Lights, projector, chaos! The wait is finally over. After a five-year hiatus, the Bastard Film Encounter (BFE) is back, and it’s bigger, bolder, and more unapologetically bizarre than ever. Mark your calendars for October 8–11, 2025, because BFE.5: Bastards Out of Carolina is coming to famously hot Columbia, SC, and it’s going to be a sensory overload you won’t soon forget.

If you’ve been before, you already know the score. If you haven’t, well… let’s just say you’re in for a whacky ride. This isn’t your average film festival. It’s a celebration of the unconventional, the boundary-pushing, and the strangely odd. Think experimental wonders, mind-bending un-narratives, and films that refuse to play by the rules. These are the black sheep of the film family—poorly made, mostly hidden, often ignored, and usually disowned. And we’re here to give them the spotlight they never asked for.

Bastards was born in Raleigh, and we, the Cola Bastards, are honored to bring it back to the Carolinas and hereby extend our most enthusiastic invitation to our domain—Columbia, SC—a city as vibrant and unapologetically unique as the films we celebrate. Even its nickname “Soda City” has a bastardly status, evoking bafflement and curiosity.  Come experience the sights, sounds, smells, and wonderfully warm October weather that make this place so special. And as if that weren’t enough, our timing coincides with the South Carolina State Fair, a spectacle of chaos, fried food, and unbridled joy. If that’s not bastardly, we don’t know what is.

Columbia is a city that thrives on individuality and often fights for recognition, making it the perfect backdrop for an event as gloriously unconventional as the Bastard Film Encounter. Like a phoenix rising from the flames, BFE.5 marks the triumphant return of one of our most cherished outlets for creative expression—a space where the weird, the wild, and the wonderfully unhinged are not just welcomed but celebrated.

In a time when freedom of expression feels more vital than ever, we’ve poured our energy into resurrecting this festival, reimagining it in a way that’s as bold and unapologetic as the films we showcase. This isn’t just a comeback; it’s a declaration. A declaration that the spirit of underground cinema is alive, kicking, and ready to set the world on fire.

So, join us in Columbia, where the weather is hot, the films are hotter, and the energy is downright incendiary. Let’s embrace the chaos, defy the ordinary, and celebrate the art of storytelling in its most bastardly form.

What’s a Bastard Film?

A bastard film is the rebel of the cinematic world. It’s the film that doesn’t fit in, the one that defies conventions and challenges expectations. These are the works that are often overlooked, dismissed, or forgotten—but not here. At BFE, we celebrate the weird, the wild, and the wonderfully unhinged. If your film is unconventional, experimental, or just inexplicable, we want to see it. We want those films that don’t fit, that don’t have a place in this world where they can be celebrated, examined, discussed and most of all seen, at least by a select few in a darkened bar during a media blackout.

Got a film that fits the bill? Submit your proposals by April 1, 2025, for a chance to screen at BFE.5.

🎥🔥Go here for submission details 🎥🔥

Registration will begin July 1st, 2025 – Space will be limited so mark your calendars!

What to Expect at BFE.5

This isn’t a pretentious film festival (not that there’s anything wrong with that). It’s a raucous, no-holds-barred celebration of film’s wild side or rather its unseen side. Here’s the rundown:

• Dates: Wednesday evening, October 8, to Saturday lunch, October 11, 2025
• Location: Columbia, SC (because where else would you host a festival this gloriously unorthodox?)
• Opening Night Reception & Keynote Extravaganza (October 8): Kick things off with a bang. Mingle with fellow film rebels, enjoy some drinks, and get ready for the chaos to come. Keynote speaker TBA.
• Screenings (October 9 & 10): All-day screenings from 10am to 4pm, (we’re too bastardly to get up early here) featuring the best (and strangest) films from around the world. Coffee and lunch provided—because even bastards need to eat and hydrate. Cash bar onsite.
• Closing Brunch (October 11): Wrap up the madness with a laid-back brunch, fiery discussions, and maybe even a few surprises. TBA at one of our poor bastards houses.

Why You Should Be There

BFE.5 isn’t just a film festival—it’s an experience, an encounter with films that you just won’t meet in everyday circumstances. It’s a place where film makers, film carers and film lovers come together to celebrate the art of storytelling in its most unconventional forms. It’s a way to protest at the disparity of arenas that don’t cater for the unconventional and don’t allow bad film or especially bad video to have an outlet. Expect stories that will stay with you long after the credits roll and sights that you’ll never un-see, no matter how hard you try.

No papers, no PowerPoints, no pretension. Just killer films, passionate discussions, and a whole lot of bastardly fun.

Ready to Join the Chaos?

Whether you’re a filmmaker with a peculiar vision or a film lover with an appetite for the unconventional, an academic with an axe to grind or a secret film hoarder waiting to meet like-minded obsessives, BFE.5 is the place for you. Bring your bastard films, your bold ideas, your outspoken attitudes, your participation and your love for all things weird and wonderful.

Don’t miss out on the most gloriously bastardly unorthodox film event of the year. Let’s make BFE.5 legendary! 🎥🔥

See you in October in Columbia, SC.

Bring your chaos.

Bring your weird.

Bring your bastards. 🎥🔥