Featuring five exhibitions, a self-published book expo and a full rosta of talks, Flash Forward Festival aims to both show off new work and give young photographers an insight into the profession. The festival includes the Flash Forward 2010 Group Show, which features work picked out by a panel of experts including BJP's editor, Simon Bainbridge, plus ReGeneration 2, the group exhibition put together by William A Ewing and Nathalie Herschdorfer at the Musee d'Elysee, Lausanne.

Flash Forward also includes group shows of work by young photographers from the UK, US and Canada, called Paper Stone Scissors, The Architecture of Space and Where Is Here. BJP's Simon Bainbridge and Diane Smyth curated the UK show, Paper Stone Scissors, which groups together constructed photography by Danny Treacy, Victoria Jenkins, Julie Cockburn, Julia Curtin and Peter Ainsworth.

Flash Forward also includes a busy rosta of talks and discussions, including advice from VII Network member Don Weber on winning funding and grants, and thoughts from Alec Soth on the increase in images seen since the advent of digital technology. Susan Bright is giving a talk on self portraiture, while photographer Jeff Harris is discussing an ongoing personal project in which he puts a shot of himself online every day. Bruno Ceschel from Self Publish, Be Happy is also on board, showing off an exhibition of the best self-published books.

Flash Forward Festival was put together by MaryAnn Camillieri and her team at Magenta Foundation, who says she was part inspired by her own experiences. "In my university days I watched so many talented photographers not pursuing life as artists because of how hard it is," she says. "That affected me greatly."

Visit www.flashforwardfestival.com.