2026 Creative Impact Award
Celebrating artists who shape culture, inspire communities, and create opportunities for others.
2026 Creative Impact Award Honoree
CASSANDRA FREEMAN
The Bushwick Film Festival Creative Impact Award honors visionary artists whose influence extends beyond the screen. Through their storytelling, leadership, and commitment to uplifting others, these creatives are helping shape the future of film, entertainment, and culture.
The award celebrates those who not only pursue their own creative dreams but also make space for others to realize theirs.
The Bushwick Film Festival proudly honored actress, producer, and entrepreneur Cassandra Freeman with the 2026 Creative Impact Award during Opening Night of the 19th Annual Bushwick Film Festival on October 7, 2026.
Best known for her role as Vivian Banks in Peacock's Bel-Air and her appearance in the 2025 Sundance selection Love, Brooklyn, Freeman has spent more than two decades building a dynamic career across film, television, theater, comedy, education, and entrepreneurship.
A longtime Brooklyn resident and graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Freeman began her screen career in Spike Lee's Inside Man, opposite Denzel Washington, and went on to appear in I Think I Love My Wife, Luke Cage, Atlanta, The Last O.G., Blue Caprice, Kinyarwanda, and Story Ave, among other productions.
Beyond her work on screen, Freeman is passionate about creating opportunities for fellow artists. She is the co-founder of Creatricity, alongside Stephanie Lilly Smith, a national community supporting multihyphenate creative entrepreneurs through mentorship, connection, and resources. She has also taught and mentored emerging artists at institutions including Vassar College, the New York Film Academy, and Rutgers University.
Her journey embodies the spirit of the Creative Impact Award: building a meaningful creative career while opening doors for others along the way.
