The fifth incarnation of the former Halloween Short Film festival is relaunching its programme of screenings, talks and events under the new name of the London Short Film Festival. The revitalised festival takes place today through Jan 13, and extends its venues to include London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Curzon Soho, Roxy Bar & Screen and South London's trendy Amersham Arms.

The festival kicks off tonight at the ICA with a comedy night featuring live performers, DJ sets and short films featuring The Mighty Boosh and Johnny Vegas among others, and is followed by the first of 14 themed programmes of short films that constitute the core of this year's festival.

The typically diverse programme features screenings under such titles as Teenage Britain, Trick of the Light, Femmes Fantastique and Lo Budget Mayhem. Other highlights include a series on found footage, retrospectives of Jes Benstock and Asif Kapadia and even a pub quiz sponsored by Shooting People.

The festival's short documentaries programme is bolstered by a FourDocs presentation and Paul Rachman's feature American Hardcore.

Other supporters of the festival include BBC Film Network and the UK Film Council which will present Challenging Visions, a showcase of shorts from Cinema Extreme, Digital Shorts and the Completion Fund -followed by a networking session.

LSFF concludes on the 13th with an Awards ceremony at the Amersham Arms, followed by bands and DJ's made up of contributors to the festival.

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