11th Annual Bushwick Film Festival Set To Take Place October 10-14
By: Tori Hartshorn Sep. 13, 2018
The Bushwick Film Festival (BFF) has announced the full program for their 11th annual run. This year's Opening Night will be sponsored by Spectrum and kicks off on Wednesday,October 10th with a Red Carpet Reception and screening at House of Yes. The festivities will continue through Sunday,October 14th, with 40+ events ranging from feature and short film screenings to special events, parties and panels. The festival will also premiere 5 short documentaries created by 15 young storytellers from Bushwick who participated in Bushwick Stories; BFF's free summer filmmaking workshop sponsored by community partner B&H Photo and Canon. See below for the full program. For tickets and passes, please visit: www.bushwickfilmfestival.com.
Located in Bushwick, the bustling center of Brooklyn's artistic and cultural community, Bushwick Film Festival prides itself for being a home for film lovers. Over the last decade, BFF has screened the works of nearly 500 independent filmmakers from Brooklyn and over 40 different countries, proudly shining a spotlight on women and diverse filmmakers. The BFF has grown into one of the most anticipated events in Brooklyn and is recognized for its contribution to the borough's artistic, cultural, and economic growth.
After receiving over a record-breaking 1,300 submissions in 2018, BFF is excited to continue building community, supporting filmmakers and creating spaces where people from all backgrounds can be inspired by their stories! Festival Founder and CEO Kweighbaye Kotee explains: "After 11 years, I still get so excited when the festival arrives. It's been a true privilege serving storytellers and my community through the BFF and we have an incredible lineup of films and a weekend of fun in store!"
The Jury for BFF 2018 includes:
Feature Narrative
Bilge Ebiri, Film Critic
Catherine Curtin, Actress
Dana Gills, Production & Development, Lionsgate
Graham Fine, The Film Sales Company
Feature Documentary
Kristen Fitzpatrick, Women Make Movies
Mat Levy, Passion River
Daniel Cantagallo, Cargo Film & Releasing
Short Film / Web Series
Gabrielle Nadig, Beachside
Aijah Keith, IFC Films / Sundance Selects
Jeff Seelbach, TOPIC
Sponsors for BFF 2018 include:
B&H Photo & Video (Community Partner)
Canon
Chemistry Creative
100 Bogart
Spectrum
1888 Brugal
Partida Tequila
City Fresh Market
Liman Video Rental
Node Living
Brooklyn Fire Proof
Fine & Raw Chocolate
BOE
Syndicated
LightSpace Studio
No Muse No Art
House of Yes
The Rookery
Lot 45
UpNorth
Bogart House
Bushwick Daily
MixMag
Essentia
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BUSHWICK FILM FESTIVAL: FULL SCHEDULE
Feature Program
SEAMAN AND 207 | Dir. Sophia Tewa, 78 min, Documentary, USA
Oct 11, 2018, 5:30 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
Yacahudah Harrison and his wife Danetia Harrison have chosen to abandon their lives as working people with steady jobs to live on a street corner in upper Manhattan. As gentrification brings in new people, they are sent on a journey of discovery, living and loving out of their van on Seaman Avenue and 207th Street.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2OhxXKf
THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS (Die Beste Aller Welten) | Dir. Adrian Goiginger, 103 min, Narrative, Austria
Oct 11, 2018, 7:40 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
A kid´s true story of his life in the unusual world of his heroin addict mother and their love of each other.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2xanhWN
SAVAGE YOUTH - New York Premiere | Dir. Michael Curtis Johnson, 98 min, Narrative, USA
Oct 11, 2018, 10:05 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
Six young lives collide in the most horrific and twisted of ways. Based on true events.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2Mpfry5
Double Bill: A DAY WITH MARTHA / WIKI
Oct 12, 2018, 5:30 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
Wiki | dir. Veronica Andersson, 30 min, Narrative, Poland, New York Premiere
Wiki is an autistic, and curious young girl, who has to face the really harsh reality of living with an alcoholic mother after her grandmother dies. Luckily amongst all this chaos, she meets Mateusz - a huge fan of Warsaw city busses - who brings back real sunshine to her life.
A Day with Martha | dir. Josh Ethan Johnson, 40 min, Doc, USA, Brooklyn Premiere
Martha is a mother of twelve and makes her living driving for Uber and Lyft. In this 40 minute documentary, we get a front row seat perspective into a day in the life of Martha. She gives us unprecedented access to some of the most intimate and troubling aspects of her past and present life.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2OkeHMw
ARE YOU GLAD I'M HERE | Dir. Noor Gharzeddine, 85 min, Narrative, Lebanon (Arabic, English)
Oct 12, 2018, 7:30 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
A millennial American girl befriends a Lebanese housewife and disrupts her ordered life; one night they become accidental partners-in-crime.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2MtoJZI
LOST IN APOCALYPSE (?????) | Dir. Sky Wang, 89 min, Narrative, China (Chinese with subtitles)
Oct 12, 2018, 9:45 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
A group of seemingly unrelated individuals fight their way out of a virus-infested hotel, only to find themselves at a worse place than before.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2NDm84d
ONE BEDROOM | Dir. Darien Sills-Evans, 83 min, Narrative, USA
Oct 13, 2018, 3:30 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
Breaking up is easy. Moving out is hard. After five years of ups and downs, an African American 30-something couple in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood spends their final afternoon together arguing and remember better days, as one of them moves out and hopefully on with her life.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2QmLrGl
VICTORIOUS | Dir. Robert Mac, 103 minutes, Documentary, USA
Oct 13, 2018, 5:45 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
Victorious is a documentary that trails the DC DIVAS-one of the top women's football teams in America-during their 2015 season. Robert Mac embedded himself with the Divas as they HIT THE ROAD to tear up some serious gridiron, capturing their camaraderie, sisterhood, and spirit along the way. It takes great courage for each Diva to step onto the field.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2xa5HTm
DON'T BE NICE | Dir. Max Powers, 96 min, Documentary, USA
Oct 13, 2018, 8:05 PM, Chemistry Creative
A team of young New York CITY SLAM Poets finds its voice as it competes for the National Championship during the summer of 2016. An emotional and inspiring documentary that gives insightful commentary on race, gender, identity and sexual politics in America today.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2x2y4D5
BUSHWICK BEATS | Dir. A. Sayeeda Moreno, Chloe Sarbib, Brian Shoaf, Sonejuhi Sinha, James Sweeney, Anu Valia, 84 min, Narrative, USA
Oct 13, 2018, 8:20 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen | Oct 14, 2018, 7:35 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen [*this film has two screenings]
Six stories, six directors, six unique short films, all under the backdrop of Bushwick, Brooklyn, each a different look into the theme of unconditional love.
Ticket Info:
http://bit.ly/2x9AYoD (Sat. Screening)
http://bit.ly/2p1OMOs (Sun. Screening)
SONGS IN THE SUN - East Coast Premiere| Dir. Kristian Sejrbo Lidegaard, Narrative, 70 min, Denmark
Oct 13, 2018, 10:35 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
In one single hot summer day an ancient Danish myth changes the life of three women. An art house thriller set in the dramatic landscape of an island of chalk about lost friendship and the need of spirituality to cope with grief.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2MqyojJ
THE ORGANIZER | Dir. Nick Taylor, 105 min, Documentary, USA
Oct 14, 2018, 12 PM, Chemistry Creative
The Organizer is a portrait of Wade Rathke, the controversial founder of ACORN, as well as an exploration of the much maligned and misunderstood occupation of community organizing.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2p64rfK
MY NAME IS MYEISHA | Dir. Gus Krieger, 82 min, Narrative, USA
Oct 14, 2018, 2:30 PM, Chemistry Creative
A beloved teenager crosses over into a hip-hop-musical dreamscape at the moment of her tragic death and contemplates her life; what it was and what it could have been.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2Ohfb5P
BUSHWICK HOMECOMINGS - THE RECORD | Dir. Stefanie Joshua, 96 min, Documentary, USA
Oct 14, 2018 3:30 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
Bushwick Homecomings - The Record is a documentary film that examines the NYC neighborhood of Bushwick Brooklyn in a twenty-year overview of changes and rapid development in the nabe.
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2NCBoy7
ANISSA 2002 | Dir. Fabienne Facco, 48 min, Narrative, France
Oct 14, 2018, 5:55 PM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen
France, 2002. Anissa is sixteen. Her parents are taking her to Morocco for her a wedding. She doesn't want to go. On the road, she runs away. She meets two english guys who are restoring an old house...
*Screening with the short film, Broken Bunny, dir. Meredith Hama-Brown, 11 min, Narrative, Canada
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2xasMVr
Short Film Program
MY PAINTBRUSH BITES: Film About Artists
Oct 11, 2018, 6:00 PM, Bogart House | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2NG1Dne
Loving art is hard, but making a living on loving it is harder.
Films Include:
To Be Free, dir. Adepero Oduye, Narrative, USA
Boy Genius, dir. Becca Roth & Molly Cahen, Narrative, USA
My Paintbrush Bites, dir. Joel Pincosy & Joe Egender, Doc, USA
The World's Greatest Storyteller, dir. Horatio Baltz, Doc, USA
The Velvet UNDERGROUND Played My High School, dir. Tony C. Jannelli & Robert Pietri, Doc, USA
Jack Whitten: An Artist's Life, dir. Ian Forster, Doc, USA
THE GANG'S HERE
Oct 11, 2018, 8:10 PM, Bogart House | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2MpYkvV
Do you like to #party? BFF knows it, and we are ready to #GO #IN #ON #IT.
Films Include:
Strangers at Night, dir. Ian M. Adelson, Narrative, USA
Coronados, dir. Josefina Alen & Abril Lucini, Doc, Argentina
Great Light, dir. Tony Oswald, Narrative, USA
What's Your Number, dir. David Duque-Estrada & James Tison, Narrative, USA - New York Premiere
Wendy's Shabbat, dir. Rachel Myers, Doc, USA
Alpha Squadron, dir. Michael Litwak, Narrative, USA
For What It's Worth, dir. Brendan Gilliam, Doc, USA
MIDNIGHT PEEP SHOW
Oct 13, 2018, 12:00 AM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2p3loqY
Good morning! Bring your teddy bears and your courage: get comfortable and prepare to get uncomfortable.
Films Include:
Black Dog, dir. Joshua Tuthill, Narrative, USA
Queen Kong, dir. Monica Stambrini, Narrative, Italy
The s! (An Opera), dir. Kevin Rios, Narrative, USA
Mother fer, dir. Nicholas Santos, Narrative, USA
Bennifer, dir. Ryan McGlade, Narrative, USA - World Premiere
Sweetie, dir. Miaosi Li, Narrative, USA - Brooklyn Premiere
SEA CHANGE
Oct 13, 2018, 12:00 PM, LightSpace Studios New York | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2CS6i1z
Growing up is an infinite series of almost-invisible moments of minute change.
Films Include:
Red Flower, dir. Stella Rosen, Animation, USA
Take Me Out With The Stars, dir. Tess Harrison, Narrative, USA
Iron Hands (??), dir. Johnson Cheng, Narrative, China
Kiko, dir. Jamil Munoz, Narrative, USA
How to Get to the Moon by Subway, dir. Tyler Rabinowitz, Narrative, USA
Cat Days, dir. Jon Frickey, Narrative, Japan
FEMALE CINEMATOGRAPHER
Oct 13, 2018, 2:35 PM, LightSpace Studios New York | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2NCqZm6
This year saw filmmakers and film lovers throwing a welcome stone through the glass ceiling of the Hollywood boys club.
Films Include:
Sweetie, dir. Miaosi Li, Narrative, USA
October, dir. Maegan Mann, Narrative, USA
The Future is Bright, dir. Courtney Powell, Narrative, USA
Caroni, dir. Ian Harnarine, Narrative, Trinidad & USA
Chandler, dir. Julia Kennelly, Narrative, USA
Cross My Heart, dir.Sontenish Myers, Jamaica
Cinematographer, dir. Demi Waldron and Claudia Burgi, Doc, USA
PA'LANTE (Onwards, Forwards)
Oct 13, 2018, 4:55 PM, LightSpace Studios New York | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2Nch47x
Many of the films here follow people looking for dreams: refugees, abandoned children; all of these films courageously refuse to show us the actual dreams, giving us only faces of infant-like discombobulated hope, waiting.
Films Include:
Abu Adnan: Adnan's Father, dir. Sylvia Le Fanu, Narrative, Denmark (in Arabic/Danish)
Pa'lante, dir. Kristian Mercado Figueroa, Music/Narrative, Puerto Rico
Gentrification Express: Breaking Down the BQX, dir. Samantha Farinella & Amanda Katz, Doc, USA
For a Better Life, dir. Yasmin Mistry, Animation, USA
Second Assault, dir. Jillian Corsie & Amy Rosner, Doc, USA
Breathe, dir.Aisha Ford, Narrative, USA
FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET
Oct 13, 2018, 7:25 PM, LightSpace Studios New York | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2x45ilq
The lines that divide our country have become so crystal concrete that there is no limit on the filmic tools and genres within which artists attack them.
Films Include:
Desert Storm, dir. Joshua Raymond Lee, Narrative, USA
Night Call, dir. Amanda Renee Knox, Narrative, USA
Other, dir. Xavier Burgin, Narrative, USA
Hair Wolf, dir. Mariama Diallo, Narrative, USA
Jitters, dir. Otoja Abit, Narrative, USA
Rooftop Refuge, dir.Andrew Leibman, Narrative, USA
Make Me Wanna Holler, dir. Erica Eng, Narrative, USA
FILMS SHOT ON FILM
Oct 13, 2018, 9:30 PM, LightSpace Studios New York | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2x5iNRI
16mm or 35mm, any kind, gives a film the wear of a film that has already been lived in, an older wiser expression.
Films Include:
Do More of What Makes You Happy, dir. Dakota Pailes-Friedman, Dylan Pailes-Friedman, Narrative, USA
Lira's Forest, dir. Connor Jessup, Narrative, Canada
Little Bill's Peep Show, dir. Kevin Rios, Narrative, USA
MAMA, MAMA, dir. Jose Fernando Rodriguez, Documentary, Puerto Rico (Spanish)
The Shuttle, dir. Lu Han, Narrative, USA
To Be Free, dir.Adepero Oduye, Narrative, USA
Breathe, dir. Aisha Ford, Narrative, USA
WEB SERIES/NEW MEDIA
Oct 13, 2018, 10:30 PM, Chemistry Creative | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2Nxu6vN
Though disguised as a new medium, the web series has its roots in the Super 8 feeling, and sits here as an intersection between the ancient, the old, and the new.
Web Series' & New Media Include:
Undone - dir. Lili Lopez, Doc, USA
Weathering the Storm - dir. Clara Ritger, Doc, USA
Barely Adults - dir. Christine Sanders, Narrative, USA
Beam Me Up - dir. Matthew Charof, Doc, USA
Brooklynification - Created by BRIC TV, Narrative, USA
Kynnstlah - dir. Sandra Bertalanffy & Joel Fendelman, Doc, USA
Wear I'm From - dir. Erica Eng, Doc, USA
MIDNIGHT
Oct 14, 2018, 12:15 AM, Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2p26nWn
Get comfortable and prepare to get uncomfortable.
Films Include:
Hair Wolf, dir. Mariama Diallo, Narrative, USA
Queen Kong, dir. Monica Stambrini, Narrative, Italy
The s! (An Opera), dir. Kevin Rios, Narrative, USA
Mother fer, dir. Nicholas Santos, Narrative, USA
Bennifer, dir. Ryan McGlade, Narrative, USA
Welcome to Bushwick, dir. Henry Jinings, Narrative, USA
ALLIES: WORLD CINEMA
Oct 14, 2018, 12:00 PM, LightSpace Studios New York | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2x7O1rD
All of them contribute to cinema's greatest gift: like magic, both sharpening and expanding our perspective.
Films Include:
Babs, dir. Celine Held & Logan George, Narrative, United Kingdom
Weekend (??? ????), dir. Vahid Bemani, Narrative, Iran
Okaasan (Mom), dir. Kana Hatakeyama, Narrative, Japan
Still Water Runs Deep, dir. Abbesi Akhamie, Narrative, Nigeria
Stay Quiet, dir. Victoria Linares Villegas, Narrative, Dominican Republic
Blackjack, dir.Lora Mure-Ravaud, Narrative, Switzerland
YOU, THE STRANGER
Oct 14, 2018, 2:40 PM, LightSpace Studios New York | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2x48iOI
The films in this block deal with some of the scariest human phenomenon imaginable.
Films Include:
Control, dir. Kimmy Gatewood, Narrative, USA
Allen Anders - Live at the Comedy Castle (circa 1987), dir. Laura Moss, Narrative, USA
Cole, dir. David Call, Narrative, USA
Your Resources, dir. Will Arbery, Narrative, USA
Kudzu, dir. Connor Simpson, Narrative, USA
Willow Creek Road, dir. Francesca Mirabella, Narrative, USA
Jessica, dir.Jessica Kingdon, Narrative, USA
OH ME OH MY
Oct 14, 2018, 4:50 PM | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2MnLs9v
Falling in love is the easiest way to make yourself look like an idiot.
Films Include:
The Dress You Have On, dir. Courtney Hope Therond, Narrative, USA
Funeral, dir. Leah Shore, Narrative, USA
Proxy, dir. Eric Schuman, Narrative, USA
Oleg, dir. Boris Krichevsky & Alexander A. Brodsky, Doc, Russia
f'd Like a Star, dir. Stefani Saintonge & Zuri Obi, Doc, Haiti & USA
LAD, dir. Sasawat Loesrit, Narrative, USA
My Sun My Moon, dir. Shaya Mulcahy, Narrative, USA
Panels
Blockchain and the Future of Arts & Entertainment, Sat, October 13, 2018, 12:00 PM I
Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2xb1Sg7
Women in Film & TV, Sat, October 13, 2018, 1:20 PM I Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2MmuYyB
3 Arts Entertainment Panel, Sat,October 13, 2018, 2:55 PM I Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2p4Aj4d
Distribution & Sales, Sat, October 13, 2018, 4:15 PM I Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2x9J2WA
Latin Perspectiva Panel & Reception, Sat, October 13, 2018, 5:35 PM I Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2Qul7K6
Special Events
Opening Night Party, Weds, October 10, 2018, 10:00 PM | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2QqtjLz
Industry Mixer, Thurs, October 11, 2018, 6:30 PM | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2xaay6Z
Comedy Night, Thurs, October 11, 2018, 10:00 PM | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2xcNgwy
Filmmaker Happy Hour @ The Rookery, Fri, October 12, 2018, 8:00 PM | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2OhvwYd
Filmmaker Happy Hour @ Braven Brewing Company, Sat, October 13, 2018, 3:00 PM | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2Ndol6O
Dance Party, Sat, October 13, 2018, 10:00 PM | Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2p5jBC3
Screenplay Reading, Sun, October 14, 2018, 12:00 PM I Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2xbvSck
Bushwick Stories - presented by B&H Photo, Sun, October 14, 2018, 5:45 PM I Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2Oj6DLZ
Awards Ceremony & Closing Reception, Sun, October 14, 2018, 7:30 PM I Ticket Info: http://bit.ly/2MsokXB
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We are now accepting Press Accreditation Applications for Bushwick Film Festival. Press interested in receiving credentials should fill out this form and will receive a response closer to the event: https://goo.gl/AfcjMp
Industry Professional Accreditation: https://goo.gl/To4Vza
Follow Bushwick Film Festival
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BushwickFilmFestival
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). Hailed as one of Brooklyn's most celebrated events, BFF is recognized for its contribution to the borough's artistic and economic growth. 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 developers positively engage with communities to create empowering opportunities for local residents and 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, FOX News, 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.
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