A year ago, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival reached the quarter-century mark and the oldest nonfiction festival in North America is still going strong -- as is its current home, the historic Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, which has hosted the flicks since 2012.
The festival, which will open Friday and continue through Oct. 15, will feature 112 films, plus numerous special guests, workshops, parties, a magic show and other film and technology-related events.
26th annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
6 p.m. Friday, daily through Oct. 15, Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, Central Avenue and Fountain Street, Hot Springs
Tickets: $10 most single films (except opening night — $15 movie only, $40 movie and party); $25 day pass, $50 student pass, $175 film buff pass, $300 all-access pass (fees are extra)
(501) 538-0452
"The hunger for these stories is amazing and it's a wonder," says interim executive director Jen Gerber, a native of Hot Springs who graduated from Lake Hamilton High School before leaving the state for graduate school and a 15-year career in the film industry in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. "One of the greatest joys in my life has been returning to Arkansas to make movies (her first feature film, The Revival, has recently been showing).
"We have a very small staff here, but if you ask for something, you get it."
Gerber notes that the traditional popcorn-and-champagne toast will take place at 6 p.m. Friday in the Arlington Hotel lobby, prior to the opening of the doors at 6:30.
Kathleen Turner, the honorary chairman of the festival, will introduce the first film at 7 Friday.
"And she will join us for a Q&A afterwards," Gerber says.
Known for her feature films, including Body Heat, Romancing the Stone, Prizzi's Honor and War of the Roses, Turner also includes documentary films among her interests, and she will help present LADDIE: The Man Behind the Movies, about Alan Ladd Jr., who became the head of a studio and gave Turner her first break -- the role in Body Heat. The film about Ladd was made by his daughter, Amanda Ladd-Jones. (Ladd's father, Alan Ladd Sr., was born in Hot Springs in 1913 and his son spent summers there as a child.)
Other special guests (and the movies they were featured in or helped craft) include director Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) at noon Saturday, along with a master class at 2:30 p.m. Saturday; swimmer Kim Chambers (Kim Swims), by Kate Webber, at 7:30 p.m. Monday and 4:30 Oct. 10; and Anthony Loder, son of actress Hedy Lamarr (Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story) by Alexandra Dean, at 7 p.m. Oct. 12.
Blind magician Richard Turner is the subject of Dealt, by Luke Korem, to be shown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
"Richard Turner is truly special and the film about him is really sensational," says festival operations director Mindy Van Kuren. "He will also put on a magic show at the Gangster Museum (on Bathhouse Row) at 9 p.m. Saturday. Even though he's blind, he still fooled Penn & Teller with his show."
Wait for Your Laugh: Rose Marie -- The Longest Career in Showbiz History, by Jason Wise, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13. The film highlights the 90+ year career of actress/singer Rose Marie (The Dick Van Dyke Show), who will join the Q&A via Skype.
Stanley Nelson will present his Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges & Universities, at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 14.
"Nelson has Emmy awards and a Peabody Award and much more recognition for his body of work. The festival will honor him this year with our Career Achievement Award in Documentary Film," Van Kuren says.
Character actor Robert Davi is the subject of Davi's Way by Tom Donahue, to be shown at 6:40 p.m. Oct. 14. This will be the closing-night film. Davi has had numerous "bad guy" roles in James Bond movies and in The Goonies, and he is determined to change his image by using his operatic skills to record a Frank Sinatra tribute album.
Films with Arkansas settings or connections include:
Benini -- The Artist's Journey, by Michael Mueller, to be shown at 4 p.m. Monday. Texas-based artist Benini, along with his wife, Lorraine, lived in Hot Springs for a time and were film festival advocates in its early years, while they lived above their gallery on Bathhouse Row. They moved to Texas in 1999.
Before the Benini film, a short film, The Malco Theater -- A Personal Journey, by Eric Manuel, will be shown. The Malco, the film festival's original home, fell into disrepair in recent years but was rescued by magician Maxwell Blade, who will soon open it for magic shows.
Dream Land: Little Rock's West 9th Street, by Gabe Mayhan, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The film recalls the days when there were thriving black-owned and operated businesses along West Ninth Street, until Interstate 630 caused changes to the landscape. One of the remaining locations is the Dreamland Ballroom on the top floor of what was then Taborian Hall and is now Arkansas Flag and Banner Co.
Before the Dream Land film, a short film, The Arkansas Wild Man, by Nathan Willis, will be shown. It tells of the life of Sonny Burgess, the Newport native who lived a rock 'n' roll life until he died Aug. 18 at age 87.
Acorn and the Firestorm, by Reuben Atlas and Samuel D. Pollard, to be shown at 4 p.m. Monday and 7 p.m. Oct. 12, tells the story of a community action organization that was founded in Little Rock and was under attack by conservative activists in the aftermath of the 2008 elections, and how they caused its demise.
The New Radical, by Bhala Lough, to be shown at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 13, profiles such millennial radicals as Cody Wilson, born in Little Rock, who attended the University of Central Arkansas. He created the first gun from a 3-D printer.
The Favored Strawberry, by Larry Foley and Dale Carpenter, to be shown at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 10, celebrates the popular red fruit on a journey through eight states, starting in Arkansas.
Mike the Birdman, by John Erwin, to be shown before The Favored Strawberry, depicts the life of Fayetteville birdwatcher Mike Mlodinow.
Tommy, by Gentry Kirby and Erin Leyden, to be shown at 2 p.m. Oct. 14, is about Arkansas-born boxer Tommy Morrison, who had a role in the film Rocky V.
The Workers Cup, by Adam Sobel, to be shown at noon Oct. 14, is about migrant workers constructing a stadium in Qatar to host the FIFA World Cup five years in the future.
Other films of interest are:
The Last Pig, by Allison Argo, about a pig farmer's crisis of conscience and his switch to vegetable farming, to be shown at 4 p.m. Oct. 12.
Bill Nye: The Science Guy, by David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg, to be shown at 4 p.m. Oct. 11.
Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, by Anna Chai and Nari Kye, will be shown at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
78/52, by Alexandre O. Philippe, to be shown at 5 p.m. Oct. 13, analyzes the 78 shots and 52 cuts in the shower scene of Alfred Hitchcock's thriller, Psycho.
Dare to Be Different, by Ellen Goldfarb, to be shown at 7 p.m. Oct. 12, tells of an independent radio station on Long Island, N.Y., that was instrumental in playing a mix of rock, punk and new wave music in 1982.
Score: A Film Music Documentary, by Matt Schrader, will be shown at 9 a.m. Oct. 13,
Samantha's Amazing Acro Cats, by Jacob Feiring, will be shown at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Monday. Before the screening, a short film, Abby the Spoon Lady, by Justin Johnson, will be shown.
There will be a free screening of Given, by Jess Bianchi, at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, about surfers who take their children on an around-the-world trip for 14 months. After the film, free family-friendly entertainment -- including a juggler and a musician -- will be offered in the Arlington lobby at 11:30.
On Oct. 15, awards will be presented to films that have won in their categories. The film festival is a designated Academy Award-qualifying festival for its entries in the Documentary Short Subject category.
For more information on parties, prices, reservations and workshops, see the festival's website, hsdfi.org
Style on 10/03/2017