By Claire Orfield, Bates College Class of 2026 This week, the Board of Directors had quite a daunting decision to make for the festival – selecting the final list of films to screen. Months ago, we split ourselves into two teams to make the film-watching process more digestible: documentary and fiction. It was time to…

By Isabella Sandoz, Bates College Class of 2026 Over the course of the semester, our class has watched several different films in our respective groups of fiction and documentary film viewing. This week, after several discussions, we choose which films, out of the ones that we watched within our groups, that we feel would be…

By Kira Yanagi, Bates College Class of 2027 Half of the semester has passed by with the welcoming of brief sunlight and a hint of spring. Although they often fade away ephemerally underneath the silent snow, resembling the ebb and flow of a tide, the notice of their presence is just enough for us to…

By Nate Shore, Bates College Class of 2027 When we think of watching movies, most of us are used to selecting our chosen film from a seemingly endless collection and pressing play, or on special occasions, going to the movie theater. However, when choosing films for a festival like the Bates Film Festival, we are…

By Samantha Manogue, Bates College Class of 2026 How do we attract an audience to the Bates Film Festival? The audience of a film festival is undoubtedly one of, if not the, most important factors to consider when constructing a festival. How do we get people interested in the works, into the seats, engaged in…

By Aidan Bergeron, Bates College Class of 2027 As the 2026 Bates Film Festival continues to develop, I am often reminded of the prior iterations of the festival that have gotten us to where we are today, this year being the 5th BFF. What started as a small event, held only on campus, has grown…

By Siena Bird, Bates Class of 2026 Alumni engagement is a key aspect of the Bates community and something that brings great value to our festival. Building community is central to the BFF’s mission, and by including alumni work in our programming, we continue to support the careers of Batesies while also maintaining and strengthening…

By Eli Greenwald, Bates Class of 2026 How do film festivals influence each other? There are so many film festivals all over the world, and they are always in conversation. In just four short weeks of working on the Bates Film Festival, I have learned that each festival has its own purpose – a narrative,…

By: Sam Mallon, Bates Class of 2026 Things are ramping up in the “Film Festival Studies” (RFSS 391) seminar this week. We have a long list of impressive films being considered for the final festival slate, and we have devoted time to writing our bios for the website, selecting our poster, and finalizing our mission…

Here it is!!! Announcing the Official 2026 Bates Film Festival poster! We hope you love it as much as we do! Thanks to our friends at @gravillisinc for their creativity, brilliance, and generosity. We can’t stop staring at this!