BIFF Founder Discusses Her Journey of 21 Years

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – After more than 20 years of operation, the founder and executive director of the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) discusses with our Denielle Miller the vision that lies behind the curtains.

Founder and Executive Director of the Bahamas International Film Festival, Leslie Vanderpool, was very discreet regarding the specifics of this year’s festival.

Nonetheless, she did clarify that BIFF is a year-long initiative aimed at introducing Bahamians to the realm of filmmaking, culminating in a seven-day festival in December.

Celebrated as a premier event in the film industry, both locally and globally for 21 years, this week-long festival has showcased a blend of homegrown talent and internationally acclaimed industry figures such as Lenny Kravitz, Joey Kravitz, Morgan Freeman, Nicholas Cage, Johnny Depp, Laurence Fishburne, Grace Jones, and many others.

However, where did it all originate?

Leslie Vanderpool – Founder & Executive Director, BIFF

“When I started the festival in 2004, it was a simple vision but a very ambitious one. Which is to create a cine-literate community here in The Bahamas.”

Vanderpool says in a community where tourism and banking are the primary contributors to the economy, her aim was to disrupt the status quo by introducing a new revenue-generating initiative.

Leslie Vanderpool – Founder & Executive Director, BIFF

“Our film festival what we do is we are providing a self sustaining creative economy. So we find that the Bahamas International Film Festival has been very impactful, and when you’re making a film we just don’t want it to stay local we want to share it to the world.”

Finally, she explains the significance of visual art, where their objective is to enhance the richness of our heritage.

Leslie Vanderpool – Founder & Executive Director, BIFF

“Because now we are and I keep coming back to this now, we are able to to position our own stories on the world stage.”