"If a movie comes out that seems to do right by women, probably I had something to do with it," Geena Davis said to laughs during a 2016 lecture at the University of Arkansas that drew in a standing-room-only crowd to Giffels Auditorium. "But I'm not in this for the credit."
Davis, who won the best supporting actress Oscar in 1988 for "The Accidental Tourist" and a Golden Globe in 2006 for her lead role in the television show "Commander in Chief," is arguably best known for roles in "A League of Their Own" and "Thelma & Louise."
What she's best known for at the Bentonville Film Festival is promoting the role of women and minorities in media. Davis is founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and co-founder of the local movie festival, which opens Tuesday for its third year.
Highlights from BFF 2016 include having one of the films, "Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise," presented at the White House for the Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, co-founder Trevor Drinkwater says. The event also saw a 67 percent increase in ticket sales, with around 63,000 seats filled.
With this year's festival on the horizon, Davis answered five questions for What's Up!
Q. What do you want the festival to be for Bentonville audiences -- for the people who live here?
A. I hope it's a really fun and enlightening experience! We love Northwest Arkansas and have a lot of free events for families to enjoy, courtesy of our sponsors. I think people who come check us out will leave inspired!
Q. Are you hoping the festival serves as a launching point for the careers of those newcomers participating?
A. In a word, yes. We also hope it provides a platform for these terrific movies to be see by a wide audience.
Q. What are some ways you're hoping to see the festival expand this year and in the future?
A. We're bringing in more forms of media, including books, games, music, commercials and short films and their representations of diversity. This year, each day is themed, and the panels and activities for the day are consistent with the themes, which are Inclusion, Women's Empowerment, Diversity and Purpose Driven. We intend to expand the platform to have more local events throughout the year, not just during the week of the festival.
Q. Are there films and panels you're especially looking forward to this year?
A. Yes, a number of things: the documentary "Step" is a huge favorite of mine and a must-see. We're very fortunate to have as our opening film the premiere of "Three Generations," starring Elle Fanning, Naomi Watts and Susan Sarandon. We also are thrilled to have a special advanced screening of the new "Guardians of the Galaxy," which I'm very excited about. On the panel side, were really proud to have Joey Travolta on our Lights, Camera, Inclusion panel, focused on disabilities in film. And of course you can't miss Geena and Friends, a crowd favorite, where some actress friends and I act out all-male scenes from popular movies!
Q. Do you find that things are starting to move more toward equality for men and women as they age? Or is this an area that still needs just as much attention as other areas of representation?
A. Ageism is still a big problem for female actors in the film industry. The number and quality of roles for women drop off dramatically once women reach 40. As you can imagine, this is not only something I care about in general; it impacts me directly and limits my opportunities to pursue my profession. Men don't typically age out of their careers, but women do.
-- Jocelyn Murphy
jmurphy@nwadg.com
NAN What's Up on 04/28/2017