Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF)

Overview

The Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) is Norway's second largest film festival, held over nine days each October in Bergen. The 2026 edition runs October 14 to 22. BIFF screens approximately 120 feature-length films per edition, with roughly half being documentaries, making it one of the largest documentary festivals in the Nordic region. Annual admissions are around 60,000.

BIFF is a programming-driven festival with a documentary focus. The festival accepts open submissions for feature films (documentaries, fiction, and hybrid) free of charge - there is no submission fee. The deadline for 2026 is July 15, with notification by September 1. International short films are not accepted through open submission; only Norwegian short films and music videos are eligible for submission. Feature film submissions go through an Airtable form on the BIFF website.

The festival does not operate a film market. Its industry value is regional: BIFF provides Scandinavian audience exposure for international films and a Western Norway platform for Norwegian productions. The festival's Checkpoints section, focused on human rights documentaries in collaboration with the Rafto Foundation, is one of the most respected human rights film programs in Northern Europe.

Submission Details

BIFF accepts open submissions with no entry fee. Key details for the 2026 festival:

Films must have been produced between July 15, 2025 and July 15, 2026 to be eligible. The festival only accepts streamable video links (Vimeo or similar) as screener format. Exhibition copies must be DCP with English subtitles unless otherwise agreed. For the Norwegian competition programs, the film must have a Norwegian/Norwegian-based director or a Norwegian main producer.

Submission for the 2027 festival opens in spring 2026. All submissions go through the BIFF website.

Program Sections

BIFF programs films across the following sections:

• Cinema Extraordinaire - the main international competition for fiction films
• Documentaire Extraordinaire - the main international competition for documentary films
• Checkpoints - human rights documentary competition in collaboration with the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, consisting of 20 films with 8 in competition
• Gulluglen (The Golden Owl) - science and research documentary competition in collaboration with the University of Bergen, with a 25,000 NOK prize
• Norwegian Documentary Program - competition for best Norwegian documentary and best Norwegian short documentary
• Norwegian Short Film Competition - competition for best Norwegian short fiction film
• Norwegian Music Video Competition - competition for best Norwegian music video
• BIFF Ung - films for young audiences, selected by the program council
• Klimafestivalen - climate-focused film program

Awards and Prizes

BIFF presents jury prizes across its competition sections:

• Best International Film (Cinema Extraordinaire) - jury prize for fiction
• Best International Documentary (Documentaire Extraordinaire) - jury prize for documentary
• Checkpoints Award - selected by a jury from the human rights competition program, awarded since 2010. The prize is awarded to the organization or cause depicted in the winning film
• Gulluglen (Golden Owl) - 25,000 NOK, awarded by a jury of University of Bergen academics to the best science/research documentary
• Best Norwegian Documentary
• Best Norwegian Short Documentary
• Best Norwegian Short Fiction Film
• Best Norwegian Music Video
• Audience Award

Notable past Checkpoints winners include "The Act of Killing" (2013, dir. Joshua Oppenheimer), "For Sama" (2019, dir. Waad Al-Khateab and Edward Watts), "Welcome to Chechnya" (2020, dir. David France), and "Writing With Fire" (2021, dir. Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Gosh).

Checkpoints Human Rights Program

The Checkpoints section is BIFF's most internationally recognized program. Founded in 2007 in collaboration with the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, Checkpoints screens 20 films focused on human rights issues, with 8 selected for competition. The Checkpoints Award has been presented since 2010 and is one of the main prizes at BIFF.

The Rafto Foundation, based in Bergen, awards the Rafto Prize for Human Rights annually. The Checkpoints program at BIFF extends this mission into documentary cinema, programming films that address political freedom, social justice, human rights violations, and activist movements. The prize is awarded to the organization or cause depicted in the winning film rather than to the filmmaker directly.

Gulluglen (Golden Owl)

The Gulluglen competition, presented in collaboration with the University of Bergen, awards 25,000 NOK to the best documentary that demonstrates outstanding research communication. Five films compete each year, with the winner selected by a jury of University of Bergen academics. The program has been running since 2014. The 2025 winner was "Blame," a documentary about COVID-19 conspiracy theories and research. Past editions have featured filmmaker Ian Cheney multiple times, including "The Most Unknown" (2018), "Picture a Scientist" (2020), and "The Arc of Oblivion" (2023).

Festival History

BIFF was founded in 2000 and has grown into one of Norway's most significant cultural events. The festival takes place at Bergen kino and partner venues across Bergen, Norway's second-largest city. Bergen is known for its fjords, surrounding mountains, and creative community of artists and musicians.

The festival runs annually in October, positioned alongside Tromso International Film Festival (January) and the Gothenburg Film Festival (January/February) on the Scandinavian festival calendar. BIFF is the largest of these in terms of documentary programming. The 2025 edition ran October 15 to 23, and the 2026 edition runs October 14 to 22.

What Filmmakers Should Know

BIFF's free submission policy is unusual for a festival of its size. If you have a feature-length documentary or fiction film completed within the eligibility window, there is no financial barrier to submitting. The lack of a submission fee does not indicate low selectivity - the festival programs approximately 120 films from a larger pool of submissions.

For Norwegian filmmakers, BIFF is the most important festival in Western Norway. The Norwegian competition programs (documentary, short fiction, music video) provide domestic exposure and jury recognition. For international filmmakers, BIFF offers Scandinavian audience exposure but limited industry market activity. The Checkpoints section is the most valuable program for human rights documentaries seeking Nordic audience engagement.

International short filmmakers cannot submit to BIFF through open submissions. Only Norwegian short films and music videos are accepted. International features (60+ minutes) in documentary, fiction, or hybrid form are eligible.

See Also

Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. Estimate your acceptance probability with the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For international film market strategies, see International Film Markets. For festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy. Submit through the BIFF submission page.