Photo courtesy of the Bushwick Film Festival.

The Bushwick Film Festival announced this week that submissions are now open for its 9th annual festival this fall. The festival has a long tradition of recognizing and celebrating innovative, independent, local film projects, and filmmakers are invited to submit work for consideration in four categories (Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short Film and Best Web series).

Applications received before April 15th will make the festival’s early bird deadline. The regular deadline is June 15th, and films can be submitted as late as June 30th. The application fee increases slightly with each deadline (though there is an application deadline for Bushwick residents and students). More application information is available here.

This year, submitted films will be considered for inclusion in a pre-festival welcoming ceremony which will be held at the office of Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, who acknowledged the festival’s contribution to Brooklyn culture last year with the statement that “the spotlight will shine brightest on Bushwick for its one-of-a-kind celebration of independent and innovative cinema.”

Festival representatives also acknowledged that they look forward to sharing their festival weekend with Bushwick Open Studios this coming fall. The film festival and Open Studios will both take place on the weekend of Saturday, October 1st and Sunday, October 2nd (the Film Festival kicks off Thursday, September 29th).

Here’s that submission link again—good luck, Bushwick auteurs!