Black Star International Film Festival: Growing a Festival, 2019 to 2024
How festival planning, partnerships, education programmes, membership and marketing helped BSIFF achieve sold-out screenings with more than 1,500 attendees in 2024 and inspire over 3,000 young creatives.
Between 2019 and 2024, the Black Star International Film Festival (BSIFF) grew into a platform for African storytelling, industry collaboration and cultural exchange in Ghana and West Africa. The 2024 edition achieved sold-out screenings with more than 1,500 attendees, and BSIFF EDU inspired more than 3,000 young creatives. PR369's founder, Philippa Bentuma Arthur, led the festival as Festival Director and Producer during this period.
The work
- Festival planning and end-to-end execution
- Strategic partnerships and sponsorship, with partners including Lynx Entertainment, +233 and Freedom Skatepark, and EU and British Council support
- Marketing, PR and social media
- Creative content, production and budget management
The focus
- Positioning BSIFF as a leading African film festival
- Showcasing diverse films from Africa and the diaspora
- Building industry partnerships
- Growing audience engagement
- Securing sustainable growth through sponsorship
Results
| Area | What the case study records |
|---|---|
| Attendance | Sold-out screenings with more than 1,500 attendees in 2024 |
| Education | More than 3,000 young creatives inspired through BSIFF EDU |
| Young audiences | Shorts on Shorts engaged Gen Z audiences |
| Membership | Programme relaunched in 2022 to secure financial support |
| Submissions | A surge in high-quality film submissions |
| Operations | Improved financial systems and an empowered volunteer team |
What made the difference
Programmes for specific audiences. Education and Gen Z programmes grew the festival's reach beyond traditional festival-goers. See how to market to young audiences in Ghana.
Year-round relationships. Membership and partnerships kept the community engaged between editions. See how film festivals build audiences all year round.
Partnerships. Sponsors and international institutions supported growth. See how to find sponsors for a cultural event in Ghana.
Sound operations. Transparent financial systems and volunteers who felt empowered made growth sustainable. See how to recruit and manage event volunteers.
Lessons for other festivals
- Design programmes for the audiences you want to grow
- Keep the community engaged between editions
- Build partnerships that support the festival's mission
- Invest in systems and people, not just the festival week
See the full BSIFF case study, how to plan a film festival audience campaign and why Ghanaian films need a marketing strategy from the start.
PR369's Entertainment Marketing service covers festival strategy, marketing and partnerships. Email info@pr369.com with your festival and goals. We will begin with a strategy conversation.
