Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival Announces 2020 Official Selections and Postponement to September 10-16 at Chicago Filmmakers
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Frankie Faison portrays Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an elderly African American veteran with bipolar disorder, in "The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain". The film, based on a true story, is one of seven feature films selected for BWiFF 2020. Chamberlain was killed during a conflict with police officers who were dispatched to check on him in 2011. Courtesy of Play on Play Productions.
The 10th Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival (BWiFF) was originally scheduled to be held at Chicago Filmmakers, located in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago's North Side, in late July. Due to the current global health crisis, the festival will be postponed nearly eight weeks.
"We've been fortunate to obtain a lot of feedback from other film festivals from around the world," according to Executive Director Michael Noens. "Many festivals originally scheduled for earlier this Spring had little time to make these decisions and I am grateful for their willingness to provide other festivals, such as BWiFF, guidance based on their experiences."
The 2020 Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival is now scheduled for September 10-16 at Chicago Filmmakers. "However, if as we approach September it is not deemed safe for an event such as BWiFF to take place, we are prepared to postpone our 2020 season until next year," Noens stated during the official selections announcement today. "The health and safety of our attendees, filmmakers, judges, and volunteer staff are paramount."
The 2020 festival will exhibit seven feature films and twenty-seven short films. Of the thirty-five official selections, the festival will present twenty-three short narratives, four feature documentaries, three feature narratives, three short documentaries, and two music videos.
2020 Feature Film Official Selections
Brindisi (United States), dir. Nika Burnett, Alessandro Marino
Five Years North (United States), dir. Zach Ingrasci, Chris Temple
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain (United States), dir. David Midell
Resisterhood (United States), dir. Cheryl Jacobs Crim
Triple Take (United States), dir. Nick Nanton
When All That's Left is Love (United States), dir. Eric Gordon
Woman of the Photographs (Japan), dir. Takeshi Kushida
2020 Short Film Official Selections
Brought to You by Satan (United States), dir. Holly Laurent
The Butterfly Cage (France), dir. Hélèna Serra, Maxime Sabisik
A Cut Above (United States), dir. Kate Houle
Dear Aunt Noa (United States), dir. Dana Aliya Levinson
Extra Innings (United States), dir. John Gray
Family (United States), dir. David L. Bradburn
Gabrielle (United States), dir. Nicola Rose
Hide and Seek (United States), dir. Thomas Nicol, Andrew Gleason
The Hollow Hours (Australia), dir. Shane Anderson
Hypoxia (United States), dir. Christian P. Gridelli, Hunter Norris
Kill: Norwood (United Kingdom), dir. Lexy Anderson
Little Nations (United States), dir. Maria Allred
Muedra (Spain), dir. Cesar Díaz Meléndez
Mug (Ireland), dir. Eoghan Moloney
Northern Light (France), dir. Fanny Lecendre
Office Song (United Kingdom), dir. Marcus Markou
Remember When (United States), dir. Paola Ossa
The Shot (United States), dir. Adan Canto
Sock (United States), dir. Robert Postrozny
Sui Caedere (Italy), dir. Fabrizio Accettulli
The Sweatshirt (United States), dir. Jonah Saesan
Swept Away (United States), dir. Thomas Grascoeur
Teranga: Life in the Waiting Room (United Kingdom), dir. Daisy Squires, Lou Marillier, Sophia Seymour
Too Close to the Sun (United States), dir. Jonas Morganstein
VR Workplace (Japan), dir. Yuki Takashima
Waiting by the Phone (United States), dir. Olivia Jensen
Watermark (United States), dir. Rebecca Maddalo
Wonderland (United States), dir. Bradley Thomas
"Congratulations to all of the 2020 Official Selections," said Festival Operations Director Jonathan C. Legat following today's announcement. "We look forward to exhibiting your work at our 10th annual festival."
The festival's digital program guide will be published through the BWiFF mobile app in the coming months. To download the app, search "BWiFF" using Google Play on android devices and the App Store on iOS. The guide will contain the complete schedule, trailers of official selections, director biographies, and interactive elements for attendees.
"We are committed to presenting an in-person festival," says Noens. "Our judges have always watched each film for the first time with the audience and moderated each filmmaker Q&A. We have determined it not possible to replicate this type of screening environment in a virtual format."
For more information about the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, visit bwiff.com. Festival passes and tickets are expected to go on sale in mid-July.
Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival is a not-for-profit organization that seeks out independently produced cinema by bold and innovative filmmakers that utilize story elements in a new and exciting way, presenting character-driven independent cinema fueled by the filmmaker's passion for the craft without studio support.
