By Carole Horst
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Family Movie courtesy of the Bentonville Film Festival Bentonville, Ark., may seem out of the way for a film festival, but it’s a place where cinema and artists thrive. Launched by actress Geena Davis to give a voice to underrepresented filmmakers, the heartland event sees its 12th year unspool June 15-21. “Geena Davis has never been interested in simply talking about making change, she’s always interested in building it,” says festival artistic director Drea Clark. “I think in Bentonville, we are definitely at the core of building it. The mission remains at the heart of everything we do. So we seek out stories that broaden perspectives and help audiences see themselves in other ways or in new ways.” She adds that being in Arkansas “really kind of demystifies whatever myths people have of the Midwest. It’s a huge opportunity for us to bring visibility to storytellers, but voices need to be heard in the middle of our country, too.” This year, the festival kicks off with “Family Movie,” a thriller directed and produced by, fittingly, husband and wife team Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick, starring the pair and their children, Travis and Sosie Bacon. The married duo will be on hand for a moderated conversation. The fest closes with Netflix’s “Little House on the Prairie” reboot, followed by a conversation with showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine and stars Crosby Fitzgerald and Alyssa Wapanatâhk. Sonnenshine will also be honored with the Rising to the Challenge Award at BFF’s Festival Award Ceremony June 20. While the robust lineup includes such films as the world premiere of Catherine Hardwicke’s “Street Smart,” Alexandria Stapleton’s “The Brittney Griner Story,” Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff’s Billie Jean King doc “Give Me the Ball” and John Early’s “Maddie’s Secret,” there’s also space for local filmmakers. The Homegrown Competition and Homegrown Shorts Competition screens works created by filmmakers from Arkansas and/or filmed in Arkansas. Narrative features include drama “Baby/Girls” from Jackie Jesko and Alyse Walsh, and comic-tinged drama “Welcome to the Fishbowl,” by Sheryl Glubok. Recognizing local artists who are building a cinematic infrastructure in the region is an important part of the Bentonville DNA. “We want to celebrate stories and creators from Arkansas and in the heartland — great stories come from everywhere,” says Clark. She notes that the festival is strongly connected to the “broader story of Bentonville as a place of creativity and innovation, and where community comes together, but we’re also bringing in an international and national community from our sponsors: Walmart is our founding sponsor, and Coca Cola, our presenting sponsor. We have filmmakers coming from all over the world to share their films and ideas, and then we have really in deep community support … and really sharing this space for culture and ideas.” Building on the idea of ideas and community, the Coffee Talks program features events with three celebrity chefs: Ree Drummond, Bobby Flay and J.J. Johnson, who will discuss food and storytelling. “We are being extremely intentional, and we’re listening to our community, so these ideas of bringing in culture and connection, and the broader cultural experience beyond screenings, is really important, and we understand that it’s a celebration of story in all of its forms, and oftentimes food is a story just in and of itself,” says Clark. “These personalities may not traditionally be thought of as storytellers, but a lot of these people have their own media empires, they’re running podcasts, they have shows, they’re telling stories through food and culture, and that’s really exciting to us.” According to the festival, more than 80 percent of the competition films are from creators identifying as female or gender non-conforming, with 53 percent identifying as BIPOC, Asian or Pacific Islander and 40 percent identifying as LGBTQIA+. Geena Davis, Bentonville Film Festival chair, notes, “As we enter our twelfth year, I’m incredibly proud of how Bentonville continues to grow as a place where artists, audiences, and industry leaders come together to champion bold creativity, meaningful connection, and stories that reflect the richness of the world around us.”
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