This past weekend I attended the Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) for the first time, which is odd since this is the festival's ninth year. Maybe I didn't go sooner because the BFF isn't really discussed much in the Arkansas filmmaking circles; it's almost like BFF is an oddity, an enigma, and an island to itself. One thing that BFF is not is an Arkansas film festival, and that's not a knock on it. It just has a different mission compared with most of the other festivals in the state.
The festival was founded by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a global research-based organization whose mission is to "work collaboratively within the entertainment industry to create gender balance, foster inclusion and reduce negative stereotyping in family entertainment media." At BFF, the vast majority of movies are either written or directed by women or people of color, or the films have a strong female-centric plot. They bring in movies from all around the world and invite a handful of celebrities down to experience a slice of what Northwest Arkansas has to offer.
The only way to describe the fest for others who have never attended it is to detail the two days that I spent watching movies, sat in on panels, and hobnobbed with filmmakers.
DAY ONE
I brought the rain. The first few days of the BFF supposedly had perfect weather; they even hosted a giant bike riding excursion for attendees of the festival. But as I was pulling into town, dark clouds were rolling in. The heavens looked like they could open up at any moment. I went to pick up my press badge and was handed a giant piece of polypropylene paper that had the schedule of events and a map of the venues printed on it. This paper was absurdly, inconveniently large, like one of those maps you'd get at a zoo or an amusement park in the late '90s. Each venue was within walking distance, at max a 15-minute walk from the farthest points. So, I packed up my camera and started walking the streets of Bentonville, making my way to the Momentary arts center to catch one of the many panels.
The topic of the panel: "fat" people in Hollywood featuring GLOW actor Britney Young. The other members of the panel were also plus-sized female actors and content creators. Being a "pleasantly plump" person myself, it was interesting to see insights on how Hollywood treats overweight people and the lack of representation they have on screen. Young said she was going to reclaim the word "fat" and wear it as a badge of honor. They also talked about skinny people take roles away from fat people, citing the largely forgotten 2001 Gwenyth Paltrow film "Shallow Hal" and the Academy Award-winning "The Whale" as being two of the biggest offenders in modern Hollywood.
As the panel ended I booked it to the Skyline theater in the rain, protecting my camera from the weather in the process. I nestled in to watch a couple of movies. First up was "Joonam," a documentary filmed by an Iranian-American looking at her relationship with her mother and grandmother and her connection with her Iranian identity. I missed this film at the True/False festival earlier this year, and I'm glad I caught it here. It's funny, sweet, and an intimate look into the dynamics of this family caught up in cultural and language boundaries. It ended up taking home the prize for best documentary.
Another really good documentary was "Kokomo City," which follows the lives of several Black transgender prostitutes. For a movie that was about the fear, uncertainty and persecution that these people go through, the film was surprisingly full of energy and humor as these women sounded off about the many bizarre escort encounters that they have had.
By the time I finished with the movies, the rain had subsided. All traces of it had evaporated and turned into humidity. As I drove back to my hotel room, I hoped for better weather tomorrow.
DAY TWO
I brought the heat.
Saturday was a scorcher. At times, those 15-minute walks between venues were like walking on the surface of the sun. I decided to spend today checking out the outdoor activities that the festival was running. Hundreds of people were gathered outside the Momentary art gallery. Each one like ants, drawn to any space that had the faintest trace of shade.
At the Geena Davis Outdoor Theater they were screening movies, free for the public to consume. Throughout most of the weekend they were showcasing family friendly features like "Frozen" and "Snow White," while in the afternoons they screened films from the "Hunger Games " and "Mission Impossible" series. A few steps away from the outdoor theater was the Filmmaker Tailgate -- an entire food festival. It felt more like a small village offering up free food for the Bentonville community. There were vendors from Guy Fieri's restaurant, snacks from Scoops Ahoy! and Cinnabon, barbecue from Jack Daniels, pizzas and tacos and burgers and even free drinks -- for those of age.
After I had stuffed myself and hydrated, I went back to the theater to catch a few more movies before the awards ceremony. This time I went to see the narrative features. "Wilder Than Her" was a horror/thriller/comedy about a group of women who take a sabbatical into the woods after the death of one of their friends. This movie was dreadfully bad and is easily one of the worst movies that I've seen this year. The tone was all over the place -- mixing surreal horror imagery with stoner humor. From a technical standpoint it was fine, and the performances are alright for the most part, but the movie just meanders pointlessly. I was rocking in my seat waiting for it to be over.
The last film I checked out at the festival was "Fresh Kills." Now I had heard people talking about this one all weekend, and how it had just screened at the Tribeca Film Festival. It was written and directed by actress Jennifer Esposito. This is a mafia movie from the perspective of the women who are wives and daughters to New Jersey gangsters. It's an incredibly fresh take on the mobster movie, but the movie falls apart as it tries cramming in 10 years worth of plot; it focuses on one teenage daughter and the circle of violence that her father bestows upon her throughout the late '80s and '90s. What could have been an interesting premise ends up being the exercise of a director who couldn't make a decision on what or how to focus her story, leaving the movie to feel more like a bland episode of "The Sopranos."
It was at this last screening that I noticed one other thing that bothered me about the festival in general: BFF touts that it focuses on uplifting filmmakers of marginalized communities, and they do a good job at that having movies written and directed by minorities and having stories that prioritizes conflicts in the LGBTQ communities, but I noticed that -- at least at all the screenings I went to -- that the audience demographics skewed older and more white. I wish that there was a way that the BFF could make its audience as diverse as its filmmakers.
The sun set and the heat wave finally cooled off, and I was left with my thoughts about the festival. It's a big weeklong event, primarily sponsored by Walmart and Coca-cola, and it feels like a lot of money was spent to create an event that not only benefited the community at large, but also tried to amplify the voices and creativity of underrepresented populations.
And even though it's not an "Arkansas film festival," it nonetheless creates its own unique and empowering presence here in the natural state.
Non-binary actor Lachlan Watson accepts the "See It, Be It" award onstage during the Bentonville Film Festival Awards Ceremony at the ninth Annual Bentonville Film Festival. Photo by AL TOPICH/Special to the Democrat-Gazette