Welcome to the 2025 AoBFF - our 15th season!
The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival is a unique event that connects the next generation of film and media makers to diverse audiences across Brooklyn… and an important part of NYC’s independent cultural scene.
The award-winning AoBFF is an artist-focused event, platform, and showcase for exciting emerging creators and established voices. We partner with distributors and media organizations, host world-class talkbacks, create innovative programming for networking and skill building, and screen in state-of-the-art theaters for enthusiastic audiences across Brooklyn.
Equity is organic to our mission as a 501c3 nonprofit organization. We bridge the opportunity divide by making media accessible to everyone, including those who are underrepresented on either side of the camera.
Founded in 2011 by working artists, AoBFF has partnered with film and media companies like Sony, Gravitas Ventures, HBO, NBC/Universal, Fangoria magazine, ESPN Films, LesFlicks, IFC Films and more to realize our programming. AoBFF was named one of “Top 7 Film Fests" in 2014, “Brooklyn Creative Group of the Year” in 2016, one of “Five Film Festivals Worth Traveling For” in 2019, and one of “5 Notable American Film Festivals” in 2020.
As of 2024, 35 of our festival premieres have gotten distribution — and one became an HBO series.
We’ve held events in 24 different venues in 12 neighborhoods across Brooklyn, often partnering with local businesses and organizations to reach the widest possible audience.
OUR GUEST FESTIVAL DIRECTOR PROGRAM:
AoBFF has become well-known for our exceptional programming. It all stems from our Guest Festival Director program, which we instituted in 2016 to keep our creative POV fresh, diverse, and unexpected. Each season we invite different film professionals to oversee our curation process and impart their unique creative vision to our festival.
The position of GFD has been held by members of underrepresented groups over 80% of the time. Welcoming new artistic voices is why AoBFF’s programming is praised each year by filmmakers and audiences.
We believe that democratizing cinema culture is the future of film — and that film festivals exist for filmmakers, not the other way around.
SUBMISSION POLICY:
AoBFF’s ethical and transparent submission policy is a model for the industry. Every entry we receive — until midnight of the last day of submissions— is viewed/read in its entirety and considered for programming. We never pre-select films or screenplays for competition, fill a template, or set our schedule before submissions close.
Every film is screened multiple times, first by our selection committee, a diverse (racially, by gender, and age) group of film professionals and film fans, who represent the popular taste of our audience. They leave detailed notes on each film for the Guest Festival Director(s), for final decisions based on their own complete viewing. We have curated films we’ve received at the very end of our submission process several times, resulting in more than one AoBFF award-winner. So don't hesitate to spend on a late submission to AoBFF, it's worth it.
We employ professional readers to read and score every screenplay entry for placement in our competition.
•• Only films that we receive through our submissions process are eligible for festival awards.
** AoBFF will NEVER us AI to score or judge any work that is submitted for consideration.**
HOW WE SCREEN:
AoBF is a fully hybrid festival producing live, in-person screenings... plus streaming encore screenings and events with studio grade DRM protection via the Eventive Virtual Festival Platform .
Our screening venues include Brooklyn’s legendary Cobble Hill Cinemas, Stuart Cinema in Greenpoint, and the screening room at AbelCine in Industry City.
We have produced film events in 20 different venues for diverse audiences in 10 different Brooklyn neighborhoods, including those underserved by art and culture organizations.
Our Technical Director pre-screens every selection in advance, to ensure the best-quality version of your film screens for our audience • We only screen from digital files to ensure a high quality experience, without the technical pitfalls that can come with DVDs or Blu-Rays. • Our projectionists always remain in the theater for every screening.
OUR SCREENPLAY COMPETITION:
We accept Film or TV scripts in any genre. Features and Short Films, and half-hour and one-hour TV scripts. Entries are scored by a team of professional script readers, managed by our Script Contest Director, Gina Leone.
We have created a valuable prize package in collaboration with our partners Roadmap Writers, InkTip, ScriptHop, Midnight Lantern, and more.
(Read more about prizes in Awards & Prizes section.)
OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS:
We have enjoyed strategic partnerships with Sony, AbelCine, UCLA Extension Writers' Program, Alliance of Women Directors, New York Women in Film and Television, The Alliance of Women Directors, The NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment, Prime Latino Media, Gravitas Ventures, BOND/360, IndiePix films, Pratt Institute, ESPN Films, LesFlicks global streaming platform, NBC Universal and LiveStream, among others.
OUR PREMIERES:
We strongly prefer to screen premieres, especially for features. We have a great track record of opening films, garnering them press and industry attention with successful screenings. Over 35 of our Feature Premieres have received distribution to date!
THE AoBFF EXPERIENCE:
• We NEVER require filmmakers to purchase blocks of tickets for their own screenings.
• We NEVER make filmmakers pay for their own trophies.
• We NEVER charge filmmakers for marketing or promotion.
• We DO always partner with filmmakers to make their screenings special.
• We DO create opportunities to connect with your peers and industry at our world-class audience talkbacks, panels for networking and skill building, and our amazing Opening Night Party.
• We DO promote all our screenings to press and audience using social media and targeted press outreach.
• We DO create dozens of free promotional videos every season, filmmaker interviews, promotional trailers, and more.
• We DO produce broadcast quality interviews with AoBFF filmmakers that we promote on social media and give to filmmakers for their own use — and we NEVER charge extra for them.
• Our post-screening talkbacks are some of the best around. We get incredible feedback on them every year.
• Your film’s festival run is an important part of its long-term marketing plan. We will partner with you to make the most of your AoBFF screening; before, during and after the festival. Premiering with us pays off!
• Our communication skills are legendary; you’ll always be in the loop.
• Our filmmakers love screening with us!
HIGHLIGHTS:
• 2023 and 2024 saw us have multiple sold-out screenings in venues across Brooklyn.
• In 2022 we returned to a full slate of in-person screenings, plus virtual encore presentations and premieres.
• In 2021 our first Hybrid Edition combined virtual and in-person screenings and events. 3 of our 2020 features received distribution!
We have screened and held events in 20 venues in 10 different neighborhoods across Brooklyn.
• In 2020 we launched our first Digital Edition (on schedule) in response to the Covid pandemic on the Eventive Virtual Festival Platform
• We welcome around 2,000 guests to our event every year, including 2020.
• In 2016, we screened the premiere of the theatrical cut of Spike Lee’s new documentary ‘2 Fists Up’ through a partnership with ESPN Films.
• In 2018 we hosted a special 25th Anniversary screening of the indie classic "Just Another Girl On The IRT" with director Leslie Harris in attendance.
• In 2017, we screened Kelly Reichardt's 'Certain Women' and welcomed Neil deGrasse Tyson as a special festival guest for our New York Premiere of the feature 'Future '38'
• Our Official Selections Hunter&Game (2015) Lake Nowhere (2015), Lemon (2014), American Bomber (2013), Casual Encounters (2013) and You Bury Your Own (2012) all went on to get distribution.
• Our 2014 Best Animation winner ‘How You Doin’ Boy? Voicemails From Gran’pa’ was sold as a series to HBO Latino.
• We won a Brooklyn Innovation Award for Creative Group of the Year in 2015
The AoBFF will present awards including:
- Outstanding Narrative Feature
- Outstanding Narrative Short
- Outstanding Documentary
- Outstanding Comedy
- Outstanding Drama
- Outstanding Cinematography
- Outstanding Performance
- Outstanding Ensemble
- Outstanding Editing
- Outstanding Performance
- Outstanding Animation
- Outstanding Score
- Outstanding Visual Effects
- Outstanding Short Documentary
- Jury Prize
- Dark Side Award (For Horror/Thriller/Noir Films)
- Vanguard Award (For Experimental/Non-Linear/Avant-Garde Films)
SCREENPLAY COMPETITION:
** As part of our mission to support emerging writers, everyone who enters will receive a FREE webinar from Roadmap Writers.**
Quarterfinalists:
- an All-Access Festival pass
Semifinalists:
- All-Access Festival pass
- 1 free month in the "Pitch Fitness Club" from Roadmap Writers
Finalists:
- All-Access Festival pass
- 1 free month in the "Pitch Fitness Club" from Roadmap Writers
- 4-month Pro listing on Inktip
- 6-month membership on ScriptHop
Grand Prize Winner:
- an All-Access Festival pass
- 1 free month in the "Pitch Fitness Club" from Roadmap Writers
- 4-month Pro listing on Inktip
- 6-month membership on ScriptHop
- FADE IN Screenwriting Software
— and NEW for 2025—
- Guaranteed Development Deal with Midnight Lantern Productions!
"Midnight Lantern Productions is excited to team up with the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival to find the next creative and original script and storyteller. We will work with the winner for a minimum of twelve months to develop the script and bring it to the next stage of development."