The fourth-annual Brooklyn Horror Film Festival closed out its events with a sold-out screening of Joe Begos’ VFW at Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park this month. The film is one of 100 films and events hosted across Brooklyn with other active venues like Cobble Hill Cinema, IFP Made in NY Media Center and Long Island University’s Kumble Theater.
The annual New York City festival was launched in partnership with ALTER, Blood Manor, IFC Midnight, Spamflix and VFW producer and horror magazine Fangoria who also shepherded the closing night events. The festival was recognized by Vulture as after reportedly welcoming more festival attendees, film guests and putting on more events than ever before.
One of fest’s more key moments went to the horror jury who awarded Adam Egypt best director and best picture for his latest thriller, Daniel Isn’t Real which Samuel Goldwyn Films is releasing theatrically and on VOD December 6. From the Head Trip jury, writer/director Jagoda Szelc’s Polish 2018 drama, Monument, took home top honors while Carlo Mirabella-Davis’s own spring release, Swallow, scored a trio of prizes including best actress, best screenplay and best production design.
Branden Cronenburg’s “mind-fuck of a short film” titled Please Speak Continuously And Describe Your Experiences As They Come To You snagged top honors of its own from the 2019 Shorts Jury among other awarded recipients; The Home Invasion section of the 2019 Shorts Jury also gave distinctions to The Muffin Man for best short, and with Carlen May-Mann scoring best director for The Rat which is now available via festival partner Alter.
Guests for this year’s BHFF included Mortimer, Begos and Mirabella-Davis, as well as Travis Stevens, David Gregory and Karen Arthur as part of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies talk, and more. Girl On The Third Floor stars Phil “CM Punk” Brooks and Trieste Kelly Dunn were also invited in addition to Miles Robbins from Daniel Isn’t Real, Spiral actor Jeffrey B. Chapman, and Tom Williamson & Stephen Lang with audience award-winner VFW.
Other invites and attendees include Horror Jury members GQ’s Tom Philip, Breaker’s Director of Content Marketing Jess Mills, and film producer Heather Buckley (The Ranger, Blood & Flesh); The Head Trip jury brought Film at Lincoln Center programmer Madeline Whittle, Rue Morgue’s Madeleine Koestner, and The Guardian reporter Charles Bramesco. The 2019 Shorts Jury consisted of Dread Central reporter Anya Stanley, IFC Midnight’s Jamie Righetti, and Sean Redlitz, PR Director at Shudder; The Home Invasion panelists included Chelsea Lupkin (Alumni ‘18), Ben Sottak (Alumni ‘17), and Julia Zanin de Paula (Alumni ‘17).
A full list of winners can be viewed below:
HORROR FEATURE COMPETITION
•Best Picture – DANIEL ISN’T REAL dir. Adam Egypt Mortimer
•Best Director – Adam Egypt Mortimer, DANIEL ISN’T REAL
•Best Screenplay – Johannes Nyholm, KOKO-DI KOKO-DA
•Best Actress – Nina Medeiros, THE FATHER’S SHADOW
•Best Actor – Stephen Lang, David Patrick Kelly, William Sadler, Fred Williamson, George Wendt, Martin Kove VFW
•Special Jury Award – KOKO-DI KOKO-DA dir. Johannes Nyholm
•Best Gooey Effects – GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR dir. Travis Stevens
•Audience Award – VFW dir. Joe BegosHEAD TRIP FEATURE COMPETITION
•Best Picture – MONUMENT dir. Jagoda Szelc
•Best Director – Ramon Porto Mota, THE YELLOW NIGHT
•Best Cinematography – Matthew Macar, THE LONG WALK
•Best Screenplay – Carlo Mirabella-Davis, SWALLOW
•Best Production Design – Erin Magill, SWALLOW
•Best Sound Design – Rafal Nowak, MONUMENT
•Best Actor – Yannawoutthi Chantalungsy, THE LONG WALK
•Best Actress – Haley Bennett, SWALLOWSpecial Jury Awards
•Best Film Within a Film – ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS
•Best Performance of a Dog – Toto the Guinea Pig, ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS
•Best Ensemble – Cast of MONUMENT
•Audience Award – SWALLOW dir. Carlo-Mirabella DavisHOME INVASION Shorts Program –
SHORTS COMPETITION
•Best Short – PLEASE SPEAK CONTINUOUSLY AND DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCES AS THEY COME TO YOU dir. Brandon Cronenberg
•Best Performance – Lisa Smit, LILI
•Best Supporting Performance – Felicity Steel, MIDNIGHT TALK
•Best Director – Nico Van den Brink, THE BURDEN
•Best Screenplay – Yfke Van Berckelaer, LILI
•Best Cinematography – Matthew Lynn, INFERNO
•Best Editing – Maïlys Degraeve, SWITCH
•Best Score – Kenya Gillespie, JEREMIAH
•Best Sound Design – Matt Davies and Cazz Cerkez, SKIN OF MAN
•Best VFX – Cristina Asenjo and Antonio Naranjo, STIGMA
•Best WTF Short – VALERIO’S DAY OUT dir. Michael Arcos
•Special Jury Award – GIRL IN THE HALLWAY dir. Valerie Barnhart
•Audience Award – BATHROOM TROLL dir. Aaron ImmediatoHOME INVASION SHORTS
•Best Film – THE MUFFIN MAN dir. Ethan Blum
•Best Director – Carlen May-Mann, THE RAT
•Best Actress – Ella Rae Peck, BRAIN JAIL
•Best Actor – Peter Vack, DEEP TISSUE
•Special Jury Award – LAUNDRY NIGHT dir. A.K. Espada