Leiden Essay Film Festival Highlights 5 KABK Graduates
LEFF: Leiden Essay Film Festival
On 19 September, the second edition of the Leiden Essay Film Festival will open. Following the successful first edition in 2025, which was marked by a vibrant atmosphere and packed cinemas, the festival has been extended by one day, with screenings featuring live music and film performances added to the programme. The festival will take place through 22 September at Cinema Kijkhuis and Museum De Lakenhal.
A total of 44 essay films – features and shorts – from more than 20 countries around the world will be screened. The programme includes recent productions by young and emerging filmmakers, as well as prominent classics such as Far from Vietnam, a collective project by Chris Marker, Jean-Luc Godard and others; Thom Andersen’s acclaimed Los Angeles Plays Itself; and A.K.A. Serial Killer by radical Japanese filmmaker Masao Adachi.
KABK Graduates Present Their Work
Of the 41 participating filmmakers and artists, five are graduates of the KABK, including the internationally acclaimed artist and filmmaker Sara Rajaie, who is being honoured with a special ‘In Focus’ programme.
Other participants from the KABK are more recent graduates: Cyan Bae, Esther van der Heijden and Sara-Rose Antoun. Tusharr Madhavv, a filmmaker from our PhDArts programme offered in collaboration with Leiden University, will also feature.
What is an essay film?
The essay film is an adventurous genre practised by both artists and scholars. Filmmakers follow their personal curiosity as they question phenomena and events, reflecting on them in a thoughtful and idiosyncratic way.
Festive opening
The festival opens with a lecture by researcher and filmmaker Kevin B. Lee. A pioneer of the genre, Lee has made nearly 400 video essays and introduced the term “desktop documentary”.
He is Professor of Future of Cinema at Università della Svizzera italiana and the Locarno Film Festival. In his lecture, Lee explores how essay films can engage with the invisible systems of data and algorithms that have become influential in our digital society:
“The essay film reflects through images. But how can the essay film reflect on a world in which forces shaping our lives operate beyond what images can show?”
The opening will take place on Saturday, 19 September at 2:00 p.m. at Museum De Lakenhal.