The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), celebrating its 12th anniversary and taking place December 1-12, today revealed the lineup of films screening in the festival’s competition and sidebar sections. The program was announced by BIFF Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool.

This year, the Festival will showcase more than 130 films from 40 different countries including nine international premieres, 28 Caribbean premieres, and all are Bahamian premieres.

The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative; Spirit of Freedom: Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Additional categories out of competition are World Cinema Narrative and World Cinema Documentary; Caribbean Spotlight Narrative and Caribbean Spotlight Documentary; Comedy; and non-Jury Short Films.

There will be special screenings throughout the Festival of Brian Klugman’s “Baby Baby Baby”, Ben Bowman’s “Knucklehead”, Daryl Wein’s “Consumed”, Julien Leclercq’s “The Crew”, Samuel Benchetrit’s “Asphalte” (Macadam Stories)” and Jean Michel Costeau’s “The Secret Ocean”.

“More than 500 films were submitted to BIFF this year and those films selected shape the festival and its overall global vision,” said Leslie Vanderpool, founder and Executive Director of BIFF. “The Bahamas International Film Festival is one of the world’s leading Caribbean film festivals. As the cultural gateway to the Caribbean, a region that is nascent and erupting for stories to be shared, it is important for BIFF to showcase films that speak to the country, the world and to our souls. Filmmakers expose the audiences to the world, raising social consciousness. The question of freedom of expression is crucial, especially with January’s events in France, the continuing debate over gun control in the USA, and the increasing tensions over immigration and wars of religion and values in Europe and Asia. This is the reason that BIFF is continuing for the 12th year the Spirit Of Freedomcategory.

“For 12 years, the Bahamas International Film Festival has offered a platform to promote diverse culture, introducing the film industry to our region and providing an economic booster to The Bahamas. The Festival has upgraded the scale of its events and in turn, its social impact through the years, and also helped substantially in promoting cultural exchanges and professional collaborations.”

The official BIFF feature lineup is comprised of the following films:

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY (Sponsored by CornèrTrader)

In addition, a list of the 94 short films screening at the festival in and out of competition can be found online at http://www.bintlfilmfest.com/the_festival/film_guide/program/89

BIFF 2015 kicks off on Tuesday, December 1stand will run through Saturday, December 12th. For the fourth consecutive year, BIFF will be coming to Harbour Island on December 1-4, showcasing ten feature and short films and hosting the Screenwriters Residency Program. BIFF will then screen all short films in a festival-within-a-festival on Governor’s Harbour December 5-8. The Festival then concludes in Nassau with the main program lineup of features and documentaries, along with some select shorts, screening from December 9-12.

Additional announcements pertaining to the Festival and filmmakers attending will be made in the coming weeks.  For additional information, please visit www.bintlfilmfest.com.

About the Bahamas International Film Festival

The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing the local community and international festival-goers with a diverse presentation of films from The Bahamas and around the world. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs, and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. BIFF aims to raise the level of filmmaking, participation and education throughout The Bahamas and the world. For additional information, please visit www.bintlfilmfest.com.