The Power of the Programmer: What We Look For in a Festival Film

In the world of film festivals, the word “programmer” might not sound as glamorous as “director” or “producer,” but it’s the heartbeat of everything an audience sees. Every slot, pairing, and surprise moment is the result of thoughtful, deliberate curation.

At BIFF, programming isn’t just about picking “the best” films. It’s about shaping an experience. And as we prepare for our very first edition, we’re making choices that reflect not just taste, but values.

Building a Line-Up with Meaning

Every film in a festival programme should belong — not just because it’s good, but because it contributes to the overall conversation. It’s about more than buzz or box office. We’re looking for films that feel alive. Urgent. Films that carry a point of view.

That doesn’t mean everything has to be heavy or political. It means we want stories with intention. Stories that leave something behind.

So what do we look for?

We look for honesty. A rough, raw short film that knows what it’s saying will always stand out over a polished one that doesn’t. We look for voice — not imitation. And we look for shape: how does a story hold itself from beginning to end?

“I’ve sat in screening rooms where something scrappy made me lean forward. That’s programming. It’s not about polish — it’s about pulse.”
— Steve McCarten, Festival Director

Festivals Aren’t Just About Films — They’re About Flow

Good programming is more than selecting individual films. It’s about the shape of the whole festival. How one screening leads into the next. How a comedy short makes room for a meditative documentary. How late-night programming feels different from a Sunday morning retrospective.

It’s also about giving audiences space to discover something unexpected — not just something familiar.

We want people to come out of a BIFF screening and immediately talk about what they saw — not because it was loud, but because it landed.

Curation as a Creative Act

At BIFF, we believe curation is creative. It’s not admin. It’s storytelling. The line-up should reflect the year we’re in, the town we’re in, and the conversations we want to have.

This means our programming will never just be a list of crowd-pleasers or prestige picks. It’ll include bold work. Debut filmmakers. Regional voices. Shorts that hit harder than features. And yes — strange, hard-to-define pieces that earn their place by sticking with you.

We’re building a programme that’s textured. Surprising. And grounded in the emotional and creative energy of the South Coast.

“This isn’t about what’s trendy. It’s about what feels necessary. What deserves to be in a room, with an audience, on a big screen.”
— Steve McCarten

Setting the Standard from Year One

For our first year, we’re not trying to do everything. But we are trying to do it with intention.

That means each programming choice is a small signal: about what we want to say, and who we want to say it to. And we want to say, loudly and clearly, that BIFF is a place where brave storytelling belongs.

We’re not just filling a schedule. We’re creating a conversation.

We hope you’ll join it.