Come for the scenery, stay for the scenes

The Byron Bay International Film Festival kicks off its 20th edition this Friday, and we've spent the last couple of weeks with our heads deep in the program. Ten days of independent cinema, from 16 to 25 October, across Byron Bay and the Northern Rivers... and this year New Beach is stoked to be playing a part in getting people here for it.

Beyond the Screen

BBFF received the support of Destination NSW Event Development for Beyond the Screen, for a campaign to bring people from outside the Northern Rivers to town for the festival and give them a reason to stay once they're here. Reaching people to promote overnight stays, long lunches, a swim between sessions and a night or two in the hinterland, with the films as the reason to make the trip in the first place.

We’re onboard helping out with the digital side of it: strategy, audiences, Meta and Google campaigns, and the creative to bring it all to life. In our initial meet we jotted a line that stuck: “come for the scenery, stay for the scenes.” Sums it up, we reckon!

Brief to live in four days

Funding landed later than anyone would have liked, so the window was tight. The brief arrived on a Monday, J'aimee Skippon-Volke, BBFF's Festival Director, was sitting in our office on the Tuesday, and the campaign went live that Friday, just in time for the NSW Labour Day and Queensland King's Birthday long weekend.

Getting proper face to face time with J'aimee makes all the difference. She'd already done a lot of the thinking, knew which films would make people want to travel, and was happy to pull up a chair with her laptop to sort out platform access on the spot. When a client can work this collaboratively, four days starts to look doable.

From there the planning moved quickly. We built separate audiences for the Gold Coast and South East Queensland, Sydney, Melbourne and the Coffs Coast, so BBFF and Destination NSW can see exactly where interest is coming from. We’re also pairing specific films with things to do while you're in town, like a doco about horses and healing on Country matches so well with a hinterland trail ride and an overnight stay. Spend is staged week by week through to the festival's second weekend and checked daily, so the budget follows whatever is working best.

Why this one matters to us

Byron's creative culture is a big part of why New Beach calls this place home. The region has always attracted people who make things, and a festival that has backed independent filmmakers for twenty years is a big part of what keeps that spirit alive. At BBFF the filmmakers turn up in person, sit in the cinemas and take questions from the audience, which is pretty rare.

Independent film’s how a lot of important stories get told, and how a lot of filmmakers get their start. There's still nothing like a dark cinema full of strangers all watching the same story for the first time. We're stoked to play a small part in filling a few more of those seats.

New Beach crew selects

Sam's pick: Raising Superheroes + Q&A

"When award-winning journalist and mother Shannon Harvey (My Year of Living Mindfully) set out to understand why anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide are rising among young people, she found herself asking a bigger question."

Sat 24 Oct, 3pm, Brunswick Picture House. Book the session

Andrew's pick: The Best Summer

"THE BEST SUMMER is a loving scrapbook of youth, rock and friendship - a joyous, revealing time capsule of alternative music's golden era, standing as a testament to trusting your instincts and making the film only you can tell."

Sat 17 Oct, 8pm, Palace Byron Bay (also screening Sun 18 Oct in Lismore and Sat 24 Oct in Byron). Book the session

Nige's pick: The Fox (Opening Night)

This is the Opening Night film, so you get the red carpet and the premiere in one go.

"Visually striking and gloriously unpredictable, THE FOX is a twisted Australian fable about what happens when getting exactly what you wished for turns out to be the beginning of the problem."

Fri 16 Oct, 6:30pm, Palace Byron Bay. Book Opening Night

Daffers' pick: Onda Latina - Latin Wave

Daffers had a cool concept for this session, the Latino group chat blowing up… it's one of our favourite bits of creative from the campaign so far.

"A collection of South American surf films travelling through coastlines, communities and very different ways of living with the ocean."

Fri 23 Oct, 6:30pm, Stone & Wood Brewery, Byron Bay. Book the session

Grab your tickets

The full 2026 program is up on the BBFF website, with sessions running across Byron Bay, Brunswick Heads, Ballina, Lismore and beyond. Pick a few films, book somewhere to stay and make a few days of it. Come for the scenery, stay for the scenes.

Explore the program and get your tickets