19th Annual Bushwick Film Festival Returns October 7–11 With Netflix-Presented Opening Night, Nearly 100 Films, Major Premieres and Expanded Industry Programming

BROOKLYN, NY — September 23, 2026 — The 19th Annual Bushwick Film Festival returns to Brooklyn October 7–11, 2026, bringing nearly 100 independent films, filmmaker Q&As, premieres, industry programming, special events and community gatherings to venues across Bushwick and Williamsburg.

This year’s festival is guided by the theme “Make Time for Your Dreams,” a call to protect the ideas, creative ambitions and personal projects that can too easily get pushed aside by everyday life.

The festival begins Wednesday, October 7 with the 19th Bushwick Film Festival Opening Night presented by Netflix, taking place from 6:30–11:00 PM at Lot45 in Bushwick. The evening will bring together filmmakers, industry guests, artists, partners and members of Brooklyn’s creative community for a red carpet celebration marking the official start of five days of programming.

Opening Night will also recognize actress, director and producer Cassandra Freeman with the festival’s Creative Impact Award, honoring her work and contributions to storytelling and the creative community.

“Every year, we’re reminded how much courage it takes to keep choosing your creative life,” said Kweighbaye Kotee, Founder and Festival Director of the Bushwick Film Festival. “This year’s theme, Make Time for Your Dreams, is really about that choice. You may not have unlimited time, money or resources, but you can keep making space for the thing that matters to you. The filmmakers in this year’s festival are proof of what can happen when people keep showing up for their ideas.”

Nearly 100 Films and a New Generation of Independent Storytellers

From October 8–11, BFF will take over Williamsburg Cinemas, where audiences can discover nearly 100 films across narrative, documentary, animation, episodic and other forms of independent storytelling.

The 2026 lineup includes world premieres, U.S. premieres, New York premieres and Brooklyn premieres, with filmmakers coming to Brooklyn from across the United States and around the world. This season, the festival received submissions from more than 60 countries, reflecting the international range of voices represented across the program.

Among this year’s major highlights is the U.S. Premiere of Wet Under Blue Sky, directed by Octavio Pisano, a drama about a boxer confronting the long-term consequences of a life spent in the ring and the battles that continue long after the fight is over.

BFF will also host several World Premieres, including the Colombian sci-fi horror feature Simbiontes, directed by Christian Mejía Carrascal. Produced across Colombia, Spain and the U.S., the cosmic horror film follows two travelers drawn to a mysterious symbiote girl whose arrival transforms faith, fear and the human body in unexpected ways. The film has previously received support from the Colombian Film Fund and the Dolby Institute.

Also making its World Premiere is Ayan, a documentary following young students from Yakutia who leave one of the world’s most remote regions to attend universities in the United States and find themselves reconsidering what home, identity and belonging mean across cultures.

Additional World Premieres include Crikey, a comedy starring Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez in her short-film comedy debut; Fantasy Life, a Bushwick-based romantic comedy about a Brooklyn couple navigating intimacy, relationships and the fantasies we rarely admit out loud; and Somehow in the City, a musical romantic comedy about finding one’s way through love and life in New York.

Additional highlights include After the Funeral, featuring Taylor Schilling, making its New York Premiere; Dr. Sam, a New York Premiere comedy featuring Lucie Arnaz and Alec Baldwin; and West Side Familia, a documentary chronicling a Puerto Rican-led Upper West Side neighborhood crew and community care group fighting to preserve its cultural traditions amid decades of gentrification.

The festival will also feature a strong slate of New York Premieres from locally based filmmakers, including Intimité from NYC filmmaker Poppy Gordon; The Chili Score from Vinny Anand & Ronald Austin, Jr., with deep Brooklyn and New York ties; Where the Wind Goes from Greenpoint-based filmmaker Everett Ravens; and Regulars from Williamsburg-based filmmaker Tessa Greenberg. Together, the films spotlight the range of stories emerging from New York’s independent film community, from satire and heist comedy to documentary and darkly comic murder mystery.

Brooklyn itself is deeply embedded throughout this year’s program. Films made in and inspired by the borough explore everything from music producers and artists to family, relationships, nightlife, gentrification and the strange experience of trying to build a creative life in New York.

New and Expanded Festival Programming

BFF continues to broaden what a film festival can include. The 2026 edition expands competitive programming in animation and podcasts, alongside the festival’s established narrative, documentary, episodic, screenplay and other storytelling programs.

Animation receives an expanded presence in this year’s festival with a dedicated Animation Showcase, while podcast storytelling joins BFF’s growing slate of formats designed to support independent creators working beyond traditional cinema.

Screenplay programming also returns, creating opportunities for writers to hear their work performed and experienced beyond the page.

Across the screening program, filmmakers will participate in Q&As and conversations with audiences, giving festivalgoers the opportunity to meet the artists behind the work.

Industry Programming and Creative Connection

Beyond the theaters, BFF’s 2026 festival week is designed to create opportunities for filmmakers and creative professionals to actually meet one another.

On Friday, October 9 from 4:00–7:00 PM, the festival will present the Made in New York Industry Panel + Connections Mixer at LilliStar at Moxy Williamsburg, in partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment / Made in NY.

The event will bring filmmakers, industry professionals and members of New York’s creative community together for conversation, professional connections and a closer look at building sustainable careers in film and media.

The festival’s screening program is also supported by partners including Spectrum and Brooklyn Coop, continuing BFF’s longstanding effort to connect independent artists with organizations invested in New York’s creative community.

Celebrating Independent Film in Brooklyn Since 2007

Founded in 2007, the Bushwick Film Festival has grown from a neighborhood film event into an internationally recognized platform for independent filmmakers while remaining rooted in the community that gave the festival its name.

Over nearly two decades, BFF has championed emerging filmmakers, introduced audiences to new voices, and created opportunities for artists who often work outside traditional industry pipelines.

The festival has previously showcased filmmakers and creators who have gone on to significant careers across film and television, while continuing to prioritize discovery and access for the next generation of storytellers.

Now entering its 19th year, BFF remains committed to the belief that independent film festivals can be more than exhibition spaces. They can be meeting places, launching pads, classrooms, creative communities and reminders that artists do not have to wait for permission to begin.

“This festival has always been about people making something because they felt they had to,” Kotee said. “Nineteen years later, that still feels like the heart of it. We want people to leave BFF not only inspired by the films they saw, but thinking about the thing they’ve been putting off — and maybe deciding that now is the time to make room for it.”

The 19th Annual Bushwick Film Festival runs October 7–11, 2026 across Brooklyn.

Tickets, festival passes and the complete 2026 program are available at BushwickFilmFestival.com.