Leeds, UK – 27 October 2026 – VERSA Studios continues its partnership with Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) as a Leading Partner for the festival’s 40th edition, running from 29 October to 15 November 2026.
The partnership includes support for the Yorkshire Short Film Competition, with VERSA presenting the Yorkshire Short Film Award. For the first time, LIFF and VERSA will also host the Yorkshire Film Reception at VERSA Leeds Studios, bringing filmmakers and the wider creative community together.
Building on last year’s activity, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to championing filmmaking talent, celebrating cinema and strengthening Leeds’ position on the international film landscape.
Spanning more than 150,000 sq ft in Leeds city centre, VERSA Leeds Studios—Leeds and Yorkshire’s film and TV studios—features four sound stages, production offices, a large backlot and workshops. The site is also home to Future Artists Entertainment. Together, the organisations have contributed more than £40 million to the local creative economy and supported major feature films. They also provide end-to-end services across all aspects of feature-film production.
Recent productions filmed at VERSA Leeds Studios include Giant, starring Amir El-Masry and Pierce Brosnan; Tinsel Town, the Sky Original Christmas comedy starring Kiefer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson; and the upcoming thriller Sirius, starring Mads Mikkelsen and Finn Cole.
Richard Blair, Commercial Manager at VERSA Leeds Studios, said:
“Supporting LIFF in its 40th year is an amazing opportunity to once again connect with emerging filmmakers and celebrate the talent across our region. We’re proud to support a festival that brings the creative community together, and we look forward to building on our partnership in the years ahead.”
Chris Fell, Director of Leeds International Film Festival, said:
“As we celebrate the 40th anniversary edition of LIFF, with an epic programme of 294 films from the UK and across the world, we're thrilled to partner again with VERSA Leeds Studios as they boost support and national and international profile for the incredible creative community in the city and Yorkshire region.”
ABOUT VERSA STUDIOS
VERSA Studios is a UK-wide film, television and broadcast studio network and production services partner to the film, television and games industries, with more than 600,000 sq ft of production space across London, Manchester and Leeds. Its facilities include sound stages, television studios, motion-capture and virtual production capabilities, fibre-linked broadcast galleries and end-to-end production services.
VERSA Studios is part of VERSA Media Group, an international media group developing intellectual property and services for the global media industry.
Credits include Sky’s Tinsel Town, Amazon Prime Video’s Maintenance Required, Peaky Blinders, Marvel’s Secret Wars, ITV’s Bullseye and Cooking with the Stars, Netflix’s Building the Band and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. VERSA is also home to Big Brother, Dragons’ Den, BBC Morning Live and Blue Peter.
ABOUT LEEDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Established in 1987, Leeds International Film Festival is one of the largest annual film events in the UK and the longest, running for 18 days every November in venues across Leeds and West Yorkshire. Presenting over 250 features and shorts every year, with annual submissions of over 5000 from more than 120 countries, LIFF principally showcases and supports films from new and diverse filmmaking talent and which may not receive profile in the UK otherwise.
The LIFF programme is featured across five main sections: Official Selection for new narrative features; Cinema Versa for documentaries; Fanomenon for fantastic genre films; LIFF SHORTS; and LIFF Spotlights. LIFF has two competitions for features – in Official Selection and Fanomenon – and seven in LIFF SHORTS: Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition; World Animation Competition; British and Yorkshire Short Film Competitions; Leeds Queer Short Film Competition; Leeds Screendance Competition; Leeds Music Video Competition.
Organised by the Leeds Film team at Leeds City Council, LIFF receives principal funding from the Audience Projects Fund of the British Film Institute. Leeds Film also presents other LIFF activities year-round - like the LIFF Spring Film Weekender every April and the outdoor Cinema on the Square every July – and includes Leeds Young Film which organises Leeds Young Film Festival (LYFF) for families every Easter and the Independent Directions Film Festival (INDIs) every February.
Leeds Film is part of the Leeds Arts, Events and Venues service at Leeds City Council which organises other major events like Light Night Leeds, Leeds International Concert Season and Leeds International Beer Festival, and operates leading venues in the city like Leeds Town Hall, Millennium Square and Carriageworks Theatre.