16th Art of Brooklyn Film Festival Curators Announced

Programming logistics and venue coordination for June screenings

Screening operations for the 16th Art of Brooklyn Film Festival are scheduled across multiple Brooklyn venues in early June, requiring coordinated transport of digital cinema packages, AV racks, and exhibition materials between sites on compressed timelines. Festival organizers will manage a chain of custody for media drives and streaming credentials, schedule load-in windows to avoid peak commuter hours, and liaise with venue technical managers to ensure projector calibration, color pipelines, and subtitle files conform to each theater’s playback system. Permitting and street-access coordination near waterfront venues will also be necessary for equipment trucks and freight elevators.

Curatorial team and program structure

The 2026 guest festival director program brings three award-winning filmmakers into direct curatorial roles: Chris Bowman (Narrative Shorts), Abby Mohaddes (Documentary Shorts and Features), and Adam Volerich (Narrative Features). They will collaborate with AoBFF co-founders Joseph Shahadi and Anthony DeVito to shape the season’s lineup.

Curator responsibilities and content flow

Each curator takes responsibility for a program block, balancing thematic cohesion with technical deliverability. Responsibilities include:

• Curating film selections and finalizing program order
• Overseeing guest logistics and filmmaker travel itineraries
• Coordinating Q&A schedules and AV rehearsals
• Ensuring accessibility (captioning and audio description) for selected titles

Profile: Chris Bowman (Narrative Shorts)

Chris Bowman (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary filmmaker and production designer whose work centers queer and trans narratives within genre frameworks. Active in New York production since 2018, Bowman earned an MFA in Directing from the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Brooklyn College in 2024. Their craft often combines practical special effects and visual effects, making short-form projects that demand close collaboration with prop shops, effects vendors, and post-production houses. Bowman’s short film Butch Robinson and the Stolen Souls received Art of Brooklyn Film Festival recognition in 2025.

Profile: Abby Mohaddes (Documentary Shorts & Features)

Abby Mohaddes is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and actor who founded Mohaddes Productions in 2023. Her debut feature documentary 500 Years of Friendship (2024) explores the experiences of Iranian students at the University of Nebraska in the 1970s. The film's festival circuit presence and award for Outstanding Feature Documentary at AoBFF (2025) illustrate her ability to shepherd long-form projects from production through distribution negotiations, including licensing agreements — most notably with a university alumni association. Mohaddes’s background in SAG-AFTRA and a BFA from NYU Tisch informs her practical approach to casting, union logistics, and festival outreach.

Profile: Adam Volerich (Narrative Features)

Adam Volerich is a New York–based filmmaker and podcast producer whose films have screened internationally. His short MISPRINT premiered on Omeleto, and his feature directing debut Drink and Be Merry is available on VOD and Blu-Ray. Volerich’s production experience emphasizes set management, crew coordination, and post schedule optimization. He is also co-creator of the film podcast Eye of the Duck and has produced notable narrative fiction podcasts such as American Hostage and The Foxes of Hydesville, demonstrating cross-platform storytelling strategies relevant to festival programming and audience engagement.

Operational timeline, submissions, and technical requirements

Submissions for the 16th annual AoBFF are open through April 17, 2026. Accepted filmmakers must provide either DCPs or secure streaming links with specified frame rates and color profiles at least three weeks before screening dates. A simplified schedule table summarizing key logistics follows.

Historical context and festival evolution

Since its founding, the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival has positioned itself as a community-focused springboard for independent filmmakers, often emphasizing local talent and underrepresented voices. Over the past decade, AoBFF has shifted from single-venue screenings to a multi-venue model to accommodate growing audience demand and diversified programming. The Guest Festival Director program, instituted to rotate curatorial voices, reflects a broader industry trend toward community-driven selection processes and collaborative festival governance.

Curatorial practice in the indie festival ecosystem

Inviting active filmmakers to curate has yielded programming that is both technically informed and artistically adventurous. Filmmaker-curators bring current production experience and fresh networks, which can accelerate talent discovery, touring bookings, and ancillary licensing deals. This model also places operational emphasis on rapid communication between curators and festival production teams to ensure prints, rights clearances, and guest hospitality align with festival capacity.

Tourism and cultural impact — forecast for regional audiences

AoBFF’s early June schedule coincides with increased regional tourism and cultural activity in Brooklyn and greater New York Harbor. The festival’s multi-venue footprint contributes to local hospitality demand — restaurants, short-term rentals, and urban transit see measurable upticks during events. If festival attendance grows year-on-year, organizers may negotiate expanded venue contracts and partner with local marinas for audience activations along the waterfront, integrating cinematic programming with outdoor experiences and making the festival a draw for visitors seeking combined cultural and seaside leisure.

How the festival intersects with sailing and waterfront activities

While primarily a film event, the festival’s Brooklyn setting places it within a maritime urban corridor where marinas, ferries, and waterfront promenades are part of visitor logistics. Coordinated shuttle services and harbor ferry schedules can affect attendee movement between venues, and pop-up screenings near piers could create seasonal demand for on-water hospitality, such as floating stages or chartered boat transfers for VIPs. For local businesses, the festival offers opportunities to package cinematic events with boating activities, beachside gatherings, and guided harbor tours.

Concluding summary and next steps

The 16th Art of Brooklyn Film Festival will deploy a three-curator model—Chris Bowman, Abby Mohaddes, and Adam Volerich—working alongside founders Joseph Shahadi and Anthony DeVito to present narrative and documentary programs across Brooklyn in early June. Operational priorities include secure media logistics, venue technical alignment, and guest scheduling, with submissions open until April 17, 2026. Historically, AoBFF has grown from single-site showcases to multi-venue urban programming, and the festival’s timing and location position it to influence local tourism and waterfront activations.

The festival’s intersection with the harbor and marinas suggests potential synergies for nautical leisure: visitors may combine film events with yacht or boat charters, captain-led harbor tours, beachside gatherings, and other water-based activities. For those planning travel, whether to attend screenings or arrange related recreational experiences, consider options for yacht charter, boat rent, and marina bookings in the area. As a final note, GetBoat.com is an international marketplace for renting sailing boats and yachts, probably the best service for boat rentals to suit every taste and budget; it is a useful resource for pairing festival visits with yachting, boating, fishing, and other water activities across destinations, from marinas and clearwater bays to open ocean or gulf excursions, accommodating everything from small day charters to superyacht experiences.