Bruny Island Film Festival Announces 2026 Program

Bruny Island Film Festival 2026 brings four days of filmmaking, analogue cinema and conversations with filmmakers and industry figures.

22–25 OCTOBER 2026 | Bruny Island/Lunawannah-Alonnah Lutruwita/Tasmania

Bruny Island Film Festival (biff) runs from 22 to 25 October 2026 with a deliberately smallscale program built around filmmakers, new work, analogue film and the conversations that happen when audiences are given genuine access to the people who make cinema.

Set on Bruny Islands North, biff brings together established Australian filmmakers, emerging Tasmanian screen practitioners, experimental artists and local audiences for four days of screenings, filmmaker conversations, practical filmmaking and analogue film experiences.

At the heart of this year’s program is a rare opportunity to spend time with acclaimed Australian director Justin Kurzel, whose work includes Snowtown, Macbeth, Nitram and The Order.

Kurzel will join biff on Saturday 24 October for a screening of The Order, followed by an in-depth conversation about the making of the film and his approach to filmmaking.

The program will also feature a new Friday lunchtime conversation with Justin Kurzel, an intimate gathering being offered outside the public ticketing platform specifically for film buffs, filmmakers and serious film enthusiasts.

Rather than a conventional festival Q&A, the Friday lunch is intended as a smaller, more informal opportunity to sit around a table with one of Australia’s internationally recognised directors and talk about cinema, filmmaking and the realities of making films.

Places for the Friday lunchtime event will be strictly limited and will not be available through Humanitix. Further details on how film enthusiasts can register their interest will be released directly by biff via their Instagram account @biff_on_bruny

“biff is deliberately small. We want people to come to Bruny Island not simply to watch films, but to meet the people who make them, hear how they work and understand something of the process behind the screen. We also want attendees to experience ‘island time’ , slow down and allow for creative incubation”.

Bruny Island Film Festival

The festival opens on Thursday 22 October with Slide Night at bruny NORTH, an old-fashioned community slide night inviting audiences to bring their own memories and stories to share.

Friday turns the focus to Tasmanian screen practice, beginning with a conversation with production designer and art director Charlotte Bell, followed by a program of five new Tasmanian works and a conversation with members of their filmmaking teams.

The Friday night shorts program includes Katie Robertson’s We Don’t Have Long, Alex Laird’s The Unbearable Weight, Bailey Jackson’s Anomalous, Alex Machin’s Definitely and How to Smile music videos for Lil Darkie, and Rebecca Thomson’s A Green Affair.

The program includes a world premiere and local premieres, spanning comedy, thriller, stop motion, fantasy horror, music video and experimental work.

On Saturday, biff moves from watching film to making film.

A full-day black-and-white 16mm filmmaking workshop at Dennes Point Community Hall will be led by Tasmanian cinematographer and moving image artist Ursula Woods, experimental filmmaker Richard Tuohy and experimental filmmaker Dianna Barrie.

With only 16 places available, participants will shoot and process 16mm film, working directly with exposure, camera technique and film processing. The workshop is proudly supported by the Australian Cinematographers Society Tasmanian Branch.

Saturday evening brings biffs screening of The Order, followed by a conversation with Justin Kurzel about the making of the film and his filmmaking practice.

The film stars Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett and Marc Maron and is based on the true story of an FBI investigation into a violent white supremacist organisation in the United States.

Sunday begins with Breakfast with Stephen Abbott at Bruny Island Wild Cafe.

The screenwriter, comedian and Bruny Island resident will lead a relaxed and humorous conversation titled “Things I Learned Over 15 Years Writing Film and TV Scripts That Never Got Made”, exploring the projects that never reached the screen and the realities of getting film and television made in Australia. Audience members will also be invited to pitch their own film or television ideas.

The festival closes with an Analogue Film Screening, curated by Woods, Tuohy and Barrie, featuring experimental work projected from analogue formats, including sequences created during Saturday’s 16mm workshop.

If demand requires, the Friday night Tasmanian short film program will also be repeated on Sunday afternoon.

A FESTIVAL ABOUT THE MAKING OF FILM

biff is intentionally different in scale and approach.

There is no attempt to replicate a large metropolitan film festival. Instead, biff is interested in the space between the audience and the filmmaker , the conversation after the screening, the mechanics of a camera, the physicality of film stock, the story behind a production and the work that happens long before a film reaches a cinema. It is more of a pilgrimage than a festival.

Across four days, audiences will encounter established filmmakers alongside emerging Tasmanian practitioners and experimental artists, with the program moving between finished films, works in progress, practical filmmaking and open conversation.

Biff 2026

22–25 October 2026

bruny NORTH

18 Bruny Island Main Road Dennes Point Lunawanna Alonnah, Bruny Island Lutruwita/Tasmania

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER
6.30pm – Slide Night at bruny NORTH
Bring your memories. Community slide night and storytelling. $5 on the door. Limited capacity.

FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER
Lunchtime – In Conversation with Justin Kurzel
A small, exclusive lunch conversation for film buffs and enthusiasts. Not available through Humanitix. Limited places. Further details to be announced by biff.

6pm – Q&A with Art Director Charlotte Bell
A conversation about art direction, props, production design and working within Tasmania’s screen industry.

7pm – Tasmanian Short Film Programme & Filmmaker Conversation
Five new works, including one world premiere and three local premieres, followed by a conversation with members of the film crews. Proudly sponsored by Franks Cider.

SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER

10am–5pm – Make Film with Ursula Woods, Richard Tuohy & Dianna Barrie
A full-day black-and-white 16mm filmmaking and processing workshop. 16 participants maximum. $150 full price / $120 ACS member concession. Proudly supported by the Australian Cinematographers Society Tasmanian Branch.

7pm – The Order followed by Q&A with Justin Kurzel
A screening of The Order followed by a conversation with Justin Kurzel about the film and his approach to filmmaking.
30 people maximum. Ticketed event.

SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER 9am–11am – Breakfast with Stephen Abbott
“Things I Learned Over 15 Years Writing Film and TV Scripts That Never Got Made.” Bruny Island Wild Cafe.
Donation on the door. 40 people maximum.

11am – Analogue Film Screening
Curated by Ursula Woods, Richard Tuohy and Dianna Barrie. Narrative, music video and experimental films projected from analogue formats, including material created during the Saturday workshop.
90 minutes. Donation on the door.

After lunch – Tasmanian Short Film Programme
If demand requires, a repeat screening of the Friday night program. Donation on the door. 30 people maximum.