2024 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Unveils Audience and Jury Award Winners (EXCLUSIVE)

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival has unveiled its audience and jury award honorees for its 2024 edition, which ran from Oct. 17-24 at Nitehawk Cinema’s Williamsburg and Prospect Park locations.

Taking home the best film and best ensemble awards from the Dark Matter Jury was “Dead Talents Society” from writer-director John Hsu. The comedy horror, starring Bo-lin Chen, Sandrine Pinna and Gingle Wang, follows a ghost who joins a supernatural talent agency in hopes of becoming an urban legend.

Emma Benestan won best director from the Head Trip Jury, which honors films that deviate from the typical horror formula. Her film, “Animale,” follows a young bullfighter who begins noticing disturbing changes after a violent incident in the ring. Cast members include Oulaya Amamra, Damien Rebattel and Vivien Rodriguez.

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For the Shorts Jury, Grace Rex’s script for “The Shadow Wrangler” took home best screenplay. Following an audiobook narrator tortured by sinister interruptions while trying to complete an erotic novel, the film stars Mitzi Akaha, Michael Schantz and Rex.

This year’s Leviathan Award, which honors horror filmmakers who’ve made significant contributions to the genre, went to horror multihyphenate Larry Fessenden. Fessenden has remained a pillar of the New York indie horror community for over three decades through his film studio Glass Eye Pix.

As for the Audience Awards, “Dead Talents Society” took home gold while Racheal Cain’s horror thriller “Somnium” and Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s mystery “Bone Lake” nabbed silver and bronze respectively.

See a full list of winners below:

Leviathan Award

Larry Fessenden

Audience Award Winners

Gold – “Dead Talents Society”
Silver – “Somnium”
Bronze – “Bone Lake”

Dark Matter Jury Awards

Best Film – “Dead Talents Society”
Best Director – Sasha Rainbow, “Grafted”
Best Performance – Blu Hunt, “The Dead Thing”
Best Ensemble – “Dead Talents Society”
Best Screenplay – Jayro Bustamante, “Rita”

Head Trip Jury Awards

Best Film – “Dead Mail”
Best Director – Emma Benestan, “Animale”
Best Screenplay – Ariella Mastroianni and Ryan J. Sloan, “Gazer”
Best Actor – Zachary Ray Sherman, “Who’s Watching”
Best Actress – Oulaya Amamra, “Animale”
Best Ensemble – “Dead Mail”

Shorts Competition Awards

Best Film – “Femme”
Best Director – Émile Lavoie, “Mean Ends”
Best Performances – Sophie Neff and Woody Coyote, “Make Me a Pizza”
Best Special FX/Makeup – Irene Uncal, “Apotemnofilia”
Best Screenplay – Grace Rex, “The Shadow Wrangler”
Best Production Design – Masha Lyass, “Lady Parts”
Best Editing – Jordan M. Hahn, “Beach Logs Kill”
Home Invasion Award (sponsored by Cut and Measure) – “Hammer”