The organizers of the Brooklyn Film Festival have been hosting international competitive film events since 1998. Over the years, the mission of the event has crystallized. The first and foremost reason for the Brooklyn Film Festival is to provide a public forum in the borough to increase the local community’s interest in film and film production. The event is also designed to encourage the rights of Brooklyn residents to experience the power of independent film and to promote artistic excellence and creative freedom of artists without judgment. Read more about the history of the event and its super mission at brooklyn-trend.com.
History of the Brooklyn Film Festival
Only a few decades ago, international films were not easy to find in New York. It was this fact that prompted Marco Ursino, the executive director of the Brooklyn Film Festival, to found the event. It all happened in 1998. In the beginning, the new film festival was known as the Williamsburg Film Festival. As it turned out later, this event turned out to be the first competitive international film festival in New York.
Almost 30 years have passed since the first event. Nowadays, the organizers can boast of its geographical reach: in 2020, for example, filmmakers from 92 countries submitted applications for participation. Isn’t that something to be proud of? If we are talking about the festival, which took place in 2020, it should be noted that it was then that a certain rethinking took place, in which the pandemic played a significant role. It prevented the event from taking place, but at the same time became its turning point.
That year, viewers could register for free on the Brooklyn Film Festival website. This registration allowed everyone to vote for their favorite films and participate in a press conference where they could ask questions to the directors and receive answers.
As for the history of the event, it all started at the local level. The festival was not supposed to go beyond Williamsburg. Thus, the first event was held at the WAH Center, the Williamsburg Art and History Center. For the second, third and fourth festivals, a theater called the Commodore Theater on Broadway was chosen.
Interestingly, like many other similar theaters in those days, this one was, as they say, dead. Moreover, for some time it was a parking lot. Then it turned into a residential complex, clearly following the trend of all the independent theaters that have died.
The main purpose and features of the event
The main goal of both the first and all subsequent events was to attract foreign films and to create competition with local films and directors. At the end of the last century, finding a foreign film in a city like New York was very difficult, not to say almost impossible. This deficit turned out to be the very niche and reason why the Brooklyn Film Festival began to grow rapidly.
Another peculiarity of the Brooklyn Film Festival is that its organizers never wanted to be like anyone else, and therefore never copied anyone. They always followed the call of their hearts and made the festival what they thought it should be. So it is no accident that the Brooklyn Film Festival has been welcoming guests and participants for almost thirty years.
The organizers of the film event consider themselves to be a very democratic institution, so they want as many films as possible to be submitted for the competition program. Therefore, the price for participation is affordable, especially if you apply at the very beginning.
Another positive feature of the festival is the fact that the shortest film can win the main prize, the Grand Chameleon award. And another very important feature is that the films are selected only from the submitted applications. It’s not like what happens at some other festivals. They receive a certain number of submissions, and then they call other festivals to take the films that have achieved some success and become popular.
Nobody does that at the Brooklyn Film Festival. They believe that it’s not fair to the competitors. This festival is not one of those that brings together 150 super-cool films. They want the list to include filmmakers from any genre of cinema and any budget size. Therefore, even if there are some gaps or weaknesses in the film, but the organizers of the Brooklyn Film Festival see potential and talent in the author, such a film will be “passed” for participation and screenings.
The evaluation process
The Brooklyn Festival has another significant difference from other similar events. They set a theme every year. That is, we can say that it is a thematic festival. And the theme is usually philosophical, so that it is not too narrow. For example, the theme for 2020 was “The Turning Point.“ 14 As you can see, the theme is quite broad, so it can be applied to anything.
According to the organizers, the idea is to find filmmakers who would confidently meet the realities of tomorrow. The festival helps these filmmakers to build their careers and supports their efforts to find opportunities to screen their films. In addition, the organizers have the opportunity to offer distributors the opportunity to watch a particular film as well.
Therefore, it is logical that the more new interesting films, the more viewings from interested parties. After all, it is known that a distributor does not come to a premiere to watch a movie he has already seen. Again, according to statistics, in 2020, 54 world premieres out of 148 films screened that year took place at the Brooklyn Film Festival.
However, to stay true to the festival’s philosophy, a film does not have to have premiere status. If the organizers like it, they take it and show it. So directors need to know that if they have a good movie, it will be released, regardless of what they are going to do. And this is logical, because if a movie was intended to be in theaters before it was made, then it will be there sooner or later.
Is there a right way to achieve this goal, or are they all wrong? Of course, there is one of them, and it is the Brooklyn Film Festival. Although, as they say, nobody knows anything in the film industry. But if you have an offer, and if your intuition tells you that it’s good, just take it. Don’t listen to anyone, even experts, just take it.
Festival of the “Great Chameleon”
The Brooklyn Film Festival is an event for independent filmmakers. The organizers annually draw on more than 50 years of festival experience. And a few words about the applications and the rules for submitting them. In general, the festival accepts applications in several categories:
- feature film
- a full-length documentary;
- short film;
- short documentary film;
- experimental film and animation.
Experts believe that the main reason why filmmakers submit their most valuable films here is because they know or have heard that the festival is fair. It is fair because of its selection and judging. It is a competitive international festival where the smallest film can win the highest award – “the Grand Chameleon”.
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