The Bushwick Film Festival is baaaaaack!

Beginning this Thursday Oct. 1, the festival unites independent filmmakers for four days of films, talks, workshops, industry mixers and parties in venues across Bushwick. Founder and Director of Programming, Kweighbaye Kotee started BFF in 2007 and since then has tirelessly worked to establish the festival as one of the major players in independent cinema in NYC.

Ahead of the festivities, we’ve hand-picked six essential films that shouldn’t be missed. For a full festival program and tickets, refer to the BFF website.

After the Wedding

https://vimeo.com/80494519

After working as an apprentice to Michael Mann, director Claudia C makes her feature film debut with this delightful rom com. The film follows a newlywed as embarks to Miami Beach to finish his latest novel. There, he meets an an available bartender with whom he becomes romantically entangled. When his wife joins him, they are forced to examine the true state of their young marriage.

Out of My Hand

https://vimeo.com/137992324

Filmmaker Takeshi Fukunaga brings the struggle of Liberia to the screen with this film about a rubber plantation worker who risks everything to start a new life in New York. After meeting a Liberian child soldier in his new country, he is faced with the demons of his past. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and won the Grand Jury prize at the LA Film Festival.

Keep In Touch

https://vimeo.com/138003976

After a major crisis, a young man attempts to track down his “first love,” only to discover she was killed many years ago in a car accident. He then stumbles upon her younger sister online – a musician who bares a striking resemblance  to his deceased love – and begins a relationship without disclosing his true identity.

Jake

https://vimeo.com/137992053

What if you were simply “recast?” New Zealand-born director Doug Dillman explores this trippy, alternate universe where a person can be recast by another, similar-looking person. The film follows Jacob, a man whose life is stolen when he is inexplicably recast by a shadowy agency.

Sand Dollars

https://vimeo.com/137992610

Loosely based on the book “Les dollars des sables” by Jean Noel Pancrazi, Sand Dollars is the latest film by Dominican filmmaker Laura Amelia Guzmán and her husband Israel Cárdenas. The film follows the love triangle between two young Dominican locals and an elderly French expat, and deals with the common friction between wealthy tourists and impoverished locals on the island.

Bizarre

https://vimeo.com/137991421

French director Etienne Faure brings a complicated, coming-of-age tale to the streets of Bushwick in this drama. 18-year old Maurice arrives in Brooklyn from France with no money and no place to live. Taken in by two beautiful women, he is given a job at their famous underground cabaret club, the Bizarre where he meets bartender Luka. Maurice’s life takes a decidedly dramatic turn as he grows into his new surrounding.

Great news, Bushwick! You can now win tickets and festival passes! All you have to do is to like the Facebook page of Bushwick Film Festival or tweet to your followers about the festival this weekend. Pro Tip: You can enter more than once in the Rafflecopter widget below to increase your chances of winning!

PS: If you didn’t win, don’t be sad and claim 20% off of any BFF tickets with the code: “BuswickDaily”

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