Bridport’s Film Festival – Wed 22 – Sun 26 April 2026
Full programme online from 6.30pm, Thu 12 Mar 2026
Booking for BAC supporters from 6.30pm, Thu 12 Mar
Booking for general public from 8am, Sat 14 Mar
A message from Bridport Arts Centre –
We’re delighted to announce that Chris Chibnall – screenwriter of Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, Broadchurch and Doctor Who – will be guest curator of the 2026 edition of From Page to Screen.
Chris is a BAFTA, Royal Television Society, Broadcasting Press Guild and Peabody award-winning screenwriter, executive producer, novelist and playwright whose work has been seen, read, translated and remade around the world. Most recently, Chris has written the screenplay for Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials.
Bridport is Chris’s hometown. His acclaimed drama series, Broadchurch, was filmed at numerous locations across West Dorset and his best-selling novel, Death at the White Hart (soon to be a major ITV drama with a screenplay written by Chris), is also set in the area.
“What a joy to be asked to curate this year’s From Page to Screen! It’s a brilliantly unique event, shining a light on films and the texts they originated from. As a recent debut novelist AND a recent adapter from page to screen, I’m excited to share a set of thrilling, hilarious and moving films with festivalgoers. There’ll be a film for everyone so come and join us for a five-day party of films and special events in beautiful Bridport!” Chris Chibnall
Founded in 2009 and organised by Bridport Arts Centre, From Page to Screen is the UK’s only film festival dedicated to celebrating and exploring the adaptation of books into films. Each year the festival screens a wide range of classic and contemporary films and hosts discussions with filmmakers, writers, curators and other key film industry professionals.
Previous curators of the festival have included novelist Jonathan Coe; playwright, screenwriter and director Rebecca Lenkiewicz and playwright, screenwriter and director Christopher Hampton.
We are delighted to host events on Friday 24th April and Saturday 25th April.
2026 guest curator, Chris Chibnall
Welcome friends, to Bridport’s Party of Film, 2026 edition!
I’m delighted to be your curator this year as we celebrate the art of screen adaptation via a collection of Big Screen Bangers – major and classic films which started life in other forms on the page.
We have an incredible selection, ranging from thrillers to comedies, secret agents to astronauts, acclaimed masterpieces to under-appreciated gems – all sprinkled with the best new releases. The films span a century of cinema – truly something for everyone.
Join us for our Opening Night Gala as we celebrate 60 years since John Schlesinger shot Thomas Hardy’s classic Far from The Madding Crowd here in the South West. It’s your chance to see this Dorset-set, Dorset-shot film on a Dorset big screen!
We want to hear from you if you were involved in the making of the film. Were you an extra or an animal wrangler or present for filming? If so, please email us at [email protected]
Put on your ‘casino chic’ outfits (optional but fun!) for our James Bond Special Gala. Rock up in a tuxedo or gown, grab a vodka martini, and enjoy Casino Royale on the big screen.
Following the film, we’ll be joined by screenwriting duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade who have worked on seven Bond movies! We’ll also be welcoming the film’s composer, the legendary David Arnold. We are both shaken and stirred to have such illustrious filmmakers joining us.
Our Closing Night Gala returns us to cinema’s origins with a centenary screening of Buster Keaton’s comic triumph, The General (1926), accompanied live by acclaimed pianist Stephen Horne. You are in for a treat.
All of our films are entirely different experiences on the big screen with a communal audience – whether that’s the awe-inspiring scale of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey at the Electric Palace or sharing mad laughter with others at cinema’s most gag-filled movie parody, Airplane! at Bridport Arts Centre.
We also have a number of VSS (Very Special Screenings!) where we’ll be joined by filmmakers for Q&As. It’s all part of our intent to put you in direct conversation with screen industry creators.
New for 2026, we’re presenting a series of lunchtime Meet the Makers sessions where I’ll be in conversation with leading lights from today’s screen industries. It’s your chance to hear about the jobs they do, how they got their breaks, and what it’s like working on the projects they’ve been part of. We have a wonderful line-up whose collective awards would make any shelf buckle. These events are FREE if you’re 25 or under. As with all our screenings and events, these are sure to be popular, so please book ahead!
And John Higgs will be quizzing me about my Desert Island Scripts – the scripts and films that made me love cinema and those which have impacted me from childhood until now.
Films are made for audiences, so come to as many screenings as you can (last year at least one of our audience members came to everything) as well as hanging out and chatting with me, the festival team and your fellow film and book fans in the Arts Centre café and bar.
I can’t wait for you to follow the Yellow Brick Road to Bridport Arts Centre this April and join us at the festival.
See you, as they say, at the movies…
Chris
