With a selection of films reflecting the best of contemporary cinematic production, the LEFFEST'23 programme will go beyond the boundaries of cinema to build bridges with other arts and disciplines. As always, audiences will be able to count on a wide range of initiatives, the presence of big names in art and culture and the creation of a platform for debate, in an interdisciplinary approach that has become the hallmark of the event.

The programme for the new edition was announced on Friday 13 October at a press conference at Lisbon City Hall by festival director Paulo Branco, accompanied by the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas. 

The opening film will be Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos, winner of the Venice Film Festival. LEFFEST - Lisboa Film Festival will also present the Portuguese premieres of the winning films from Cannes (Anatomie d'une chute by French filmmaker Justine Triet), Locarno (Critical Zone by Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh) and San Sebastián (The Horn of the Rye by Jaione Camborda).

The festival's competition features 10 films, including works by established auteurs such as Víctor Erice, Cerrar los ojos, Cristi Puiu, MMXX, and auteurs with established careers such as Cédric Kahn, Le Procès Goldman or Radu Jude, Ne pas trop attendre de la fin du monde, first and second works, including Rodrigo Moreno's Los Delincuentes and Weston Razooli's Riddle of Fire, and the premieres of Elena Martín Gimeno's Creatura, Ilya Povolotsky's Grace and Mika Gustafson's Paradise is Burning. Paulo Abreu's Ubu will mark the Portuguese presence in this competition.

This year's jury is chaired by director Elia Suleiman, and will also include actress and director Fanny Ardant, musician and composer Nitin Sawhney, writers Rachel Kushner and Giorgi Gospodinov, director and photographer Khalik Allah, and artist Adriana Molder.

Find out more about the rest of the programme and the festival here: LEFFEST - Lisboa Film Festival