13th Annual Bushwick Film Festival Announces Award Winning Films

The Bushwick Film Festival (BFF) celebrated its 13th edition virtually this year from October 21 - 25 with nearly 100 independent films, panels, special events, and a weekend movie industry conference! The festival culminated with a virtual awards ceremony where 21 films and filmmakers received awards. The award winning films are available to watch until Friday 10/30 at watch.bushwickfilmfestival.com. The award winners told bold stories, embodied the independent spirit and featured extraordinary characters who reminded us of our own inherent courage and perseverance in the face of change and adversity.

This year's jurors, invited in recognition of their accomplishments and commitment to the industry, did the hard job of choosing award winners in addition to selecting their own Special Jury Prize. Jurors for the Festival included: Tamara P. Carter, writer, HBO's The Leftovers, Starz' P-Valley; Julie Christeas, producer, Tandem; Amanda Trokan, director, content acquisition (HBO + HBO Max), WarnerMedia; Ximena Amescua, artist program coordinator, Firelight Media; Florentina Almonte, content acquisitions executive, Shorts TV International; Jason Sondhi, co-founder & editor-in-chief, Short of the Week; Marie-Lou Nahhas, actress, Orange is the New Black; Opal H. Bennett, film programmer, DOC NYC; Shakira Barrera, actress, Glow; Elise McCave, senior director of film, Kickstarter; Jordan Mattos, founder, Aspect Ratio; Denae Peters, program officer, Perspective Fund; David Ninh, Director of Press and Publicity, Kino Lorber.

In addition to film awards, BFF presented its Best Actor / Outstanding Performance Award to actor Alejandro Santoni for his role as "Al B." in the film Alberto and the Concrete Jungle. Finally, the 4th ever Rising Star Award-created to acknowledge a BFF alumni who is achieving notable levels of success-went to Katori Hall (creator, Starz' P-Valley). The award is a testament to the recipient's hard work and to the festival's continued commitment to giving emerging filmmakers and creators a platform. The best film award winners will receive up to $2000 in rental credit from festival sponsors Liman Video Rental (LVR).

The award winning films are available to watch until Friday 10/30 at watch.bushwickfilmfestival.com.

Below is the complete list of award winners for the 13th Annual Bushwick Film Festival that can also be viewed here:

● BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE: Milkwater | Morgan Ingari

● BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Dark City: Beneath the Beat | TT The Artist

● BEST NARRATIVE SHORT: Sixteen Thousand Dollars | Symone Baptiste

● BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Finding Elijah | Yolonda Johnson-Young

● BEST WEB SERIES / NEW MEDIA: DisLabeled | Adam Yaffe, Brian McCarthy, Arnold Barkus

● SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Narrative Feature: 写真の女 Woman of the Photographs | Takeshi Kushida

● SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Documentary Feature: Lovemobil | Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss

● SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Narrative Short: Lugar Algum (No Place) | Gabriel Amaral

● SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Documentary Short: Say You Will | Mariel Sosa

● SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Web Series / New Media: Frederick Douglass Boulevard aka Food & Drink Boulevard aka F.D.B | Washington Kirk

● HONORABLE MENTION: Narrative Feature: Asimetrija (Asymmetry) | Maša Nešković

● HONORABLE MENTION: Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back | John Carluccio

● HONORABLE MENTION: Narrative Short: His-Story | Anthony Colon

● PROGRAMMER'S CHOICE: Narrative Feature: Teddy Out of Tune | Daniel Freeman

● PROGRAMMER'S CHOICE: Documentary Feature: Les Chiens-Loups (Wolfdogs) | Dominic Leclerc

● PROGRAMMER'S CHOICE: Narrative Short: Hoss | Ryan McGlade

● PROGRAMMER'S CHOICE: Documentary Short: Yai Nin | Champ Ensminger

● PROGRAMMER'S CHOICE: Web Series / New Media: Sideways Smile | Hang Nguyen

● PROGRAMMER'S CHOICE: Animated Short: Blackheads | Emily Ann Hoffman

● BEST ACTOR / OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE: Alejandro Santoni, Alberto and the Concrete Jungle

● RISING STAR AWARD: Katori Hall