COMPETITION 2023

JURY

LEAFF presents ten films by new, emerging filmmakers from East Asia in the Competition strand. In partnership with the Critics’ Circle, LEAFF will award the best film in Competition at the Closing Gala on 29th October 2023 at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square. Check out our stellar jury this year!

The Critics' Circle

Established in 1913, the Critics' Circle is the oldest organisation of its kind in the world, with more than 450 members who work in the UK media as critics of art and architecture, books, dance, drama, film, and music. Chaired by Rich Cline, the Film Section membership is made up of 220 UK film critics, broadcasters and writers, including the BBC's Mark Kermode, Metro's Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw, and has presented its awards annually since 1980.

Anna Smith [Head of Jury]

Anna Smith is one of the UK’s leading film critics and broadcasters. The former President of the Critics’ Circle, she has been a film critic for over 20 years, contributing to Time Out, The Guardian, Deadline Hollywood, The Hollywood Reporter, Sight & Sound, Metro and many more. She is currently the film critic for Rolling Stone UK. Anna is also host and co-founder of the podcast Girls On Film, which was listed as the ‘Best Feminist Film Podcast’ by Stylist magazine and nominated for two British Podcast Awards. Girls On Film recently celebrated five years of podcasting with a live recording at the BFI London Film Festival. Anna appears regularly on BBC TV, Radio 4 and Sky TV and has hosted hundreds of on-stage Q&As with film stars and filmmakers.

Rhianna Dhillon

Rhianna Dhillon has been a film critic for 12 years, beginning her career at BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra as their in-house film critic. Now a film and TV critic on BBC 6Music’s Breakfast Show with Lauren Laverne, Rhianna is also the BBC 5Live film reviewer and hosts the PodPod Podcast. Rhianna moderates events and Q&As for BAFTA, Disney, the BFI and others. Instagram: @rhianna.dhillon

Hanna Flint

Hanna is a film and TV critic, journalist and broadcaster, of mixed British and North African heritage. She writes for many publications including Time Out, Mashable, BBC Culture, Empire and The Guardian. She has appeared as a critic and commentator on Sky News, Sky Cinema, Channel 5 News and BBC Radio 4 among others, is the co-host of MTV Movies and the Fade to Black podcast, and a regular film premiere and red carpet host. Her first book, Strong Female Character (2022) is part memoir, part cinematic commentary, about what movies teach us.

Leila Latif

Leila Latif is Film and Television Critic, Writer and Broadcaster. She is a Contributing Editor and Columnist at Total Film and a regular at The Guardian, Little White Lies, Sight and Sound, Indiewire, The BBC and many more. She is also the host of Truth & Movies: A Little White Lies Podcast.

Julia Wagner

Dr Julia Wagner is a London-based critic, writer and lecturer. She holds a PhD in Film Studies from UCL and is a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle. Julia lectures and hosts filmmaker Q&As at cinemas, cultural centres and festivals. Her writing has been published widely, including by the British Film Institute, Sight & Sound and The Jewish Chronicle. Julia is passionate about film education and public engagement.