By MICHAEL GINGOLD
This year’s event had an especially strong lineup of features, and the favorites have been announced.
The staff of the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival revealed this afternoon the winners of the Audience Awards for the 2025 edition, which wrapped up on Saturday:
- Gold: INFLUENCERS, dir. Kurtis David Harder (filmmaking team pictured above)
- Silver: PARASOMNIA, dir. James Ross II
- Bronze: BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL, dir. David Kittredge
“To be back at Brooklyn Horror with INFLUENCERS, after world premiering the first film here, feels surreal,” Harder says. “I’m beyond thankful to the Brooklyn Horror team for supporting both films. We wouldn’t be here without the platform they gave the first film, and to win the Audience Choice Award is truly a dream come true.”
“Each edition of Brooklyn Horror somehow manages to surpass the last and BHFF 2025 was no different, says Joseph Hernandez, senior programmer and director of community development. Watching our genre film community continue to grow and flourish is truly a wonderful thing to behold. A heartfelt, kaiju-sized thank you to all for bringing so much excitement and joy to our 10th-anniversary celebration. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!”
Last week, the fest’s Jury Award winners were announced:
DARK MATTER JURY AWARDS
- Best Feature: DON’T LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE (pictured above)
- Best Director: Paolo Strippoli, THE HOLY BOY
- Best Performance: Olivia Taylor Dudley, ABIGAIL BEFORE BEATRICE
- Best Screenplay: Aleksandar Radivojevic, KARMADONNA
- Best Cinematography: Cristiano Di Nicola, THE HOLY BOY
- Best Practical FX: Mio Chiba and Tokihiko Endo, INCOMPLETE CHAIRS
“On behalf of everyone at DON’T LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE,” says director Emilio Portes, “we would like to thank the jury of the Dark Matter section, Matt Barone and everyone who makes the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival possible and everyone who took the time to attend the screenings. Thanks for inviting the film, fighting for the theatrical experience, nurturing horror audiences, bringing together international films and colleagues of the forbidden genres. And last but not least… ¡Viva Brooklyn Horror Fest y el Cine de Terror!”
HEAD TRIP JURY AWARDS
- Best Feature: EVERY HEAVY THING
- Best Director: Yûta Shimotsu, NEW GROUP
- Best Screenplay: Avalon Fast, CAMP
- Best Performance: Tipper Newton, EVERY HEAVY THING
- Best Editing: Simon Glassman, BUFFET INFINITY
- Best Cinematography: Eily Sprungman, CAMP
- Best Sound Design: Johnny Blerot, BUFFET INFINITY
“What an honor,” says EVERY HEAVY THING director Mickey Reece. “It’s been my lifelong goal to buck the formula of every kind of movie, so it’s galvanizing to receive this award which celebrates just that.”
SHORTS COMPETITION JURY AWARDS
- Best Short: LAST CALL
- Best Director: Kylie Aoibheann, THE DYSPHORIA
- Best Performance: Nicole Elliot, JEFF
- Best Special FX: Sharp FX, THE DYSPHORIA
- Best Screenplay: Louise Flaherty and Neil Christopher, THE GNAWER OF ROCKS
- Best Sound Design: Jack Goodman, EONIAN
- Best Art Direction: Danny Christopher and Sarah Ball, THE GNAWER OF ROCKS
- Best Editing: Marcus Fahey, DADDY IS A HUNTER
- Home Invasion Award: REBRAND
- Special Jury Mention for Filmmaker to Watch: Nathan Ginter, OVERGROWN
“I’m grateful to the festival, the jurors, and everyone who embraced the shadows of this film,” says LAST CALL director Winnie Cheung. This honor belongs to the cast and crew, whose artistry and devotion brought to life the strange, the unsettling, and the hauntingly beautiful metamorphosis of ‘becoming.’”
THE 2025 LEVIATHAN AWARD
Ernest Dickerson
