[1] Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, documentaries, shorts, indies, experimental efforts, retrospectives, late night thrillers, animation, and children's films.

The festival features events including the opening and closing night celebrations, special screenings, seminars, question and answer sessions, and awards ceremonies.

[7] In addition to the regular program, BIFF has synergies with Cine Sparks and the Queensland New Filmmakers Awards.

The competition is aimed at rewarding the creative talents of Queensland short filmmakers, with 2011 marking its 25th year.

The BIFFDOCS competition rewards excellence in documentary production - particularly films that exhibit the ability to surprise, entertain, provoke and disturb.