Opening films announced for LIFF 2026

We’re very excited to reveal the opening films of the 40th anniversary edition of Leeds International Film Festival, 29 October to 15 November 2026.

The LIFF 2026 Opening Film is highly-acclaimed indie marvel Mouse from directors Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson who also collaborated on Saint Frances (2019) and Ghostlight (2024). One of the LIFF team’s favourite films of the year, Mouse is a heartbreaking and humorous coming-of-age story set in the early 2000s about the complexities of navigating loss.

Opening the Fanomenon genre programme section at LIFF 2026 is the much-anticipated Wicker from directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. Starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård (also a former student at Leeds Beckett University), Wicker is a dark and delightful folk fable about a reclusive fisherwoman who places an order for a perfect wicker husband.

A stirring portrait of a Leeds punk rock band opens the Cinema Versa documentary programme section at LIFF 2026. From Leeds filmmaker Ben G. Brown, Ultimate Thunder follows the band - comprised of musicians with learning disabilities, down syndrome and autism - as they defy odds, embrace resilience, and chase their dream of performing for a festival crowd.

The first-ever Family Opening Film at LIFF, presented with Leeds Young Film Festival, is Iron Boy, a gorgeously-handpainted childhood drama for all ages from French animator Louis Clichy. In a farming family in rural France, Christophe (10) must wear an iron corset to keep himself upright. Forced to reinvent his life away from the farm, Christophe discovers a new passion for music.

The full LIFF 2026 programme will be online from 1 October, with passes available to buy, and tickets will be on sale from 8 October.