{"id":11407,"date":"2025-10-21T23:51:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T23:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/11407\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T23:51:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T23:51:15","slug":"brooklyn-horror-film-festival-2025-winners-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/11407\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2025 \u2014 Winners List"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are rats cute, creepy, or a matter of genre? That\u2019s the sort of debate you have at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival<\/a> \u2014\u00a0a warm-and-whacky annual event in New York City that expanded rapidly for its 10th edition. <\/p>\n

Founded by creative director Justin Timms, this gonzo celebration started a decade ago as a quaint movie club in the backroom of a bar. Now, it\u2019s a ten-day affair held at several different venues with an estimated 5,000 guests in attendance for 2025. That\u2019s a 20 percent increase since last year and proof that buzz for Brooklyn Horror<\/a> is building scary well.<\/p>\n

\u201cRats, much like horror, are deeply misunderstood,\u201d said Timms, who champions plenty of weird art you could describe that way. This year, Brooklyn Horror gave top accolades to Mickey Reece<\/a>\u2019s \u201cEvery Heavy Thing,\u201d Emilio Portes\u2019 \u201cDon\u2019t Leave the Kids Alone,\u201d and \u201cLast Call,\u201d a short film<\/a> directed by Winnie Cheung. Read the exclusive Brooklyn Horror Film Festival winners announcement below.<\/p>\n

\"SINNERS,<\/a> \"David<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u201cThere really wasn\u2019t a festival like this in New York,\u201d said Timms. \u201cThere\u2019s the New York City Horror Film Festival, but they show more strictly defined horror movies \u2014\u00a0and Scary Movies at Lincoln Center is back, but that\u2019s a much smaller program. So, there are other horror festivals, but they\u2019re just not programming all of the kinds of films that we\u2019re interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Creative director Justin Timms at the 10th Brooklyn Horror Film FestivalSean Chee, Brooklyn Horror Film Fest<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Horror recruited IndieWire to its panel of expert judges this year. That group \u2014\u00a0which also included voices from prominent genre brands<\/a>\u00a0like Vinegar Syndrome, Fangoria, MPI Media, Alter, and more \u2014 toasted not just the scariest cinema but the most out-there media of all kinds. That\u2019s important to Joseph Hernandez, the senior programmer and director of community development who has been working alongside Timms since the festival\u2019s inception. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mainstream perception of horror goes back to the \u201880s to that explosion of slasher sequels, and that\u2019s what really helped form the image of what a horror movie is today,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cEver since then, true horror fans have been trying to explain that the genre world is so much more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three categories in competition at Brooklyn Horror 2025 included the annual shorts contest; the Dark Matter lineup, for features grounded in serious subject matter; and the Head Trip section, for features that expand your mind. The winners from the 10th-anniversary year demonstrate just how far you can stretch the definition of an award-worthy film \u2014\u00a0in the best way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat worries me most is that people will stop taking big swings,\u201d said publicist Justin Cook, when asked about his hopes and fears for the genre landscape going forward. Cook just joined Brooklyn Horror Film Festival two years ago, but he knows what\u2019s cutting-edge. \u201cThere should always be movies out there that take big swings. Some work for me personally. Some do not. But I will always respect a big swing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the best movie debate he\u2019s had at Brooklyn Horror so far, Cook hauled off and asserted a hot take he heard earlier this week: Rob Zombie\u2019s \u201cHalloween\u201d is\u2026 more entertaining than John Carpenter\u2019s original?! Programmer Tori Potenza is a recent addition to the team too, and it\u2019s those kinds of moments that transformed them from a visiting film critic to a yearly organizer hungry for more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community is the thing that made me love this festival so much,\u201d said Potenza, noting that many of the most important conversations in genre veer toward Dark Matter<\/a>. \u201cWhen you look at the history of horror, there\u2019s so much that\u2019s either in the subtext or the actual text that\u2019s about marginalized communities. We are representing that history by honoring people who didn\u2019t always have the chance to be behind the camera and tell their own stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The 2025 Leviathan Award winner Ernest Dickerson at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Sean Chee\/Brooklyn Horror<\/p>\n

\u201cHorror is a very wide prism that can be so many things and we\u2019re just constantly trying to reflect that in our program every year,\u201d agreed Hernandez. \u201cWe are a genre film festival and we\u2019re very proud of our ongoing mission to continue to stretch that definition.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Brooklyn Horror first got started, the infamous pizza rat video from 2015<\/a> had just gone viral. The rodent has served as the fest\u2019s unofficial mascot ever since, but it took a decade for Timms to finally stop by a Spirit Halloween and pick up the animatronic that\u2019s stealing the spotlight in all of this year\u2019s photos. The rat is called Pepperoni and his agent \u201cdemands he be credited by name,\u201d said Cook. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But to quote the truest internet meme I\u2019ve read in recent memory, \u201cThe worst person you know is somewhere saying, \u2018I\u2019m passionate about uplifting community.’\u201d Not so at Brooklyn Horror, where Timms avoids taking credit and instead heaps praise on his organizers and volunteers\u2026 while waxing poetic on the redemptive quality of rats. Popping sponsored Gushers in red wine (an off-the-menu secret you found here first!), the creative director shared his favorite conversation from this year\u2019s Brooklyn Horror as well.<\/p>\n

Recalling a chat he had with Leviathan Award winner Ernest Dickerson, who got distracted on his way to the bathroom during a screening, Timms said, \u201cHe forgot he was waiting, and completely out of the blue, he wanted to tell me about this Japanese horror movie he saw on YouTube. He said it\u2019s so good I need to watch it. So, you know I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read on for all the winners (and some of their reactions!) at the 10th Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.<\/p>\n

Dark Matter Jury Awards<\/p>\n

Best Feature: \u201cDon\u2019t Leave the Kids Alone\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of everyone at\u00a0\u2018Don\u2019t Leave the Kids Alone,\u2019 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\u2026 \u00a1Viva Brooklyn Horror Fest y el Cine de Terror!\u201d
\u2014Emilio Portes, director<\/p>\n

\"\"A scene from director Emilio Portes\u2019 \u201cDon\u2019t Leave the Kids Alone\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Director: Paolo Strippoli,\u00a0\u201cThe Holy Boy\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Performance: Olivia Taylor Dudley, \u201cAbigail Before Beatrice\u201d <\/p>\n

Best Screenplay: Aleksandar Radivojevic,\u00a0\u201cKarmadonna\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Cinematography: Cristiano Di Nicola, \u201cThe Holy Boy\u201d <\/p>\n

Best Practical FX: Mio Chiba and Tokhiko Endo, \u201cIncomplete Chairs\u201d <\/p>\n

Head Trip Jury Awards<\/p>\n

Best Feature: \u201cEvery Heavy Thing\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an honor. It\u2019s been my lifelong goal to buck the formula of every kind of movie so it\u2019s galvanizing to receive this award which celebrates just that.\u201d
\u2014Mickey Reece, director<\/p>\n

\"\"(Left to right): Tipper Newton and Mickey Reece for \u201cEvery Heavy Thing\u201dSean Chee\/Brooklyn Horror Film Fest<\/p>\n

Best Director: Y\u00fbta Shimotsu,\u00a0\u201cNew Group\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Screenplay: Avalon Fast, \u201cCAMP\u201d <\/p>\n

Best Performance: Tipper Newton, \u201cEvery Heavy Thing\u201d <\/p>\n

Best Editing: Simon Glassman, \u201cBuffet Infinity\u201d <\/p>\n

Best Cinematography: Eily Sprungman, \u201cCAMP\u201d <\/p>\n

Best Sound Design: Johnny Blerot, \u201cBuffet Infinity\u201d <\/p>\n

Shorts Competition Jury Awards<\/p>\n

Best Short: \u201cLast Call\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 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 \u2018becoming.\u201d\u00a0
\u2014Winnie Cheung, director<\/p>\n

\"\"A scene from director Winnie Cheung\u2019s \u201cLast Call\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Director: Kylie Aoibheann,\u00a0\u201cThe Dysphoria\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Performance:\u00a0Nicole Elliot,\u00a0\u201cJeff\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Special FX: Sharp FX,\u00a0The Dysphoria<\/p>\n

Best Screenplay: Louise Flaherty & Neil Christopher,\u00a0\u201cThe Gnawer of Rocks\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Sound Design: Jack Goodman,\u00a0\u201cEonian\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Art Direction:\u00a0Danny Christopher & Sarah Ball,\u00a0\u201cThe Gnawer of Rocks\u201d<\/p>\n

Best Editing: Marcus Fahey,\u00a0\u201cDaddy is a Hunter\u201d<\/p>\n

Home Invasion Award:\u00a0\u201cRebrand\u201d (dir. Edoardo Ranaboldo) <\/p>\n

Special Jury Mention for Filmmaker to Watch:\u00a0Nathan Ginter,\u00a0\u201cOvergrown\u201d<\/p>\n

The Leviathan Award<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Horror\u2019s first and only tribute award, was created in 2023 to honor the luminaries of horror and acknowledge their monstrous contributions to the genre.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Leviathan Award goes to the multitalented\u00a0Ernest 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"Leviathan Award winner Ernest Dickerson at the Brooklyn Horror Film FestivalSean Chee\/Brooklyn Horror Film Fest<\/p>\n

The 10th Brooklyn Horror Film Festival runs through October 25 in New York City. Check showtimes.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are rats cute, creepy, or a matter of genre? That\u2019s the sort of debate you have at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[2470,98,100,9156,99,749,5922,2482,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-11407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-awards","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-horror-film-festival","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-film","tag-horror","tag-interviews","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}