NEW YORK, NY-NOVEMBER 2008 - Brooklyn-born filmmaker Stefanie Joshua celebrates the completion of a successful international film festival run and the official DVD release of her acclaimed documentary film “Bushwick Homecomings” with a reception /screening on Monday, November 17, 2008 at the Brooklyn Moon Cafe, located at 745 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, NY. 8:00pm. Limited seating, RSVP required; contact (212) 529-0973 or rsvp@bushwickhomecomings.com Heralded as “a significant historical record of tougher times,” the 38-minute film - which received the award for "best USA Documentary" at the UK's 2008 Swansea Life Film Festival - searches for answers to questions about the Bushwick, Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City, an area in the midst of rapid change. Joshua questions these changes through the voices of Bushwick's residents touching on themes of gentrification, poverty and hope for the future. The DVD edition, which will be for sale on the film’s website, has been re-edited and features additional footage and a directors commentary not included on the version recently presented during Black Entertainment Television’s “Black Stories Marathon” and the African-American Women In Cinema Film Festival. Stefanie, a Brooklyn native, initiated the documentary film as a corollary project while researching and writing her Sociology Master's thesis on delinquency and social disorganization theory, which she received from The City College of New York - CUNY. Utilizing news articles, census data and interviews about the Bushwick community from 1970 - 2000, the documentary includes the testimonies from young men who grew up there. A former high school math teacher, Joshua holds a Bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics from Stony Brook University. A certified yoga instructor, the 32-year-old filmmaker's effort was also presented at the “Run & Shoot Filmworks” Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival (MA), the “Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival” (Brooklyn, NY) and received the award for Best Indie Documentary at the 2007 “Motor City International Film Festival” (Detroit, MI).