Brisbane International Film Festival Returns For A Bold New Era

Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) returns this November, reimagined, revitalised and ready to reclaim its place among Australia’s great celebrations of cinema. Over four blockbuster days from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 November 2025, Brisbane will transform into a city-wide stage for storytelling.

From Brisbane’s iconic Streets Beach to The Star Brisbane’s Leisure Deck, the festival heralds a new chapter that takes film far beyond the cinema walls. BIFF will be delivered for the first time by For Film’s Sake, appointed by Screen Queensland in July 2025 following a national open call.

Under the direction of Festival Director Sophie Mathisen, BIFF’s relaunch marks both a homecoming and a reimagining: 

“In reimagining BIFF, we returned to the Festival’s extraordinary legacy of prestige premieres and director delegations.

With over twenty filmmakers arriving in Brisbane, audiences will have the chance to meet and mingle with incredible industry leaders from across the globe. They can experience both new and treasured works in immersive experiences celebrating the joy, excitement and escapism of film.

We are thrilled to elevate BIFF to a globally connected, globally relevant Festival that showcases Queensland’s preparedness for the eyes of the world.” 

That renewed sense of ambition will be felt most vividly in BIFF’s five major cinematic events, setting a new benchmark for how Queensland experiences film. 

BIFF commences at Howard Smith Wharves on Thursday 27 November with an exclusive black-tie Gala to celebrate the Australian premiere of Agon. The film marks directorial debut of Italian filmmaker and son of fashion giant Miuccia Prada, Giulio Bertelli. 

World premiering at Venice, Agon follows three female Olympians preparing for a fictitious 2024 Olympics. The film highlights the political, social, technological and physical challenges that dominate the top tier of sports and competition.

On Friday 28 November, audiences will relive the high kicks and spirit fingers of cheerleading classic, Bring It On atThe Star Brisbane’s Leisure Deck. The film’s original director Peyton Reed (Ant-Man, Yes Man) will join the 25^th anniversary celebration as a special guest, signalling the Festival’s ambition to attract Hollywood-calibre talent to Brisbane’s shores. 

BIFF then takes to Streets Beach at South Bank on Saturday 29 November for a floating double bill under the stars. It will pair the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws with Beasts of War, the Brisbane-shot adrenaline-fuelled thriller from Australian writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner. 

Across the river on Saturday, BIFF will also host the Australian premiere of A Life Illuminated, an acclaimed documentary profiling ocean explorer and marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder. 

In the special family screening, The Star Brisbane’s Leisure Deck will be transformed for the film into a shimmering underwater world for an all-ages Glow Rave. It will feature immersive light installations and special performances by Brisbane’s own Dead Puppet Society.

The Festival will close on Sunday 30 November at the South Bank Piazza with a cinematic symphony of film and sound for the Queensland premiere of It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley. The new documentary celebrates the life and artistry of the late singer-songwriter. 

The film will be followed by a live concert performance of Buckley’s iconic Grace album. Taking to the stage are Queensland music legends Jack Carty, Asha Jefferies, Jaguar Jonze, Moreton, Mark Moroney, Katie Noonan, Tyrone Noonan, Sue Ray and Jude York. 

Beyond its headline events, BIFF’s 2025 program features 60+ films, including 29 Australian premieres. They are all curated to evoke one of six core emotions: Be Delighted, Be Moved, Be Afraid, Be Ignited, Be Challenged and Be Surprised.

The program is a sensory journey through the full spectrum of human experience, from Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, an electrifying meditation on loyalty and retaliation, to Takashi Miike’s Blazing Fists, an audacious blend of martial arts and surrealism from Japan’s most prolific provocateur.

Direct from its Venice premiere, Hungarian auteur Ildiko Enyedi’s latest, Silent Friend, starring Tony Leung and Léa Seydoux, highlights the strength of human relationships with the natural world.

Retreat marks the directorial debut of British talent Ted Evans. It is the first feature film starring an all-deaf cast and promises both thrills and introspection in this contemporary thriller, with the director in attendance.

Fans of Europe’s enfant terrible Radu Jude can enjoy not one but two titles; the Berlin-award winning Kontinental ’25 as well as the Australian premiere of the Locarno-premiering Dracula, an irreverent and satirical opus dismantling contemporary fascination with the Transylvanian myth. 

US director of Veep and Eastbound & Down, Stephanie Laing will travel for the first time down under with the International Premiere of her Rose-Byrne starrer Tow. The film chronicles the story of an unhoused woman who fights to have her impounded car returned to her. 

Direct from Tribeca is Egyptian filmmaker Sarah Goher’s astonishing debut, Happy Birthday. It is a poignant and unflinching drama that follows eight-year-old Toha, a child maid for a wealthy Cairo family, as she forms a bond with her employer’s daughter and yearns for a celebration of her own. 

BIFF 2025 also celebrates works from homegrown talent, including South-East Queensland local Jayden Martin’s FLATHEAD. It’s a story of an ageing man returning to his Queensland hometown, seeking redemption through friendship, faith and quiet resilience. 

Of the 60+ titles, roughly 42% are directed by women; an important reflection of BIFF’s commitment to diversity across its program. Complementing these is a powerful collection of six films curated by BIFF programmer Maria Lewis. They amplify bold storytelling from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and Indigenous filmmakers from around the world.

Returning to BIFF after nearly two decades, Academy Award winner George Miller (Mad Max, Babe, Happy Feet) reclaims his role as Festival Patron in a symbolic gesture of continuity and renewal. 

2025 introduces a new festival legacy, the Patron’s Pick, to help frame and explain the year’s curatorial lens. Focusing on reinvention, Miller selected Robert Altman’s 1970 black comedy M*A*S*H, reflecting Miller’s enduring belief in the power of laughter and satire to make sense of chaos. 

George Miller said:

“This movie, so wildly subversive, had a huge cultural impact. In the same way Kubrick’s ‘Dr Strangelove’ did before it and PTA’s ‘One Battle After Another’ seems to be doing today, it resonated deeply with the Zeitgeist. 

These interactions are essential to the nourishment of any culture. South Korea, for example, has a very high rate of Cinema attendance – partly because it happens to have so many film festivals. This, in turn, helped fuel the rise of Korean cinema globally.”

Queensland Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the Festival’s relaunch aligned with the Government’s Time to Shine arts policy and its focus on transformational arts and culture leading into Brisbane 2032. 

John-Paul Langbroek said:

“We want BIFF to be a festival for everyone. One that reactivates the city, strengthens our creative economy and celebrates Queensland as a place where stories are made, shared and loved. This is exactly the kind of cultural moment that will carry us toward 2032 and beyond.”

This spirit of cultural vitality informs the vision of Screen Queensland CEO Jacqui Feeney, who sees BIFF’s reinvention as both a celebration of Queensland’s creative ambition and a catalyst for deeper engagement between audiences, artists and industry.

Jacqui Feeney said:

“This reimagining of BIFF reflects Screen Queensland’s creative confidence and ambition for the screen sector. We wanted a film festival that was distinctly Brisbane and matched the momentum happening in the city.

Under fresh leadership, the Festival is expanding its scope, deepening its cultural connections and positioning Brisbane as a true global destination for cinematic storytelling right now – fun and engaging for audiences, showcasing our commitment to screen storytellers, and celebrating our lifestyle. This year’s four-day event offers a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come.”

With its bold programming, spectacular event experiences and the return of one of Australia’s most celebrated filmmakers as Patron, BIFF 2025 signals a confident new direction that cements Brisbane’s status as a city of stories and a hub of cinematic imagination.

Brisbane International Film Festival 2025 runs at Palace Centro, Palace Barracks, New Farm Cinemas, Elizabeth Street Picture House, The Star Brisbane, Streets Beach and South Bank Piazza.

Brisbane International Film Festival 2025 runs 27 – 30 November. Explore the full program and book your experience at the website link below.

Six-film Festival Passes are $119, with special event prices varying. 

Tickets: https://tix.biff.com.au/events

Website: https://biff.com.au/

Socials: https://www.instagram.com/bnefilmfest/

Hero image photo credit: Tim Levy

Screen Queensland is the Founding and Principal partner of Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF).