BWiFF 2024

BWiFF 2024

Festival Overview

The 2024 Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival (BWiFF 2024) consisted of 47 short and feature-length official selections. The Shorts and Features competition was held at the Classic Cinemas Elk Grove XQ in Elk Grove Village from April 14-23. The Beyond competition was held at Chicago Filmmakers from May 4-5, Classic Cinemas Tivoli Theatre on September 14, and Music Box Theatre on May 28 and October 8.

2024 Official Selections Announcement

Features Competition

Shorts Competition

Beyond Competition

2024 Blue Glass Awards Presentations

2024 Blue Glass Award Winners

Best Original Score
Luke Coltman, Seasalter Road

Best Production Design
Kevin O’Brien, Katele (Mudskipper)

Best Cinematography
Marko Alonso, Marco Polo

Best Sound
Morten Brogaard & Birgit de Priester, Náttúrubönd

Best Editing
Jack Bexell, Cottage Grove

Best Supporting Actor
Brandon Haynes as Canada Lee/Bigger in The Problem of the Hero

Best Supporting Actress
Carly Stewart as Liz in Breakup Season

Best Achievement by a Young Actor
Finnegan Collins as Finn in Caught on Tape

Best Actress
Lydia Brayshaw as Emily in Twenty

Best Actor
A.P. Looze as The Traveler in The Bend

Best Screenplay
H. Nelson Tracey, Breakup Season

Best Director
H. Nelson Tracey, Breakup Season

Best of Beyond Short
Spirit of Place

Best of Beyond Feature
Unspoken

Best of Beyond Documentary
Unbroken

Best of Beyond Narrative
Unspoken

Best of Beyond Audience Favorite
Fire Department, Inc.

Best Experimental
Náttúrubönd

Best Music Video
No Matter How Much

Best Documentary Short
Geezers

Best Narrative Short (Comedy)
Caught on Tape

Best Narrative Short (Drama)
Blue Hour

Best Documentary Feature
Undivide Us

Best Narrative Feature
Breakup Season

Audience Favorite
The House That Stood

Best of Illinois
Cottage Grove

Best of Fest
Breakup Season

2024 Judging Panel

Pete Guither

Pete Guither has been a festival judge since 2011. He is a retired assistant dean of the College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University, where he taught arts management, theatre photography, computer graphic design, and entrepreneurship. Pete is the founding artistic director of the performance art company The Living Canvas. He has worked in business and government, on Broadway, as a Fuller Brush salesman, and as a traveling lounge musician. Pete is a theatre photographer, a fine art photographer, a piano player, a drug policy expert, a foodie, and the author of Improbable Anecdotes. He has a Master of Fine Arts in performing arts management from Brooklyn College and a degree in theatre from Cornell College.

Myra Rivera

Libbi Hake

Emily Barber

Emily Barber is a film director with over 15 years of industry experience, including the past seven years behind the camera as a director. Before joining Salesforce, where she currently directs documentary-style customer stories and human-centered trailblazer films, she built a vibrant freelance career directing commercials for major brands such as Gatorade, Tide, Walgreens, Samsung, and Motorola. She also spent several years directing comedy content with the legendary Second City of Chicago, sharpening her instincts for performance and character-driven storytelling.

Her short film Buttress recently completed a global festival run, earning multiple awards and acclaim for its intimate, emotional lens. She’s also the recipient of an Anthem Award for her work at Salesforce, recognizing her commitment to authentic, human storytelling.

This is her fourth year judging the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a concentration in cinematography, she is drawn to stories featuring underrepresented voices—particularly those centered on women, queer characters, and narratives rooted in science and outer space. She is a proud member of Film Independent and finds her greatest joy in working with actors to bring raw emotion to life on screen.