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BROOKLYN, NY, (November 15, 2022) – The Bushwick Film Festival (BFF) celebrated its 15th edition this year from November 1 - November 7, with over 100 independent films from Brooklyn and around the world. The festival included an Opening Night Red Carpet Reception presented by Spectrum on November 1st at Lot 45, live screenings hosted by Williamsburg Cinemas, a networking event at Circa Brewing Co., and an online component in the metaverse, presented by Lowkey Giant, where audiences experienced an exotic virtual world filled with whimsical avatars, NFT art shows and videos, events, and digital media content.
“This year was our first time back fully live and in person. This was also the first time many of our filmmakers had the opportunity to screen their films in front of a live audience since the pandemic. We had multiple sold out screenings, all of our special events were sold out and our first live screenplay reading was a hit. We are definitely hitting our stride now post 2020,” says festival founder Kweighbaye Kotee.
The festival culminated with an award ceremony on Tuesday, November 7th where 18 films and filmmakers received awards. These award winners told bold stories, embodied the independent spirit and featured extraordinary characters.
This year’s jurors – invited in recognition of their accomplishments and commitment to the industry – selected the award winners in addition to selecting a 2nd place and Programmers choice prizes.
Jurors for the festival included: New York Times Op-Docs Series Producer Yvonne Ashley Kouadjo, Oscar Nominated Korean Documentary producer Gary Gyongseok Kam, Actress Catherine Curtin (Stranger Things, OITNB, Insecure), Nickelodeon Production and Development Executive Niki Williams, Film and Television journalist Randy Jones, Development Executive and CoFounder of Hooligan Dreamers Sola Fasehun, co-founder and CEO of Alpha’a & alphaa.io Manuela Seve, and award winning Actress and Director Elaine Del Valle.
Below is the complete list of award winners:
Best NFT Storyteller
Hive Mind
Best Screenplay
En Memoria
Web Series
Winner: Chiqui
Runner Up: MASHED
Programmers Choice: Last Bodega in Brooklyn
Short Documentary
Winner: A Place on the Edge of Breath
Runner Up: Belongings
Programmers Choice: Another Life to Live
Short Narrative
Winner: Little Trumpet
Runner Up: How Not to Date While Trans
Programmers Choice: Murder Tongue
Feature Documentary
Winner: The Smell of Money
Runner Up: Forget Me Not
Programmers Choice: The Sun Rises in the East
Feature Narrative
Winner: Unidentified Objects
Runner Up: Whispers of War
Programmers Choice: August at Twenty-Two
Audience Choice Award
Out of Breath
About the Bushwick Film Festival:
Over the last 15 years, BFF has screened the works of nearly 1000 independent filmmakers from Brooklyn and over 50 different countries. The BFF has grown into one of the most anticipated cinematic events in Brooklyn and is recognized for its contribution to the borough’s artistic, cultural, and economic growth. Out of the over 100 films that will be included in this year’s programming, Approximately 18 filmmakers have received awards in categories such as Best Feature (Narrative/Doc), Best Short (Doc /Narrative), Best Web Series, and more, joining the ranks of incredible BFF alumni such as Marcus Reinaldo Greene, Dawn Porter, Adepero Oduye, Stefon Bristol, Shaka King, Alexander Dinelaris, Bradford Young, Katori Hall, Kitty Green and many more.
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