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.
