears between its hills. a town that was born and raised by the land, by their animals and by survival. The desert is constantly mutating, the trees get drier and the men get older. These men, together with their animals, erase their footprints and their passage through time.

Le Prix Tenk, Cinema du Réel, Paris, 2019

Producer: Bárbara Pestan

19.15

Eating an Elephant (Съесть СЛОНА)
Julia Saponova | 2020 | Russian Federation | 64
“Do you know how to eat an elephant?” One bite at a time! ” Masha is 19 years old, and she dreams of becoming an actress, but it is difficult for her to overcome her shyness. However, a dream can push a person into amazing deeds. Masha comes to the inclusive theater “InterAction”, where each actor with Down syndrome has a suitable role in the new show. Now, all together, they dream of creating a vivid and beautiful performance and going on tour abroad. This is a fun story of the life of a theater troupe, youth, love and friendship, where everyone learns not only to play on stage, but passes a real test of courage, generosity and perseverance.    

World Premiere

Producer: Olesya Ovchinnikova, Igor Mishin, Dmitry Sergeev, Julia Saponova
Writer: Julia Saponova, Valeria Zadereeva

20.30

The Bamboo Bridge
Juan Francisco Salazar | 2019 | Australia | 65
Every dry season, a 1.5km bamboo bridge has been built across the Mekong River to the island of Ko Pen in Cambodia. Every year, the bridge is dismantled in the wake of the monsoonal tides and recycled for the following year. In 2017, this bridge was built for the last time when a massive new government funded concrete bridge was inaugurated as the country embraces China’s One Belt One Road initiative. Through a slow and gentle rhythm, the film engages with three generations of bridge builders who share stories of this unique sustainable infrastructure and the diverse community economies and ecologies it sustained. Focusing on the last master builder, Mr Oun, the film explores the subtle intricacies of traditional forms of sustainable living with the rhythms of local ecosystems and the cycles of bamboo. The river, the monsoon, the people, and the bridge all tell an urgent and primal story. Are we listening?

European Premiere

Production Company: Matadora Films
Producer: Alejandra Canales, Claire Fletcher

4th February – 7th February (until 21st February on-demand)

Due to Covid-19 the 2020 festival has been delayed and will take place entirely on-line in partnership with our new sponsor – Filmocracy.

The LIDF presents a diverse and stimulating line-up of the best documentaries from established and emerging talent around the globe. Truly international in scope the programme features films from 25 nations and will entertain as well as stimulate debate.

Festival Pass

Over the last ten years, the smartphone boom has put a camera in everybody’s hands and more recently put very good video shooting capabilities in those same hands. The result has been an explosion of content where one could argue everyone thinks they are a star or can make a memorable piece of content. 

Smartphones with cameras have also brought a boom in documentary filmmaking. If you have a subject you want to discuss in-depth, your phone now provides an instant avenue to creation. No matter your niche, whether its dresses of the 18^th century, an in-depth look at matched betting calculator technology, or classic movies, you can now get filming with few restrictions. 

However, just a quick browse through YouTube will show you that most people miss the basics of documentary filmmaking. Many documentary creators (especially at amateur level) ignore some fundamentals of the medium.

Below we will discuss some of the most frequent mistakes documentary creators make. 

Selecting a worthy subject

Ok, that’s a flippant title as any subject is “worth” something to someone, even if it is a small demographic. While it is important to follow your passion and seek to bring attention to it in front of a wider audience, choosing a subject matter of importance is a good first step. Sure, some great films have been made about subjects that seem mundane, but in general you have to strive to add something new to a debate. 

It is worth remembering many topics that are controversial or vital to daily life have already been covered many times. Seek something new or deliver in a different way. 

Get a theme and ask questions

You have your subject, but your plan of action is a mess. Creating a documentary that is clear in its objectives is important, and a theme can help to deliver your goals. Do you want to advocate something or denounce it?

Either way, sticking to a theme will help you drive your opinion. Of course, sometimes you might be looking for a middle ground, which is where questions are vital. You may have an opinion, but it is not definitive. Be prepared to question your findings and information. 

Poor technique

You don’t need to be Martin Scorsese to film a world-class documentary, but you should have some of the basics of film on tap. This may be as simple as understanding aspects of lighting, camera angles, and sound management. 

Documentary filmmakers are now using smartphones to film their projects, so understanding some of the fundamentals of film creation can really help. Check out local courses, which are often free, on how to do the basics of filmmaking and take your documentary’s quality up a notch.

Seek inspiration and learn 

To get a true understanding of the art, the London International Documentary Festival explores filmmaking and showcases some of the best documentaries. Documentaries at the festival show how filmmakers inspire people through asking questions, tackling tough issues, and portraying a clear vision of storytelling. 

Whether light-hearted or touching on the social-political issues of the day, documentations at LIDF can help the budding filmmaker learn and take their own projects to the next level. 

The winners of the LIDF 2019 are:

Best Film: Maelstrom
Misja Pekel | 2019 | Netherlands | 45min

Best Short Film: Dead Women’s Pass
Alexander Houghton | 2019 | Peru | 26min