Brooklyn’s flagship indie film event will cast and produce a live staged reading for its inaugural Best Screenplay category. The 7th annual Art of Brooklyn Film Festival is accepting entries of films, series and unproduced scripts until April 14, 2017.
 
The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival has launched a new screenplay competition for its seventh annual edition, which will run June 7-11, 2017. The three Finalists will be awarded free listings on screenplay aggregator InkTip to help producers find them. The winning script will receive a live staged reading cast with professional NYC actors, produced and promoted by AoBFF. Unproduced film and television screenplays in any genre are eligible, as long as they have a connection to Brooklyn via the writer, theme, subject matter or location. AoBFF also accepts new indie films and series of all lengths and genres that emerge from the Brooklyn scene. Submissions are open until April 14, 2017 on Withoutabox, FilmFreeway and aobff.org.
 
“We’re committed to supporting the work of Brooklyn’s film and media makers at every phase,” said Joseph Shahadi, AoBFF’s Executive Director. “Our screenplay category will help new films get made, via our prizes and the networking and learning opportunities we produce. Every screenplay entry will be read by a team of professional script readers, whether we get it on the first day of submissions or the last… which is the same ethical submission policy we have in place for our films.”
 
The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival is the only international, independent festival in the world exclusively devoted to the vibrant Brooklyn indie film and media scene. Since 2011, AoBFF has entertained an average of two thousand guests a year, had a half dozen distribution deals made for our premieres—and an HBO series. We’ve partnered with New York Women in Film and Television, Prime Latino Media, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, NBC Universal, ESPN Films and others. The theatrical cut of Spike Lee’s new film 2 Fists Up premiered at the 2016 AoBFF.
 
AoBFF is also the only indie film festival to build and program its own video-on-demand streaming platform: Brooklyn On Demand, which broadcasts festival favorites, original series and more for free online and on a free Roku channel with over 15,000 subscribers alongside Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.

Award-winning writer/producer Dave Chan has been named Guest Festival Director for the 7th Annual Art of Brooklyn Film Festival (June 7–11, 2017.) Dave Chan is the founder of Navy Yard Films, a Brooklyn-based independent film production company. An acclaimed screenwriter and producer, his short comedy script “Fly!” is in development as an animated feature that he will produce and direct and his Family Guy spec script has won or placed in almost 25 competitions.

​Dave is currently writing and producing the crime comedy feature “Sure Fire!”, to be directed by his creative partner Michael Goldburg. Their previous collaboration “What’s Eating Dad?” — a winner and nominee at almost 20 festivals internationally — screened at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival in 2015. Dave also regularly consults for television and movies including the taut action film “Ambushed” starring Vinnie Jones and a TV pilot currently in development at Fox.

We wrote a blog post for our friends at Stareable to give emerging filmmakers some helpful strategies in navigating the world of film festival submissions. Check it out! 

Stareable democratizes how viewers find and watch digital series, so great indie shows can be found and enjoyed by a large audience that has never heard of them before. It's the same reason we created Brooklyn On Demand, which has its own category on Stareable. We love it when indies get the love they deserve!

UPDATE: AoBFF has partnered with InkTip to award our 3 Screenplay Finalists with FREE listings so producers and reps can find them. More than 200 films have been made from scripts and writers that producers found through InkTip! 

Submissions are now open for the 7th Annual Art of Brooklyn Film Festival (June 7-11, 2017.) AoBFF is the only independent, international festival in the world exclusively devoted to Brooklyn film and media. We program films of all lengths and genres that have a connection to the BK scene through cast/crew, production, or location.

AoBFF is a creative hub, platform and showcase for independent film and media makers in Brooklyn and around the world. We partner with film distributors and media organizations, host world-class talkbacks, and create innovative programming for networking and skill building. And we screen in state-of-the-art theaters for enthusiastic audiences across Brooklyn. We believe that film festivals exist for filmmakers, not the other way around.

NEW FOR 2017: Our first Screenplay Competition for unproduced scripts. Every entry is read by a team of professional script readers, with the winner receiving a staged reading!

‘Pumping out groundbreaking content… AoBFF sets itself apart from the traditional Brooklyn film scene in so many ways.’ – Holly Thicknes, GIRLS ON FILM (London)

EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: November 18. Learn more and enter at www.aobff.org
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#AoBFF17

​The 2016 Art of Bklyn Film Festival kicked off our 6th annual edition with an amazing opening night party on the beautiful roof deck of BKLYN Commons, a co-working space in the old Bond Bakery building where Kings County’s artists, entrepreneurs and non-profits are thriving. Bklyn Commons is the brainchild of Jack Srour, a Brooklyn-born-and-raised real estate developer who wants the space to be a hub for the borough’s emerging creative class, while respecting the neighborhood’s history and adding value to the community. 

​“Brooklyn is a powerhouse for talent and has always supported independent thinking,” said Srour. “When Bklyn Commons was being built we put a lot of emphasis on design and community so that we could attract that talent and be a magnet for Brooklyn's amazing cultural scene. Hosting the opening night party of the Art of Bklyn Film Festival was a perfect example. As Brooklyn’s premiere indie film festival, AoBFF embodies the indie spirit, and like us, they bring the whole borough together to create and inspire each other.”
 
Filmmakers, press and VIPs partied beneath the iconic clock tower while enjoying food and drink from Create & Plate, Baba’s Pierogies, Epicurious Safari, Choux Fly Bakery, Chef Jo Anne Joseph, Jae NYC Eats, Sixpoint Brewery and Martin Scott Wines. Filmmakers also went home with shirts from new local fashion brand Brooklyn Celebrity. Brookyn’s own DJ SugarfreeBK spun a set under the stars as guests posed for photos and celebrated Brooklyn indie film.
 
Srour and co. have big plans for the future: 50,000 additional square feet will soon be developed to include a 20K square foot event space and more room for pop-ups and working spaces. And a second location – Bklyn Commons Bushwick — is set to open in 2017.
 
While the beautiful, high-tech space is impressive, it’s the people who make it work. Filmmaker Matt Nusbaum, musician Daniel Kidd, financial planner Kristen Euretig and TrendyTripping’s Johanne Brierre are just some of the professionals using Bklyn Commons to work and grow their businesses.
 
Prices to rent space are very competitive and the B, Q and S trains are right across the street at Prospect Park. Amenities include 24 Hour Access, Printing & Scanning Services, Reception, Kitchen, Outdoor Space, Conference Room and more. The rooftop can be rented out for private events, so you can party under the clock tower like we did!
 
The Art of Bklyn had an amazing time at Bkyln Commons and we look forward to working with them again as they expand and grow. 

We would like to thank all of our 2016 Official Selections for making the 6th Annual AoBFF a truly outstanding event and for representing the best in new Brooklyn-centric independent film. 

​2016 AoBFF Winners:

Animation
THINK INK
Directed by Wally Chung
 
Narrative Super Short
FIRST NIGHT OUT
Directed by Will Mayo
 
Dark Side Award
PHOTO OP
Directed by Dave Solomon
 
Narrative Feature
LIFE OF SIGNIFICANT SOIL
Directed by Michael Irish
 
Vanguard Award
SUPER FUN SHOW, WITH LEARNING!
Directed by Lexie Kahanovitz and Jim Tozzi
 
Narrative Short
ENDURO
Directed by Christopher Dillon
 
Documentary Short Subject
THE CHAMPION
Directed by Patrick McGowan
 
Documentary Feature
IN OUR BACKYARD
Directed by Danielle Rose
 
Best Director
BEHIND THE WALL
Directed by Bat-Sheva Guez
 
Audience Choice
IN OUR BACKYARD
Directed by Danielle Rose

BROOKLYN, N.Y.  The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival (June 4-12) is honored to open our 6th Annual AoBFF with the Brooklyn premiere of the full theatrical version of Spike Lee's new documentary 2 Fists Up: We Gon Be Alright on June 8th at 7pm at St. Francis College's Founders Hall Theater (180 Remsen St, Brooklyn, NY 11201)

2 Fists Up is about the Concerned Student 1950 movement at the University of Missouri, whose efforts led to the resignation of former UM System President Tim Wolfe over racial issues on campus. Capturing a semester of unrest at Mizzou, 2 Fists Up touches on the essential participation of the football team in supporting the student movement. Former Tigers coach Gary Pinkel tweeted a photo of the entire team locking arms in solidarity with hunger striking activist Jonathan Butler, who was calling for Wolfe's resignation. Pinkel said, "I support my players, and a young man's life was on the line. I'm talking guys had tears in their eyes, crying, and asked if I could support them and I said I would ... I didn't look at consequences. That wasn't about it at the time. It was about helping my players and supporting my players when they needed me." Butler is more succinct in his assessment, saying, "I guarantee I wouldn't be alive if the football players didn't step in."

Lee made the documentary in partnership with ESPN Films, as part of a deal to make a series of shorts called "Spike Lee's Lil' Joints." A 22-minute version premiered on ESPN's digital platforms on May 31. A 30-minute version screened at the Tribeca Film Festival last month and Lee has also shared the film with student audiences at Mizzou, Spellman and Yale. But AoBFF will open our sixth annual film festival with the full theatrical version.

"We are ecstatic to be showing the work of a Brooklyn indie film icon, especially since his values correspond so closely with our mission.  Like Spike Lee, we are for, by and about Brooklyn—all of it." Joseph Shahadi, Exec Director AoBFF.

About AoBFF:

The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival is the only international, independent festival in the world exclusively devoted to the Brooklyn indie film scene. We consciously work against the ways that film festivals in the borough support gentrification, by screening in neighborhoods across Brooklyn, including those underserved by cultural institutions. 

And it's working: the director Elliot Lester (Nightingale) has called us "Brooklyn's Tribeca."

Please see our site for more information about the schedule of this year's films and to read our international press at www.aobff.org.