Buffalo Film: Top picks from the past week’s festival

JURIED AWARDS + AUDIENCE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

 BEST WNY FEATURE – BARISTAS VS BILLIONAIRES  
BEST WNY FEATURE
BARISTAS VS BILLIONAIRESDirected by Mark Mori 


BEST WNY SHORT – THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC  
BEST WNY SHORT
THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC
Directed by Alan Trinca


 BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM – PEACHES GOES BANANAS  
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
PEACHES GOES BANANAS
Directed by Marie Losier


 BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (DOMESTIC) – F*CKTOYS  
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE – DOMESTIC (TIE!)
F*CKTOYS
Directed by Annapurna Sriram 

BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (DOMESTIC) – THE DUTCHMAN  
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE – DOMESTIC (TIE!)
THE DUTCHMAN
Directed by Andre Gaines


 BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE (GLOBAL) – ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU / اللي باقي منك  
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE – GLOBAL
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU / اللي باقي منك
Directed by Cherien Dabis 


BEST NARRATIVE SHORT (DOMESTIC) – NEWBIES  
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT – DOMESTIC
NEWBIES
Directed by Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence + Megan Trufant Tillman 


BEST NARRATIVE SHORT (GLOBAL) – HIDE THAT BEARD  
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT – GLOBAL
HIDE THAT BEARD
Directed by Sophie Louÿs 


BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE (DOMESTIC) – REMAINING NATIVE  
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – DOMESTIC
REMAINING NATIVE
Directed by Paige Bethmann



 BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE (GLOBAL) – YURLU | COUNTRY  
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – GLOBAL
YURLU | COUNTRY
Directed by Yaara Bou Melhem 



BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT (DOMESTIC) – MY NAME IS NOT AMY  
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – DOMESTIC
MY NAME IS NOT AMY
Directed by Dewi Sungai 



BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT (GLOBAL) – SIX KNOTS  
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT – GLOBAL
SIX KNOTS
Directed by Ali Vanderkruyk



 BEST ANIMATED FILM – FREE THE CHICKENS  
BEST ANIMATED FILM
FREE THE CHICKENS
Directed by Matúš Vizár 



BEST EPISODIC – WANDER WOMEN  
BEST EPISODIC
WANDER WOMEN
Directed by Drew Denny 



BEST STUDENT FILM – ROADS BETWEEN US  
BEST STUDENT FILM
ROADS BETWEEN US
Directed by Matthew Donkers 



BEST ANIMATED STUDENT FILM – FIREFLIES AT SUNSET  
BEST ANIMATED STUDENT FILM
FIREFLIES AT SUNSET
Directed by Miranda Lenaghan



 BIFF BOUNDARY BREAKER AWARD (NARRATIVE) – A RARE GRAND ALIGNMENT  
BIFF BOUNDARY BREAKER AWARD – NARRATIVE
A RARE GRAND ALIGNMENT
Directed by Cinqué Lee 



BIFF BOUNDARY BREAKER AWARD (DOCUMENTARY) – THE ACT OF DREAMING  
BIFF BOUNDARY BREAKER AWARD – DOCUMENTARY
THE ACT OF DREAMING
Directed by John Maggio + Neha Shastry



 BIFF AUDIENCE AWARD – UNDER THE LIGHTS  
BIFF AUDIENCE AWARD
UNDER THE LIGHTS
Directed by Miles Levin 

BIFF’s 2025 Jurors:Melanie Lynn Addington (Programmer, Oak Cliff Film Festival), Carlos Amado, PhD (Associate Professor of Spanish, University at Buffalo), Lynne Bader (Vice President, Original Content Creation, Buffalo Toronto Public Media), Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli (Filmmaker + Assistant Professor of Media Arts, Antioch College), Sharon Cosimano (CFRE–Growth Strategist, Rural Outreach Center), Patricia Dowling (Project Director, Erie County Ret.), Lacy Ellinwood (University Libraries Staff, University at Buffalo), Joseph A. Gervasi (Co-Founder Cabbage Collective + Exhumed Films + Film/Music/Event Programmer + Archivist), Joseph Hernandez (Senior Programmer + Director of Community Development, Brooklyn Horror Festival), Mike Jones (Animation Program Director + Associate Professor, Daemon University), TJ Lindholm (Major Gifts Coordinator, Buffalo Toronto Public Media), Dave McCreery (Musician + Filmmaker), Sakura McCreery (Musician + Photographer), Colleen O’Mara (Actress), Joel Resnikoff (Production Designer), Amy Ryan (Community Member), Danielle Webb (Owner, Allen Street Dress Shop), Alysia Welch-Chester (Connector-in-Chief, Soul Connective), Tracey Wilson (Actress + Filmmaker)