9th & 10th October 2026 BOURNEMOUTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

BIFF 2026 Returns to Bournemouth This October Bournemouth International Film Festival returns this October, bringing two days of independent cinema, filmmaker conversations and industry events to the town. Taking place on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October 2026, the festival will once again be centred at Hilton Bournemouth. Audiences will be able to explore a programme spanning short films, feature films, documentaries and animation, with work from both the UK and the international filmmaking community. BIFF was created to bring audiences and filmmakers together. While the festival provides an important platform for independent work, it is not an event exclusively for people working within the screen industries. It is also for anyone who enjoys discovering new stories and experiencing films beyond the usual cinema programme. Many of the films being screened have been made without the backing or marketing reach of a major studio. For audiences, that creates an opportunity to encounter distinctive voices, unfamiliar perspectives and films they may not otherwise have the chance to see on a big screen. The 2026 festival will build on BIFF’s inaugural event in 2025, which welcomed filmmakers, screenwriters, industry professionals and film lovers to Bournemouth for a packed programme of screenings and talks. This year’s festival theme is Social Realism, recognising cinema’s ability to explore real lives, communities and the social pressures shaping the world around us. The theme will run through selected areas of the programme while sitting alongside films from a wide range of genres and filmmaking traditions. Across the two days, visitors will be able to move between screenings and industry sessions, hear from people working across film and television, and meet some of the filmmakers behind the selected work. The festival will culminate in its Black-Tie Awards Night, celebrating achievement across filmmaking, performance and screenwriting. Having the festival based at Hilton Bournemouth allows BIFF to bring much of that experience together under one roof. Screening spaces, talks, hospitality and the awards ceremony can all form part of the same event, creating an atmosphere in which audiences and filmmakers continue their conversations long after a screening has ended. That sense of connection is central to the festival. Independent films are often discussed in terms of budgets, distribution and the challenges of reaching an audience. BIFF begins from a simpler idea: films are made to be seen, shared and talked about. For Bournemouth, the festival is also an opportunity to welcome visiting filmmakers and audiences while celebrating the area’s own growing screen culture. With internationally recognised creative courses, an active filmmaking community and a long association with the arts, the town provides a natural home for an outward-looking film festival. A full-day ticket costs £24.99, offering access to a day of screenings and events running from approximately 10.30am until 9.30pm on Friday and 10.30am until 11.30pm on Saturday. With multiple films and sessions taking place throughout the day, audiences can build their own festival experience around the stories and subjects that interest them most. Further programme announcements, filmmaker spotlights and details of this year’s industry sessions will be released in the run-up to the festival. Bournemouth International Film Festival takes place on 9 and 10 October 2026 at Hilton Bournemouth and surrounding venues. Tickets are available now at www.eventzilla.net/e/biff-2026-2138678738.

Stephanie Horsman Senior Film Judge 2025 We’re thrilled to welcome Stephanie Horsman to the Bournemouth International Film Festival as our Senior Judge – Film! Stephanie’s career in entertainment began in the early 1990s, shortly after earning degrees in International Relations and Broadcasting from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Returning to Los Angeles, she quickly rose from assistant to writer-producer at an independent production company, where she worked on several television series for major networks. Her creative versatility soon led her to Paramount’s Los Angeles television affiliate, where she contributed to the on-air promotions department, and later to Another Large Production, an independent company where she wrote, produced, and edited campaigns for network series as well as long-form projects for studios including Columbia Tri-Star. In 2001, Stephanie relocated to New York City, working as a freelancer on promotional, advertising, and corporate projects. She also collaborated on Grand Classics, a trans-Atlantic charity film series. Three years later, she moved to France, where she balanced raising her daughter with a new creative pursuit: screenwriting. Over several years, she completed five screenplays and helped develop a proposed television series set in Monaco. Since settling in the UK, Stephanie has continued to expand her creative path as a writer and producer with her business partner at their film company, Crimson Firefly Productions, while also cultivating a parallel career as a Thai yoga massage therapist and instructor. Her journey reflects a rare blend of storytelling, cross-cultural experience, and a passion for both artistic and personal transformation. People-arrows All Posts BIFF Judges Stephanie Horsman Joins BIFF September 23, 2025/ Stephanie Horsman Senior Film Judge 2025 We’re thrilled to welcome Stephanie Horsman to the Bournemouth International Film Festival as our… Read More Alice D. Cooper Joins BIFF July 2, 2025/ Alice D. Cooper Joins BIFF Senior Film Judge 2025 We’re thrilled to welcome Alice D. Cooper to the Bournemouth International Film… Read More Kathryn Carmichael Joins BIFF June 30, 2025/ Kathryn Carmichael Joins BIFF Senior Film Judge 2025 We’re thrilled to welcome Kathryn Carmichael to the Bournemouth International Film Festival… Read More Load More End of Content.

Discover the Films of BIFF 2025 Below you’ll find the official posters for every film screening at the 2025 edition of BIFF. From shorts to features, local stories to international premieres, this gallery is your first look at the diverse projects lighting up Bournemouth on October 3rd & 4th 2025.