The Bushwick Film Festival (BFF) is thrilled to announce the winners of its 17th annual event, which celebrates outstanding independent storytelling across various genres. The awards ceremony took place on Saturday, October 19th, at Gracemoon Arts Theater Salon and Gallery.
This year, BFF continued its tradition of recognizing exceptional talent with awards in categories like Best Feature, Best Short, Best Episodic, Best Actor, and more. The winning films and performances told bold stories, showcased the independent spirit, and featured compelling characters that resonated with audiences.
The jurors for this year’s festival included industry leaders like Malcolm Barrett (Actor, Average Joe, Timeless ), Craig Butta (Founder/Producer, BASE 12, Ghost: RIte Here Rite Now), Nicole Emanuele (Producing Partner, Le Train Train Productions, Not Waving But Drowning), Vianni Novich (Executive at HBO, Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die), Jika Gonzalez (Documentary Filmmaker, After The Flood), Cass Gardiner (Filmmaker, The Edible Indian), June Cross (Founder, professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism), Matt Thurm (Producer, Crown Heights), Molly O’Keefe (Producer, End of the Party), Justin Joseph Hall (Director/Founder, Fourwind Films & Quatre-Vents), Kavery Kaul (Director, Cuban Canvas), Natasha Florentino (Documentary Filmmaker, Abundant Land: Soil, Seeds and Sovereignty), Mike Prall (Producer, The Sound of Silence), Richie Doyle (Producer, Dad & Step-Dad), Clare O’Kane (Actor/Comedian/Writer, Saturday Night Live).
· Best Feature Narrative: Failed State directed by Christopher Jason Bell & Mitch Blummer
· Feature Narrative Honorable Mention: Doubles directed by Ian K Harnarine
· Best Feature Documentary: All We Carry directed by Cady Voge
· Feature Documentary Honorable Mention: The Opener directed by Jeff Toye
· Best Short Narrative: Tea directed by Blake Winston Rice
· Short Narrative Honorable Mention: Super High: A Period Piece directed by Bianca Lambert
· Best Short Documentary: David Again directed by Adam Elliott
· Short Documentary Honorable Mention: Aliza Nisenbaum: Painting from Life directed by Ian Forster
· Best Web Series: Dreams & Schemes directed by Daniel Fermín Pfeffer & Carlos Cardona
· Web Series Honorable Mention: Cache Money directed by Bruno Dramatik
· Best Performance Winner: Meagan Kimberly Smith (But He’s Gay directed by Michael Calciano) Nominess: Dale Smith (Failed State), Joshua Rivera (Dreams & Schemes) Stéphanie Colle (My Tomato Heart), Darren Gilshenan (Jason Is My Dad)
This year’s theme, Producing The Dream, highlighted the journey of realizing a dream and celebrated the passion and effort it takes to achieve it. The festival screened nearly 100 films from Brooklyn and beyond, featuring a range of events including an Opening Night Yellow Carpet Reception presented by Netflix with cocktails by Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch Whisky, live screenings at Williamsburg Cinemas, a Comedy Night, a Screenplay Reading, an Industry Lunch, and an awards ceremony. The festival concluded on Sunday, October 20th, with a day of screenings of their award-winning films.
