BIAFF was founded on the belief that cinema has the power to bring people together, open new perspectives, and create meaningful connections across borders. From its home in Batumi, the festival has grown into a space where Georgian and international cinema meet, where established filmmakers stand alongside emerging voices, and where audiences are invited not simply to watch films, but to experience cinema as a living form of artistic and cultural exchange. At the heart of BIAFF is a commitment to independent, auteur, and art-house cinema — to films that challenge conventions, explore the complexity of human experience, and offer stories that might otherwise remain unseen.

Our mission is to create an open and inspiring environment for filmmakers, artists, film professionals, students, and audiences to discover, discuss, and celebrate cinema. Through its international competitions, Georgian programmes, retrospectives, special focuses, masterclasses, discussions, and professional encounters, BIAFF creates opportunities for different generations and cinematic traditions to come into conversation. We believe that a film festival is more than a programme of screenings: it is a meeting place for ideas, perspectives, and people. Every film can begin a conversation, every conversation can create a connection, and every connection can contribute to a stronger and more diverse film culture.

BIAFF is committed to presenting cinema in all its diversity. The festival brings together films from different countries, cultures, generations, and artistic traditions, giving audiences the opportunity to encounter perspectives that may be unfamiliar to them. We value stories that are personal as well as universal, intimate as well as ambitious, and traditional as well as formally adventurous. By creating a programme that embraces different cinematic languages and approaches, BIAFF seeks to encourage curiosity and a deeper understanding of the world through the perspectives of its filmmakers.

Supporting emerging filmmakers is an essential part of this mission. New voices are vital to the future of cinema, and BIAFF aims to provide a platform where filmmakers at different stages of their careers can present their work, meet audiences, exchange experiences, and establish professional connections. The festival values the energy, experimentation, and new perspectives brought by emerging artists while continuing to create space for experienced filmmakers whose work has shaped contemporary cinema. By bringing these voices together, BIAFF encourages an environment of mentorship, exchange, and discovery.