London Short Film Festival

Short films are where many of the greats – Martin Scorsese, Lynne Ramsay, Paul Thomas Anderson et al – got started, and for over two decades, the London Short Film Festival has been a trusty showcase of new talents and small, but perfectly formed short films. Returning for its 22nd year, the 2025 edition features a whopping 204 new shorts across more than 60 programmes, as well as a bunch of talks, workshops and walking tours. Loads of great cinemas and arts spaces across the city getting involved to host, including the BFI Southbank, the ICA, Rich Mix, the Rio and SET Peckham. Highlights of the programme include the ever-present opening night ‘Funny Shit’ programme featuring comedy flicks from the surreal to the slapstick (Curzon Soho, Jan 17), two always popular programmes celebrating of penny-pinching movie-making (‘Lo-Budget Mayhem’, Jan 20) and wildly unconventional shorts (‘WTF!’, Jan 25) at Dalston’s indie institution the Rio Cinema and the Animation Variety Show programme, featuring everything from claymation and 3D animation to stop-motion embroidery (Rich Mix, Jan 21). And in an exciting new addition to the festival, a series of free screenings will be taking place in a restored 22-seater Mobile Cinema Bus from the 1960s, which will be stoppingin Walthamstow, Hounslow and Crystal Palace.