THE UK’s FESTIVAL FOR NEW CINEMA & ARTISTS’ MOVING IMAGE

Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival (BFMAF) is the UK’s foremost festival for new cinema and artists’ moving image. BFMAF presents a diverse programme of screenings, events, workshops, and exhibitions each year.

Motivations

BFMAF presents adventurous and risk taking cinema from around the world. It creates a platform that seeks to empower people and provide a generous place for the exploration of ideas and new perspectives.

“A work in progress”, leading through collaboration, the Festival has a resolute commitment to the mutual development of the artists, audiences, filmmakers, and programmers that make the festival possible.

The Festival enacts pluralist ideas of contemporary cinema, its history, and its curation; and continually works towards testing the boundaries of what a festival can be.

Programming selects from a broad range: short, medium, and feature-length films encompassing arthouse, documentary, genre cinema, artists’ moving image, sound or live, installation-based or performative works of cinema. BFMAF prefers world/UK/European premieres, and freshly restored archival titles.

Location

The Festival is based in England’s most northerly town, Berwick-upon-Tweed. In the setting of rural north Northumberland, on the border with Scotland; BFMAF is continually inspired by its borderlands, river, and coastal location.

Support for Artists

Internationally, BFMAF is recognised as a platform for the best artists’ moving image and new cinema – particularly for underrepresented filmmakers, places, and communities.

In the UK & Ireland, we support the careers of artists, filmmakers, programmers, and critics. Locally we are valued as an unique cultural asset in the North of England, with international reach, and as an active part of the community and calendar of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

BFMAF strives to understand and work towards optimal exhibition conditions for artists and filmmakers’ work within the resources and contexts it has available. In evaluating this, the accessibility of audiences and communities that it is involved with – locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally are of utmost consideration.

Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival is a Disabled led organisation committed to developing positive policies and working practices which promote Equal Opportunities and prohibit unlawful or unfair discrimination.

In recognition of these aims, we particularly encourage applications from people from the Global Majority (global majority refers to people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and/or have been referred to as “ethnic minorities”); Disabled people; and others who have experienced barriers or discrimination at work.

According to provisions in the Equality Act 2010 we will implement a ‘tie-break’ provision at interview stage if two or more candidates are equally qualified for the role and one has protected characteristics that are under-represented within our team. Where possible we will recruit the candidate with the under-represented protected characteristic(s).

Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival is Disabled led and welcomes Access Riders from candidates. We are keen to support reasonable adjustments requested during application and recruitment processes e.g. submitting an audio or video recording as equivalent to a written application, or asking for extra time at the application or interview stage.

Currently a Festival employee receives support via the UK Government’s Access to Work (AtW) scheme. This funds practical support at work for people with a disability, health or mental health condition. We are happy to support applications from others who are eligible.

If you have any access needs, or barriers to access that you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to let us know either before applying or as part of your application. Contact: hr@bfmaf.org

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