This year’s festival at The Maltings Cinema at Berwick Barracks and the Town Hall, which took place from March 20 to March 22, was only one event at a time – inviting attendees to collectively encounter films, conversations and performances, and savour the time between events to walk the town walls, eat together and reflect on the work.
Naeem Mohaiemen and Molla Sagar were this year’s Filmmakers in Focus.
The New Cinema selection for 2026 included a compelling exploration of communication and interpretation, such as Soft Fruit by Rehana Zaman that follows migrant seasonal workers and others.
Eoghan Ryan’s Carceral Jigs offered a compelling examination of Irish identity, migration and systematic control.
This year’s Propositions included Dub Epistemologies: Luton Carnival in the 2000s – a hybrid talk and live audio essay by Ashley Holmes.
Be Yersel! was part of the Essential Cinema section. It follows the extraordinary trajectory of Jesse Rae, a former farmer boy from St Boswells in the Scottish Borders, who became a Parliament-Funkadelic legend in the USA and a music video pioneer at the dawn of MTV.
As part of the festival’s year-round programme, the Queer Care Caravan, an artist residency hosted by The Burr of Berwick, has been exploring resilient LGBTQIA+ community-led care across a Film Library exhibition and workshops.
The project came to a close with the final workshop of the series, cinema screenings and informal morning meetings.
5. Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival 2026
Outside The Burr of Berwick. Photo: Amelia Read Photography