The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (BHFF) has announced the jury awards for its 2025 incarnation.
DARK MATTER JURY AWARDS
Best Feature – Don’t Leave the Kids Alone
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, we would like to thank the jury of the Dark Matter section, Matt Barone and everyone who make 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!” – Emilio Portes, dir. Don’t Leave the Kids Alone
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. 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.” – Mickey Reece, dir. Every Heavy Thing
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 & Neil Christopher, The Gnawer of Rocks
Best Sound Design – Jack Goodman, Eonian
Best Art Direction –
Danny Christopher & 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
The Best Short Award comes with a prize package from post-production house Cut and Measure.
The Home Invasion Award comes with a prize package from Lightbulb Rentals.
“I’m grateful to the festival, the jurors, and everyone who embraced the shadows of this film. 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.” – Winnie Cheung, dir. Last Call
The Leviathan Award, Brooklyn Horror’s first and only tribute award, was created in 2023 to honor the luminaries of horror and acknowledge their monstrous contributions to the genre.
The 2025 Leviathan Award goes to the multitalented Ernest Dickerson, whose prolific career as a cinematographer and director has given horror fans a surplus of greatness on screens both big and small. With his trailblazing run of feature films and TV show episodes dating back to the 1980s and spanning to the present day, Ernest Dickerson has helped to pave the way for the likes of Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta by showing that horror cinema knows no color lines nor cultural barriers.
2025 Brooklyn Horror Jury
Features, Dark Matter
Greg Newman (Executive Vice President, MPI Media)
Kimberly Leszak (Community and Content Manager, Fangoria)
Alison Foreman (Features Writer, IndieWire)
Features, Head Trip
James-Michael Fleites (Editor in Chief, Horror Press)
Justin LaLiberty (Director of Operations, OCN Distribution; Archivist, Vinegar Syndrome)
Gigi Murakami (Horror Mangaka Creator)
Shorts
Shannon Wiedemeyer (Programmer, Head of Social Channel Ops at Alter)
Katie Rife (Critic, Shorts Programmer for Overlook Film Festival)
Kailey Marsh (Literary Manager, Producer, Brillstein Entertainment Partners)
BHFF would like to thank their 2025 Sponsors:
Premium Sponsors
Arrow Video
Dark Sky Films
Gushers
Independent Film Company
Shudder
Supporting Sponsors
Cut + Measure
Den of Geek
El Buho
Horror Press
KCBC
Macabre Daily
Nightflight
Vinegar Syndrome
Yellow Veil Pictures
For more information, visit:
Facebook: facebook.com/brooklynhorror/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/brooklynhorror
Instagram: http://instagram.com/brooklynhorrorfest
