Leeds Young Film Festival Launches for 2026

Tickets are now on sale for Leeds Young Film Festival 2026, taking place over the Easter holidays from 28 March to 19 April at venues across Leeds and Bradford. This year’s programme is packed with affordable family film screenings, free VR experiences and hands-on workshops.

This year, we’re introducing LYFF Cine-Takeovers at Hyde Park Picture House and Pictureville Cinema. These special screenings pair great family films with creative activities, featuring stunt performers, dancers and more. We’re delighted to welcome special guests Nathan Geering, a real-life movie stuntman and director and Holly Gibbs, dancer and artist, who will both lead fun pre-film activities at selected screenings. 

Movie Club will also return to the Carriageworks Theatre this year. Created in collaboration with Screen Yorkshire and designed for children aged 8-13, Movie Club combines inspiring short film screenings with practical workshops. Participants can explore directing, camera tricks, animation, costume design and SFX make-up.

Our free, family-friendly VR Cinema will be available at Leeds City Museum and Pictureville Cinema, with three experiences to try. Drop in the Ocean is an interactive journey beneath the surface of our planet’s most vital resource. When Something Happens is a VR short film exploring the history of the universe, from the cosmic void to the dawn of modern humanity. The Museum of Imagined Futures is an immersive exhibition of future predictions, inviting visitors to step forward in time and imagine how humans and technology might live in balance with nature.

The festival will also present a wide range of family films at venues across Leeds and Bradford, including Howard Assembly Room, Keighley Picture House, Rex Cinema and Skipton Plaza Cinema.

Join us this Easter, and celebrate cinema for all ages.