Ride Over to Balboa Park for the Bicycle Film Festival

Good news, cyclists and film lovers: the Bicycle Film Festival is rolling back into San Diego for its 26th year. This year’s stop lands at the Museum of Photographic Arts inside The San Diego Museum of Art with three curated screenings across the day. Hosted by SD Bike Coalition and Bike SD.

Whether we live for a great doc or ride our bike more than we drive our car, this one’s for us. Big-name directors, emerging talents, films from every corner of the world – all under one roof for the day.

Cinematic, Adventure, Urban: Three Screenings

Three programs, three totally different vibes. Cinematic Shorts kicks things off with story-driven filmmaking across documentaries, narratives, and animation. Adventure Shorts is all mountain biking, gravel, and bikepacking – basically a passport in short-film form.

Urban Bike Shorts closes the night with the messenger, fixed-gear, BMX, and street cultures that give city cycling its edge. It’s a longtime crowd favorite for a reason – and honestly, the one we’d fight hardest to make.

Stories From Mexico City to Cape Town

This year’s programming? Global. A South African all-female cycling group finding new futures through the sport. Cyclists in Mexico City – women, children, and non-binary riders – reclaiming the streets and protesting road rage and sexual violence.

Plus a portrait of a fixed-gear figure in Salt Lake, a look back at lifelong rider Jerome (aka City Bike Boy), and a full-on bicycle takeover from one of the largest Bike Life street-riding events in the country. And a few more we don’t want to spoil.

26 Years on the Festival Circuit

Quick backstory: BFF traces back to 2001, when founder Brendt Barbur was hit by a bus while cycling in New York City. What started as one person’s response has become a global celebration – over a million people, 100+ cities, screenings from Paris to Tokyo to Cape Town to Istanbul.

That’s a wild ride from a bad day in traffic. And this year? San Diego gets to be part of it again.

See you there!

Grab a friend, pick a program (or all three), and pedal over to Balboa Park – BFF is one of the most soulful film days on the calendar, and it’s back.

📆 Saturday, July 25 | 3 PM, 5 PM, 8 PM
📍 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park
🎟️ Grab your tickets
ℹ️ Find more details

See you there, San Diego!