Braziers International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual three day independent film festival held at Braziers Park in Oxfordshire, UK. Programmed by filmmakers, the festival features several curated programmes of international films, plus special focus screenings, discussions and events.

Screened inside Braziers’ historic 17th century barn, the diverse film programmes include documentary, animation, fiction and contemporary artists’ film & video. The films are selected from an open call by a team of artist-filmmakers, who run the festival as a not-for-profit collective, on behalf of Braziers Park, the UK's longest-running 'intentional community' and educational charity.

Each programme screening is followed by group discussion and Q&A with attending film-makers, who are invited to Braziers. Special Focus screenings and events have included artist-filmmakers Jumana Manna, Julia Parks, Amy Cutler, Bea Haut, Karel Doing, Mary Stark & David Chatton Barker (Folklore Tapes / Analogue Farm), and BEEF (Bristol Experimental Expanded Film).

With an extensive eco-campsite, festival-goers can enjoy the peaceful 57 acres of rural grounds at Braziers Park, including kitchen gardens, orchards, woodlands, meadows, an eco campsite, and the Georgian gothic charms of Braziers Park house.

About Braziers Park:
Braziers Park School of Integrative Social Research is an ecologically-minded community, a residential college and an architectural treasure hidden deep in the south Oxfordshire countryside. It was founded in 1950 as a progressive, not-for-profit educational trust, and is the UK's longest-running 'intentional community', which continues to explore co-existence, collective work and our place in nature. Braziers' community members share responsibility for running the mansion house, 55 acres of land, organic kitchen garden and livestock, facilitating courses and organising events assisted by visiting volunteers from around the world.
Documentary on Braziers Park: https://vimeo.com/221863085

Braziers International Film Festival is a not-for-profit festival organised on behalf of Braziers Park School of Integrative Social Research, an exempt charity. The festival is a member of Film Hub South East, part of the BFI Film Audience Network.

Awards & Prizes

The Glaister Award:

Voted by the audience, the festival will present a film-maker with the 'Glaister Award'. Named after the founder of Braziers, Norman Glaister, the award recognises a film which makes a positive contribution to social development and action in the world today.

Rules & Terms

Submissions are open to films of every genre, in any length - including experimental, documentary, drama, comedy, expanded cinema, horror, sci-fi, animation, music and low-budget work. The programme is selected by a team of artist-filmmakers, who have a particular focus on contemporary artists' moving image work, but who are also looking for a diverse range of films in any genre.

The festival will comprise of several short film programmes, alongside features and live performances, held over 3 days.

Entries are open to both the UK and international filmmakers with an entry fee of £8 per film submitted (early deadline). The festival is not-for-profit, with all revenue used to cover the costs of hosting the event at Braziers Park.

All entries must be in English or contain English subtitles.

Work-in-progress films are also welcome. In a spirit of inclusivity, there is no premiere status required, and the festival welcomes films made in any year.

Should your film be selected, you will be required to provide an H.264 screening file of your film (25fps), sent via Vimeo file or downloadable link.

Filmmakers who have their work selected will be invited to Braziers Park to attend the festival and participate in a Q&A following their screening. Accommodation or camping, with meals, are provided to filmmakers by Braziers Park for the duration of the festival.

Once selected and notified, filmmakers cannot withdraw their work from the festival programme, unless we are notified within 7 days of the official selection notification.

PLEASE NOTE: due to the volume of entries received, we cannot give individual feedback on submissions. The festival is not-for-profit, and we cannot provide submission fee waiver codes, unless a film is directly invited by the festival programmers.
15 Reviews
Overall Rating
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Hospitality
Networking
  • Charlotte Ginsborg

    A really engaging and thought provoking festival, with a diverse and high quality programme. I attended the weekend and the atmosphere was friendly, welcoming, enabling a lot of opportunity for discussion between filmmakers and audiences. The setting is quite magical and the food was amazing. I am looking forward to attending in the future.

    September 2024
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  • Sara Bonaventura

    Happy to be featured! The quality of the programme was very high, the festival communication was excellent. They offered hospitality, accomodation and meals, at Braziers Park in Oxfordshire and a little support for travel expenses. Unfortunately I could not attend in person due to work commitments, but I hope that Nick Jordan and the curatorial team keep organizing it, to visit next year!

    September 2024
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  • Eleanor Capstick

    Really special festival. Spent the whole weekend camping at Braziers Park and really enjoyed settling into the company of the other attendees that way. The shared meals and fireside Q&A made it really easy to start up conversations and I left with my brain buzzing.

    September 2024
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  • Liberty Smith

    A unique and friendly film festival, within a beautiful rural setting. The ethos is felt in a hundred small touches everywhere - from hand written signs and communal homemade meals to intimate Q&As that you gather around some picnic tables for. Great conversations about film (and everything else!) are encouraged at every turn. Hope to return x

    September 2024
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  • boredom research

    Super festival, with a well curated line up! This is more than a festival, its a wonderful retreat. Set in an amazing location, with plenty of time to network in between the screenings with fellow film-makers & artists. We were honoured to screen our film 'The Cavanoids Dance' alongside such stunning and powerful films. Thanks Braziers Team for the lovely welcome and weekend :)

    September 2024
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