A well-loved celebration of film, art and performance, will hold its final festival next week before a planned two-year hiatus.
Now in its seventh year, Bute Street Festival has carved out a space for joy, resistance and creativity in Luton, earning British Independent Film Awards-qualifying status and drawing audiences from beyond the town.
The festival — which runs from Thursday (July 31) to Saturday August 2 at The Hat Factory — has become a key part of the town’s cultural calendar, spotlighting underrepresented voices, showcasing emerging talent and turning central Luton into a creative hub each summer.
This year’s edition will be the last until 2028 and festival founder and creative director Benjamin Cyrus-Clark said: “It’s very hard to put into words what creating and running Bute Street has meant to me. It has been the greatest honour of my life. What began as a small, scrappy idea has grown into something that’s connected people, challenged assumptions, and celebrated the beauty of difference. This final edition is a thank you to everyone who’s been part of it — artists, volunteers, audiences and the wider Luton community.”
While this marks the final edition before a much-needed pause, organisers remain committed to the festival’s values and are exploring new forms of cultural organising for the future.
The 2025 programme will include short films from UK and international filmmakers, a pop-up stage for music and spoken word performances, interactive exhibitions and food at the Hat Factory and Luton Library Theatre. A closing night event will honour the people who have shaped the festival’s journey.
Local talent at the heart of this year’s Bute Street’s Festival
This year local voices will be put centre stage, with a packed programme of films, talks and exhibitions reflecting Luton’s creativity and cultural diversity.
Kicking off the programme on Thursday, and nominated in the Breakthrough Film Award category will be A Winter of Luton Wildlife — a 15-minute documentary made in collaboration with nine local schools, using remote cameras to capture the often unseen wildlife of Bradger’s Hill and school grounds across the town.
Local illustrator Srea Repospolo will exhibit her project Home Sweet Home — a celebration of food, culture and identity in Luton, developed through community storytelling and workshops.
Friday’s line-up includes Best Film Award nomineee The Orange Weekend, a nostalgic nod to Luton hosting Radio 1’s Big Weekend music festival last year, documenting how the town lit up the national stage Weekend — and the people who made that story worth telling.
Luton-born Ryan Prazer will also screen Whatever They’ll Hate You For, Be Proud — a music video project shot in the town, featuring local creatives and championing pride in difference.
Audiences can also join Declan Burley, a former Barnfield College student turned Netflix filmmaker, for an in-depth discussion about his journey into media, alongside manager Luke Lamontagne-Dwyer.
On Saturday, Beyond The Rush — another Breakthrough Film Award nominee — takes a poignant look at the decline of Luton’s Caribbean culture, exploring how defunding of key events and institutions has impacted the town’s identity.
Across all three days, visual art will be on display from artists including Victor Buehring, Andrew Pettigrew (exhibiting for a third time at the festival), Louise Lahore, Gary Young, Joke Amusan, Joshua Otuonye, Ghulam Alaudin Jami and University of Bedfordshire graduate Ana-Maria Vaduva. Acclaimed Luton-based artist Silvia Lerin will be creating a vibrant installation titled Colourful Curtains and hosting a Q&A on Saturday evening, following a string of exhibitions across Europe and the UK, including one that now adorns the Silver Street exterior of the Luton Point shopping centre.
Tickets for the 2025 farewell edition and the full programme of films, performances, exhibitions, talks and workshops are available now at butestreetfilmfestival.com.
