BK Horror Film Festival returns to Williamsburg on Oct. 14
BY BEN VERDE
They’re closing the book on
late fees!
The Brooklyn Public Library
will offi cially end the
practice of collecting late fees,
joining New York City’s other
library systems in making the
joint announcement on Oct. 5.
The President of Brooklyn’s
library system said the move is
intended to bring people back to
the library system after many
of them have stayed away during
the pandemic.
“We want to make sure that
people are coming back to the
library,” Linda Johnson told
A still from “Good Madam,” showing Oct. 21. Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Brooklyn Paper. “We want to
make sure the people who need
us the most are not intimidated
or feel any kind of barrier to
coming back.”
New York’s libraries now
join booklenders in San Francisco,
COURIER L 24 IFE, OCTOBER 8-14, 2021
Chicago, Philadelphia,
Miami, Seattle, and Dallas in
eliminating the fi nes, in an effort
to increase usage of the library
systems and operate a
more equitable library system.
New York is the biggest American
city so far to adopt the policy.
Starting this week, any library
user with fi nes on their
account will have their fees
eliminated, and no users will
accrue them moving forward.
Over 400,000 library users currently
owe late fees, more than
half of them in high-need communities,
according to the library.
The Brooklyn Public Library
found that most of its users
with blocked cards were in
more disadvantaged communities.
The branches with the
highest numbers of blocked
cards were in neighborhoods
where more than 20 percent of
residents live below the federal
poverty line and where most
people make less than $50,000 a
year on average.
Late fees have been in place
since the library systems were
founded in the early 20th century.
Under previous policy, users
would have their accounts
frozen if they accrued more
than $15 in fi nes.
The library previously suspended
fi nes during their pandemic
closure, and kept them
suspended until the summer
of 2021. Johnson said the initial
fi ne-free period taught them the
importance of book-drops — receptacles
for returning books
outside library branches — and
of making it as easy as possible
for patrons to use the system.
BY LEOCCIANO CALLAO
Ghouls and goblins looking
for a spooky night of mischief
can put on their ghastliest
garbs and head to the Brooklyn
Horror Film Festival, which
will be returning in person on
Oct. 14 for a week of terror and
fear at Williamsburg’s Nitehawk
Cinema.
This year’s festival, which
runs until Oct. 21, will feature
14 features and six short
blocks, giving Halloween-loving
fi lm buffs a chance to view
the genre’s best — and this
year, the event will put a spotlight
New York City’s LGBTQ
community with special focus
and curation with previouslyoverlooked
creators.
“Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
is an experience”, says
BHFF programmer Joseph
Hernandez. “The fi lms are a
huge part of that, but there’s
so much more to it. There’s the
energy and excitement packed
into a room and how it bounces
from person to person during a
screening.”
There’s also the experience
of returning to in-person
events like this one after some
pandemic-related time off, Hernandez
told Brooklyn Paper.
“There’s the joy of reunion
between longtime friends and
the random encounters that
lead to lifelong friendships. It’s
a gathering, a celebration —
it’s tradition,” he said. “To be
able to safely restore some of
that shared experience is going
to make this a truly special
year.”
The mummies and gremlins
behind this year’s Brooklyn
Horror fest will also be
collaborating with Boston
Underground Film Festival,
North Bend Film Festival, and
Overlook Film Festival to host
a virtual “Nightstream” event
between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13, with
more details to be announced
soon.
One of the headlining fi lms
for this year’s Horror Film Festival
is “Good Madam” — a
92-minute, South African feature
by director Jenna Cato
Bass. This will be the fi rst
time the fi lm will be shown in
New York City. Other fi lms and
shorts in the lineup come from
countries such as France, the
United Kingdom, Belgium, Japan,
the United States, Germany,
Spain, and Taiwan.
“2021 represents a few fi rsts
for our festival,” Hernandez
said, adding that this is the fi rst
time the festival will premiere
its very own Netfl ix original
movie, with the chic vampire
thriller “Night Teeth.”
“We’re also screening a
35mm print for the fi rst time to
celebrate the 20th anniversary
of the modern horror classic
‘Session 9,’ to be followed by an
exclusive pre-recorded Q&A,”
the programmer added.
Due to New York Cities regulations,
attendees will be required
to show their IDs and
proof of vaccination upon entry,
they will be required to wear a
mask throughout the shows.
Staff will also conduct temperature
checks for those entering.
Out of an abundance of caution,
the event will not be serving
drinks or food, and there
also will not be any live events
during the festival.
“It takes a lot of people to
execute a fi lm festival,” Hernandez
said. “There’s festival
staff, volunteers, venue managers,
theater workers, press
members, fi lmmakers, our
dear festival attendees — some
who’ve been with us since the
fi rst year! — and the list goes
on.”
“We absolutely cannot wait
to see all the faces, both familiar
and new, who make up the
spirit of Brooklyn Horror.”
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Nitehawk Williamsburg at
136 Metropolitan Ave. Williamsburg.
www.Brooklynhorror.
eventive.org Thursday, Oct. 14
to Thursday, Oct. 21.
Spooky season is here
Brooklyn Public Library to stop charging
patrons for late book returns
BROOKLYN
Fees to free
A Brooklyn Public Library branch. Photo by Kevin Duggan
/www.Brooklynhorror
/www.Brooklynhorror
/eventive.org