“Dear Mandela,” “Brooklyn Castle” triumph at Brooklyn Film Festival

June 12, 2012 by Kevin Ritchie

Organizers of the Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF) have awarded directors Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza’s Dear Mandela best documentary honors.

The film, which follows a group of South African friends that fight to stop government plans to close down shantytowns, made its U.S. premiere at the festival.

Other 2012 winners include Brooklyn Castle director Katie Dellamaggiore, who picked up the award for best new director; director Antonio Tibaldi, who picked up the documentary Spirit Award for his film [S]Comparse; and Kelly Anderson’s My Brooklyn, which shared the documentary audience award with Su Friedrich’s Gun Renovation.

This year, the BFF awarded a total of $57,000 in prizes and film services. The festival, which ran from June 1-10 at Indiescreen in Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights Cinema, presented 104 films from 29 different countries, including 28 world premieres, 28 U.S. premieres, 25 East Coast premieres and 21 New York premieres.

The films were selected from more than 2,000 submissions from 111 countries. The BFF also showcased films by more than 30 New York City-based film directors and more than a dozen projects that were shot in Brooklyn.

Tags: Brooklyn Castle, Brooklyn Film Festival, Christopher Nizza, Dara Kell, Dear Mandela, Gut Renovation, Katie Dellamaggiore, My Brooklyn, [S]comparse