TGT Meets...Steve McCarten - Festival Director of The Bournemouth International Film Festival

At TGT, we love celebrating the people shaping today’s creative industries, and few roles embody that spirit more than the Festival Director. This month, we sit down with Steve McCarten, the driving force behind The Bournemouth International Film Festival, to discuss the vision, passion, and challenges that go into curating one of the UK’s most exciting cinematic events.

What was the inspiration behind launching BIFF?

The idea came from a simple but persistent thought: where do new filmmakers really get their moment? I’ve been to so many festivals over the years, both big and small, and while they’re inspiring, I noticed there was a gap. The major festivals can feel out of reach, not just financially, but in terms of access. You can spend hundreds just on submission fees, only to feel invisible when you get there. At the other end, smaller festivals are warm and welcoming but don’t always have the infrastructure or visibility to genuinely launch a filmmaker’s career.

Bournemouth struck me as the perfect place to change that narrative. It’s a coastal town with a vibrant creative undercurrent, home to students, young professionals, and a community that loves the arts but doesn’t always get access to world-class events. The vision was to create a festival that’s both high-profile and accessible, glamorous enough to feel like a true career milestone, but grounded enough that filmmakers feel part of a supportive community. That’s the DNA of BIFF: to combine opportunity with celebration.

What inspired you to take on the role of Festival Director for BIFF?

I’ve always been motivated by the idea of building platforms for other people. My career in the creative industries has given me the chance to work on projects where visibility and storytelling make a real difference, and BIFF is essentially the culmination of that.

Taking on the role of Festival Director felt natural because I wanted to be hands-on in shaping something meaningful. It’s not just about logistics, booking venues, arranging schedules, liaising with sponsors, although there’s plenty of that. It’s about setting a vision and curating an atmosphere. My role is to create the conditions where filmmakers feel seen, where audiences are inspired, and where partners feel proud to be involved with the Arts.

It’s also personal. I know how transformative it is when someone believes in your work and gives you that first break. To be able to do that at scale, through a festival, is a privilege. Every time a filmmaker tells me that being selected has boosted their confidence or opened a new door, I’m reminded why I said yes to this.

How did you decide on the theme for BIFF 2025: Empowerment? What does it mean to you in the context of film?

Themes matter; they give a festival shape and allow both filmmakers and audiences to rally around a central idea. When we were thinking about our first year, we wanted something that captured the spirit of what BIFF is about. “Empowerment” stood out immediately.

In film, empowerment can mean many things. It’s the empowerment of filmmakers who may not have had access to resources or recognition before. It’s the empowerment of audiences who get to see their own experiences reflected on screen for the first time. And it’s the empowerment of communities when stories from their culture, heritage, or lived reality are shared with dignity and visibility.

For me personally, empowerment also speaks to the creative act itself. Every film is an act of empowerment, someone deciding that their story, their perspective, or their imagination deserves to be shared with the world. By choosing “Empowerment” as our first theme, we’re saying to filmmakers: we believe in your right to be heard.

How do you define “emerging talent” and how do you spot it?

“Emerging” is a tricky word, because it often gets confused with “inexperienced.” For BIFF, emerging talent means creators who are at a stage where recognition can truly change their trajectory. That could be a student making their graduation film, or it could be a 40-year-old who’s finally directed their first short after years of dreaming about it.

Spotting it isn’t about slickness or polish, it’s about voice. I look for work that feels distinctive, even if it’s rough around the edges. Sometimes it’s a line of dialogue that makes you pause, or a shot that lingers in your head long after the credits. Other times it’s the courage to tackle a subject others shy away from. Emerging talent is about potential and perspective; you can feel it when someone has something genuine to say and is finding their way of saying it.

For first-time filmmakers: what common pitfalls do you see in submissions, and how can they improve their chances?

One of the most common pitfalls is overcomplication. First-time filmmakers sometimes try to pack too many ideas into a short runtime, big themes, multiple storylines, stylistic flourishes. The result can feel diluted. My advice is to focus on one strong idea and execute it with clarity and passion. Less really can be more.

Another pitfall is thinking the technical aspects need to be “Hollywood-level” to make an impression. Festivals aren’t looking for perfection; they’re looking for authenticity. A powerful story told with limited resources will always outshine a glossy but soulless piece. Don’t let budget stop you from being bold.

And finally, submissions often suffer from weak supporting materials. A rambling synopsis or generic logline doesn’t do your film justice. Think of your submission as your calling card, every part of it should reflect your commitment to your story. Show us why this project matters to you, because if it matters to you, it will matter to us too.

I’ve written a book for this very reason.

First Frame: A Beginner's Guide to Making and Screening Your First Short Film
Available on Amazon and Kindle: https://amzn.to/4nJwdd2

If you could screen any film outdoors on Bournemouth beach, which one would it be?

Without hesitation, Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That film is about wonder, curiosity, and the possibility of something bigger than ourselves, all themes that resonate deeply with me.

Now imagine experiencing it by the sea, with the night sky overhead and the sound of waves rolling in. The visuals of those iconic light beams breaking through the dark would feel even more spectacular in that setting. And then there’s the communal element: dozens, maybe hundreds of people gathered on the sand, sharing that sense of awe together. That’s what cinema is about, shared experience. It would be nothing short of magical.

What opportunities does the festival create for local filmmakers and audiences?

For local filmmakers, BIFF is a launchpad. It gives them the chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with international talent, to have their work seen by industry professionals, and to access networks they wouldn’t normally have at their fingertips. It’s also about validation and being recognised at home can be the encouragement someone needs to keep going.

For local audiences, the festival is an invitation to step into a bigger cultural conversation. They’ll get to see films from around the world that would never make it to mainstream cinemas in Bournemouth, but also to celebrate the creativity on their own doorstep. That mix of global and local is powerful, it makes audiences proud of where they live while connecting them to the wider world.

And beyond the screenings, BIFF creates ripple effects. It supports the local creative economy, offers volunteering and learning opportunities, and helps position Bournemouth as a cultural hub. Our hope is that someone sitting in the audience this year might be inspired to make their own film and submit it in the years to come.

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