2018 BFF Award Winners Announced and Festival Photos Posted!

Bushwick Film Festival Celebrated 11th Anniversary With 95 Films & 3,500+ Attendees

*View Official #Bushwick2018 Photo Gallery*

Featured On: NY1,  AM New York, BKLYNR, WPIX 11, BKReader, Bushwick Daily, Sincerely Hueman, Revelist & More

"The Bushwick Film Festival is working to shine a light on indie filmmakers and diversity in the film industry.” — NBC

The arts haven’t always reflected NYC’s Diversity… The Bushwick Film festival makes an effort to change That” — NY1

“The event brings together filmmakers, artists, and creative thinkers.” — Fox News

“Get to know NYC’s next filmmaking generation at the Bushwick Film Festival.” — Tribeca Film

“A celebration of film diversity and culture will be on display this weekend ...At The Bushwick Film Festival” — AMNY

“An opportunity to see amazing films that you won’t find in regular U.S. cinemas. They are true gems!” — Indiewire

Brooklyn, NY – November 20, 2018The Bushwick Film Festival (BFF) celebrated its 11th anniversary last month, with nearly 100 films, a dozen panels and events, and over 3,500 attendees! Follow this link to see Best of Photos. Five exceptional filmmakers were chosen by BFF’s jury to accept awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Web Series/New Media. Winners, Runner-Ups and Programmer’s Choice awards included:

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE: Anissa 2002 | Fabienne Facco

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Victorious | Robert Mac

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT FILM: The Shuttle | Lu Han

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM: Oleg | Boris Krichevsky & Alexander A. Brodsky

BEST WEB SERIES/NEW MEDIA: Brooklynification | Keith Miller

RUNNER-UP NARRATIVE FEATURE: Are You Glad I’m Here | Noor Gharzeddine

RUNNER-UP DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: A Day With Martha | Josh Ethan Johnson

RUNNER-UP NARRATIVE SHORT: Babs | Celine Held & Logan George

RUNNER-UP DOCUMENTARY SHORT: The World’s Greatest Storyteller | Horatio Baltz

RUNNER-UP WEB SERIES/NEW MEDIA: KYNNSTLAH | Sandra Bertalanffy & Joel Fendelman

PROGRAMMER’S CHOICE NARRATIVE FEATURE: Sange i Solen (Songs in the Sun) | Kristian Sejrbo Lidegaard

PROGRAMMER’S CHOICE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Seaman and 207 |  Sophia Tewa

PROGRAMMER’S CHOICE NARRATIVE SHORT: Allen Anders - Live at the Comedy Castle (circa 1987) | Laura Moss

PROGRAMMER’S CHOICE NARRATIVE SHORT: The Shit! (An Opera) | Kevin Rios

PROGRAMMER’S CHOICE DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Coronados (Crowned) | Josefina Alen & Abril Lucini

PROGRAMMER’S CHOICE ANIMATION SHORT:  ねこ の ひ (Cat Days) | Jon Frickey

Surrounding this celebratory anniversary, BFF presented their 2nd annual Rising Star Award to BFF alum Stefon Bristol. The Rising Star Award was created to acknowledge Bushwick Film Festival alumni who have broken new ground in the film industry and are achieving notable levels of success. It’s a testament to the recipient’s hard work and to the festival's continued commitment to give incredibly talented filmmakers and creators a spotlight. In 2017, the festival screened Bristol’s short film See You Yesterday and he is currently editing the feature length version, which is produced by Spike Lee.

BFF’s jury included:

JURY: NARRATIVE FEATURES

Dana Gills, Lionsgate

Bilge Ebiri, Film Critic

Catherine Curtin, Actress

Rotimi Paul, Actor

Graham Fine, Film Sales Company

JURY: DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

Kristen Fitzpatrick, Women Make Movies

Sola Fasehun, United Talent Agency

Mat Levy, Passion River

Daniel Cantagallo, Cargo Film & Releasing

JURY: SHORT FILMS & WEB SERIES/NEW MEDIA

Aijah Keith, Acquisitions Manager, IFC Films

Gabrielle Nadig, Beachside

Jeff Seelbach, Director, Non-Fiction Programming, Topic Studios

Elaine Del Valle, Producer, Writer, Actress

Sponsors for BFF 2018 included:

B&H Photo, Spectrum, 100 Bogart, McCarren Hotel & Pool, Brugal 1888, Liman Video Rental, No Muse No Art, Camber, Partida Tequila, Node Living, Canon, Brooklyn Fire Proof, Brooklyn Crafted, Essentia, Brooklyn Oenology, Fine & Raw, Bushwick Daily, Mixmag, Radio Free Brooklyn, Syndicated, Lot 45, Chemistry Creative, LightSpace Studios, House of Yes, The Rookery, UpNorth

Keep an eye out for BFF 2019! For more information, please visit www.bushwickfilmfestival.com

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/BushwickFilm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bushwickfilmfest

About Founder, CEO Kweighbaye Kotee

Kweighbaye Kotee is the founder of the Bushwick Film Festival (BFF). Dedicated to her community and the arts, Kotee serves on The Bushwick Community Board and is co-chair of its Arts & Culture committee. In addition, in 2016 she founded MCCG, an M/WBE community affairs company that helps companies positively engage with communities to create empowering opportunities for its residents and local organizations. To date, her company has helped facilitate the distribution of over $400,000 in grants to local organizations and artists.

Born in Liberia, she and her family immigrated to the U.S. at the brink of the Liberian Civil war. She attended public school in Newark, NJ where she was awarded a scholarship from the Wight Foundation to attend Blair Academy, a private boarding high school. She moved on to receive her B.S in Media, Culture, and Communications from New York University.

She has been featured on NBC, NY1, Fox News, The Revelist, Huffington Post, POPSUGAR, Delta Air Lines, Brooklyn Magazine, Indiewire, Tribeca Film and lives in Brooklyn.

About the Bushwick Film Festival

Founded in 2007, The Bushwick Film Festival (BFF) is a leading independent film and media company in Brooklyn. The festival is hailed as one of Brooklyn’s most influential cinematic events for its contribution to the borough’s artistic, cultural, and economic growth. The festival attracts film and entertainment industry leaders at national and international levels; and showcases films created by the best and most diverse emerging independent filmmakers in Brooklyn and worldwide. BFF provides a platform for emerging filmmakers to share their stories and present opportunities for them to make a living doing what they love. BFF provides spaces for audiences from all backgrounds to connect and discover new independent movies and experience unique cultural events.

Press Contact:

Hayley Brinkman | Big Picture Media

85 Delancey Street, Suite 48 | New York, NY 10002

Hayley@bigpicturemediaonline.com | o: 212.675.3103

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Shoshie Aborn | Big Picture Media

85 Delancey Street, Suite 48 | New York, NY 10002

Shoshie@bigpicturemediaonline.com | o: 212.675.3103

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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Bushwick Film Festival Founder, Kweighbaye Kotee Returns to Liberia to Co-Produce a Peace Film Festival Featuring Women’s Stories.

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11th Annual Bushwick Film Festival Announces Full Program: Set To Take Place October 10 - 14