Brooklyn’s 13th Annual Greenpoint Film Festival announced the winning films and filmmakers following the conclusion of the most expansive and successful edition in the event’s history. Ewa Wikiel’sKRZYK: Losing Control took home the Best Narrative Feature award. Miwene, directed by a team consisting of Keith Heyward, Jennifer Berglund, Gange Anita Yeti Enomenga, and Obe Beatriz Nenquimo Nihua, won Best Documentary Feature.
Honorable mentions in the Narrative Features category included Marco Amenta’s Anna, and Flora Martinez’s Itzia, Tango & Cacao. Katie Dellamaggiore’s Small Town Universe was a Runner Up in the Documentary Feature category.
Greenpoint Film Festival Creative Director Ricardo Vilar, said, “This year’s edition of the film festival was by far the most ambitious and impactful edition we have presented here in North Brooklyn. From tripling our submissions to running 3 venues simultaneously with a program of 115 films screenings & 3 XR exhibits, to having sold over 1,000 tickets, our team truly outdid themselves. This year has set the vibes and tone we have been yearning for since the current team took the reins and we hope to continue expanding in the coming years, not just in numbers but in quality and fastidious care for filmmakers and their films.”
Winners in the Short Films section included Julia Elihu’s In the Garden of Tulips (Best Narrative Short Film) and Andrew Nadkarni’s Between Earth & Sky (Best Documentary Short Film). The Narrative Short Film Runner Up was Szymon Wackowski’s The Joy of Living, and Honorable Mentions went to Melvin Mak’s Lie With Me, Eva Matz’s I Don’t Want to Have to Be Loud, and Laurier Fourniau’s Vambora. The Documentary Short Film Runner Up was Vika Evdokimenko’s I Don’t Need Adult Conversation. Honorable Mentions went to Trisha Pickelhaupt’s Apples to Oranges, Lucy Morales Carlisle’s DelMar, and Andrés Salaberri Pueyo’s Sheep, Marriage, and Smuggling.
Executive Programmer and Film Curator of GPFF, Roy Wol said, “As the festival comes to a close, it’s incredibly fulfilling to see the impact these films have had on our audiences and the connections formed throughout the events. The awards reflect the outstanding talent and unique stories we had the honor of presenting, and our case study panels showcased some of the most unique projects and talents of the year. As programmers, we are driven by a passion for bringing the richness of international and under-told cinema to our local audiences and to the media executives seeking fresh talent.”
The 2024 Greenpoint Film Festival broke attendance records both online and in person. The festival’s PERSPECTIVES theme was celebrated by setting up and designing 3 warehouses at the ELM Foundation hub (191 N. 14th Street) into 2 screening rooms showcasing 108 films and an XR Gallery with 3 exhibits. Each venue was designed and named after a unique stance of differing perspectives: House of Motions, House of Stillness and House of the Observer. All venues were linked by a central outdoor area where networking between filmmakers, sponsors and neighbors took place while enjoying food and drinks supplied by various festival vendors. That location also served as the home for the film festival’s two Green Carpets backed by Greenpoint Film Festival’s distinctive carved step and repeat on Opening and Closing Night.
Once again, the film festival took care to pay homage to the cultural heritage of the neighborhood of Greenpoint which is inherently Polish. This year, that traditional focus was led by a special program of 7 feature length films presented at Film Noir (122 Meserole Avenue). Several Polish filmmakers traveled to Brooklyn from Poland for the occasion and added a vibrant presence, context, and passion for cinema to each of their post-screening Q&A sessions.
In addition to the increased audience attendance, the Greenpoint Film Festival enjoyed the attendance and participation of over 100 filmmakers and creative film teams from countries worldwide representing their films at the festival. From the U.S., those filmmakers came from California, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut, Vermont, and Alaska, and internationally, filmmakers came from Poland, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. Notable guests included Academy Award nominees Paul Giamatti, and Josh Seftel, and Tony Award winner Debra Monk. We hosted filmmakers in Brooklyn traveling stateside from California, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut, Vermont, and Alaska, and from outside U.S. filmmakers came from Poland, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.
To find more information on the Greenpoint Film Festival, please visit: https://greenpointfilmfestival.org/.
2024 Greenpoint Film Festival Filmmaker Awards
FEATURE FILMS
Best Narrative Feature Film
KRZYK: Losing Control
Director: Ewa Wikiel
Honorable Mentions
Anna
Director: Marco Amenta
Itzia, Tango & Cacao
Director: Flora Martinez
Best Documentary Feature Film
Miwene
Directors: Keith Heyward, Jennifer Berglund, Gange Anita Yeti Enomenga,
Obe Beatriz Nenquimo Nihua
Runner Up
Small Town Universe
Director: Katie Dellamaggiore
SHORT FILMS
Best Narrative Short Film
In the Garden of Tulips
Director: Julia Elihu
Runner Up
The Joy of Living
Director: Szymon Wackowski
Honorable Mentions
Lie With Me
Director: Melvin Mak
I Don’t Want to Have to Be Loud
Director: Eva Matz
Vambora
Director: Laurier Fourniau
Best Documentary Short Film
Between Earth & Sky
Director: Andrew Nadkarni
Runner Up
I Don’t Need Adult Conversation
Director: Vika Evdokimenko
Honorable Mentions
Apples to Oranges
Director: Trisha Pickelhaupt
DelMar
Director: Lucy Morales Carlisle
Sheep, Marriage, and Smuggling
Director: Andrés Salaberri Pueyo
