About BIFF

 It doesn't matter what you're into, the St.George Bank Brisbane International Film Festival (St.George Bank BIFF) has something for everyone.

St.George Bank BIFF provides a focus for film culture in Queensland by showcasing the best and most interesting cinema from around the world. Each year St.George Bank BIFF draws film enthusiasts to view an entertaining mix of local and international films, retrospectives and colourful events that embrace the vibrant art of filmmaking.

Since the first festival in 1992, more than 275,500 film-goers have immersed themselves in the St.George Bank BIFF experience. St.George Bank BIFF has become a well-renowned Australian festival, launching films like The Full Monty, The Usual Suspects, Doing Time for Patsy Cline, Feeling Sexy, Gettin' Square, In America, A Prairie Home Companion and Fay Grim.

St.George Bank BIFF continues to present a diverse range of spectacular and celebrated feature films from around the world, powerful documentaries, films on filmmaking, retrospectives, animation, experimental work, late night thrillers, children's films, a short film competition and much more. The festival prides itself on showcasing work from the Asia Pacific region.

Past retrospectives have included tributes to Abel Ferrara, Agnès Varda, Dennis Hopper, Hiroshi Shimizu, Jackie Chan, Jacques Demy, Jean Cocteau, Joseph Losey, Larry Cohen, Roman Polanski, Seijun Suzuki, Stanley Kubrick, Tsui Hark, Yasujiro Ozu, Shoot Shoot Shoot - The First Decade of the London Film-Makers' Co-operative and A Lens on the Beat Generation.

 St.George Bank BIFF draws movies from a dynamic and global palette, and covers categories that meet the tastes and needs of a broad film going audience, including:

  • World Cinema
    New releases from around the globe
  • Asia Pacific Focus
    New releases from the exciting powerhouses of Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan
  • Australian Focus
    New releases and Queensland new filmmakers' work
  • Retrospectives
  • Late Night Sessions
  • Animation
  • Documentaries
  • Films on Filmmakers

 An important feature in the St.George Bank BIFF programme each year is the presentation of the Chauvel Award, which acknowledges and commemorates an outstanding contribution to Australian cinema.

St.George Bank BIFF also presents the FIPRESCI and NETPAC Awards for Asia Pacific Cinema and the INTERFAITH Award.

The patron of St.George Bank BIFF is Australian director George Miller (Babe 1 and 2, Mad Max, Witches of Eastwick and Happy Feet).


St.George Bank BIFF has been visited by some of the best international and local filmmakers, from Agnès Varda in BIFF's first year to Rolf de Heer in BIFF's sixteenth year. Other guests include, Jack Thompson, Amol Palekar, Bryan Brown, David Helfgott, Tony Ayres, David Wenham, Garin Nugroho, Kevin Spacey, Kihachiro Kawamoto, Larry Cohen, Maggie Cheung, Olivier Assayas, Sam Worthington, Sasha Horler, Stanley Kwan, Susie Porter, Tien Zhang Zhang, and Toni Collette.

The Warner Roadshow Studios Queensland New Filmmakers Awards is presented in conjunction with St.George Bank BIFF.