LITTLE ROCK — Reel Arkansas, a nonprofit group based on Facebook, has scheduled the 2013 Reel Women Festival for 11 a.m.-7 p.m. March 30 at the Royal Theatre in Benton.
The festival means to include films from Tennessee and Mississippi, as well as Arkansas. Two of the films confirmed for the program are Sarah Jones’ John Wayne’s Bed and G.B. Shannon’s FreshSkweezed.
John Wayne’s Bed is a short inspired by the true life story of Allen Schmidt, an Arkansas outdoorsman with Lou Gehrig’s disease. It stars Alan Rackley, Bob Boaz and Angela Woods. Fresh Skweezed is about a street-smart little girl determined to outwit the neighborhood bully. The Tennessee-shot film stars Haley Parker, Caleb Johnson, Kevin Scroggs, Lindsey Roberts and Paige Hollenbeck.
In addition to film screenings, the festival is planning a panel discussion on women in film, with several of the filmmakers in attendance. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. For more information you can find Reel Arkansas on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/101481596615960. Request to be added to the group for up-to-date information on the festival as well as local film information.
The festival is seeking submissions of films that feature strong or atypical female roles as well as films written or directed by women. Making a submission is free, and the deadline is March 15. If you’re interested in showing your film, e-mail Jennifer Mazzacane at jennifer@reelarkansas.com or reelarkansas@gmail.com.
Levi Agee is a filmmaker who covers the Arkansas film scene. Send him your movie news at levifilm@gmail.com
MovieStyle, Pages 37 on 02/01/2013