The return of the Bushwick Film Festival is allowing its audience to discover more than 125 films that present diverse stories from emerging voices.

On the opening night of the 16th annual Bushwick Film Festival, independent filmmakers from around the world got to enjoy the glitz and glamour of the red carpet at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Organizer said nearly 60% of this year’s lineup draws the local talent based in New York, including the director of the 11-minute horror comedy, “Provincetown ‘99.”

“It really means a lot to have a New York based film festival where we can screen our work, invite our friends, and see it on the big screen, especially post COVID. I don’t think any of the shorts that I have made have been given this type of treatment before,” said Malcolm Thorndike Nicholson, director of “Provincetown ‘99.”

Festival founder Kweighbaye Kotee told NY1 she developed her passion for films by watching a lot of movies as a child while her parents were at work.

She admitted that when she moved to Bushwick 17 years ago, she became inspired by the neighborhood’s exciting blend of immigrants and artists.

“Bushwick is such a beautiful community of people, it’s so diverse. It’s so dynamic. As an immigrant, as a woman of color, as an artist, as a creator, it just feels so incredible to be in a neighborhood like Bushwick,” Kotee said.

Spectrum News NY1’s parent company, Charter Communications, is a sponsor of this year’s festival, which continues through Sunday.