Filmmakers from "Letters of Baghdad" discuss their film

We spoke with the filmmakers from the film "Letters from Baghdad".  Director Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum sat down with us and told us about their documentary about the true story of Gertrude Bell and Iraq. "Letters from Baghdad" was a competition documentary at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out their interview below.

"Letters from Baghdad" tells the dramatic story of one of the most powerful woman in British Empire in her day, Gertrude Bell.   She helped shape the Middle East after World War I.  She was even more influential than her friend and colleague Lawrence of Arabia.  She also helped draw the borders of Iraq and established the Iraq Museum.

Director: Sabine Krayenbuhl

Director and Producer: Zeva Oelbaum

Co-Producers:  Mia Bays, Christian Popp and Fabrice Esteve 

Composer: Paul Cantelon

Starring:  Ammar Haj Ahmad, Adam Astill, Tom Chadbon and Tilda Swinton as the voice of Gertrude Bell.

If you would like to read more about when you can see this documentary or more information on the film go to: lettersfrombaghdadthemovie.com/

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We spoke with the co-director of the film "The Relationtrip", Renee Felice Smith

Dustin sat down with Co-Director/Writer/Actress Renee Felice Smith from the film "The Relationtrip".  "The Relationtrip" was a Competition Narrative at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out her interview below.

"The Relationtrip" is about two self proclaimed loners who bond over their mutual disinterest in relationships and decide to go away together on a "friend trip". And that is when everything gets weird!

Directors:  C.A. Gabriel and Renee Felice Smith

Writers: C.A. Gabriel, Dana Scanlon and Renee Felice Smith

Producer: C.A Gabriel

Starring: Matt Bush, Floyd Foster Jr., Nelson Franklin, Linda Hunt, Brandon Kyle Goodman, Renee Felice Smith,

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Director Ricardo De Montreuil talks about his film "Lowriders"

Director Ricardo De Montreuil sat down with Dustin to talk about his film "Lowriders".  "Lowriders" was a showcase film at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out his interview below.

"Lowriders" is a film about a young street artist caught in between his ex-felon brother, his father's obsession with lowriders culture and his need to express himself. 

Director:  Ricardo de Montreuil

Writers:  Cheo Hodari Coker, Elgin James 

Producer:  Jason Blum

Starring:  Gabriel Chavarria, Demian Bichir, Theo Rossi 

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Oscar Nominated Director Amanda Michele talks about her film "Vegas Baby"

Jenna sat down with Oscar nominated director Amanda Michele of the film "Vegas Baby".  "Vegas Baby" was a Competition Documentary in the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out her interview below.

"Vegas Baby" is a film about countless Americans desperate to start a family believe a social media experiment is the only hope.  

Director:  Amanda Micheli

Editor:  Greg O'Toole and Lisa Fruchtman 

Producer:  Serin Marshall and Morgan Spurlock

Starring: Athena Reich

If you would like to know more about the film go to vegasbabyfilm.com

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Director Scott Waugh speaks about his film "6 Below"

Dustin had an opportunity to speak with Scott Waugh the director of the film "6 Below".  "6 Below" is a showcase film at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out his interview below.

6 Below is about a adrenaline seeking snowboarder who gets lost in a massive snow storm in the the High Sierras.  He is pushed to limits of human endurance and forced to face his own personal demons as he tries to survive. 

Director: Scott Waugh

Writer:  Madison Turner

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Mira Sorvino, Sarah Dumont

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Dustin speaks with the producer and actress Virginia Newcomb from the film "Three Fingers"

Producer and actress Virginia Newcomb sat down with Dustin to talk about her starring role in the film "Three Fingers".  "Three Fingers" was a competition short in the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out her interview below.

"Three Fingers" is about a female combat vet struggles to navigate her life after returning from the Afghanistan war wounded.  As her PTSD worsens, she is forced to make a life and death decision.

Director:  Paul D Hart
Writer:  Paul D. Hart
Producer:  Barrett J. Leigh

Starring:  Virginia Newcomb, Kim Kendall, John Winscher

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Director Dorie Barton talks about her film "Girl Flu"

Jenna spoke with the director and writer Dorie Barton about her film "Girl Flu".  "Girl Flu" was a competition narrative film at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out her interview below.

"Girl Flu" is about Bird, 12 who has become a woman in the worst week of her life.  She is ditched by her mom and learns that you can never really go back to the Valley.

Director:  Dorie Barton

Writer Dorie Barton

Producers: Jay Lowi, David K. Wilson

Starring: Katee Sackhoff, Jade Pettyjohn, Jeremy Sisto, Judy Reyes, Diego Josef and Heather Matarazzo

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Filmmaker Gloria Mercer talks about her film "Bombing"

Jenna speaks with filmmaker Gloria Mercer about her film "Bombing".  "Bombing" was a competition shorts at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out her interview below.

"Bombing" is a film about a struggling comedian trying to adjust to take care of her estranged daughter.

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Jenna Spoke with Director and Writer Gale Gilbert about their film "Lunch in Lima"

Jenna sat down with director and writer Gail Gilbert to talk about her film "Lunch in Lima"
"Lunch in Lima" was a competition shorts at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out her interview below.

"Lunch in Lima" reveals the dark side of privilege with no conscience with elegant ladies lunch in Peru.  

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Filmmaker Nancy Cartwright speaks about her film "In Search of Fellini"

Filmmaker Nancy Cartwright speaks about her film "In Search of Fellini".  This film was a spotlight film at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out what she had to say below. 

"In Search of Fellini" is a film about a shy ohio girl who loves movies but dislikes reality and she discovers the bizarre films of Federico Fellini and sets off on a journey across Italy to find him. The writer Nancy Cartwright is best known for her part in the voice of Bart Simpson from the Television series "The Simpsons".

Director:  Taron Lexton

Writer:  Nancy Cartwright, Peter Kjenaas

Producers: Nancy Cartwright, Monika Bacardi, Kevin J. Burke

Starring: Maria Bello, Andrea Osvart, Ksenia Solo

Dustin Speaks with the Producer of Sonic Boom Marlene Sharp

Dustin got the opportunity to sit down with Producer Marlene Sharp about the animated series Sonic Boom and the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie.  Check out the interview below!

"Sonic the Hedgehog: Just a Guy" showcase film at the Bentonville Film Festival. When Sonic insults his friend Mike the Ox by calling him "just a guy" the village teaches Sonic a lesson about not labeling anyone.

Directed by: Natalys Raut Sieuzac                                                (USA/Japan/France)

Producer: Marlene Sharp

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"Little Pink House" Director Courtney Balaker and cast member Jeanne Tripplehorn talk about their film

Dustin sat down with "Little Pink House" film director and writer Courtney Balaker along with one of the stars of the film Jeanne Tripplehorn .  Their film "Little Pink House" was a Competition Narrative at the Bentonville Film Festival. Check out their interview below.

"Little Pink House" is based on a true story...A small town nurse emerges as a reluctant leader of her working-class neighbors in their struggle to save their homes.  There is a political and corporate interest trying to seize their land.  The battle goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 5-4 decision giving government officials the power to bulldoze a neighborhood for the benefit of a multibillion-dollar corporation outraged Americans and fulled reforms that help curb eminent domain abuse.    

Director:  Courtney Balaker
Writer:  Courtney Balaker
Producers: Courtney Balaker, Ted Balaker, Arielle Boisbert

Starring:  Catherine Keener, Jeanne Tripplehorn, April Telek, Callum Keith Rennie, Miranda Frigon, Colin Cunningham, Aaron Douglas and Garry Chalk.

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Jenna spoke with the writer from the film "Unbridled", Bonne Bartron.

We spoke with writer Bonne Bartron from the film "Unbridled".  "Unbridled" was a Narrative film at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out her interview about the film below.

Based on a true story, this Narrative film was inspired by a healing ranch for troubled girls in North Carolina.  "Unbridled" is a story that exposes abuse, neglect and sex trafficking.  It shows the healing and redemption experienced by the girls and horses who have suffered the same type of abuse with a message of unconditional love.   

Director:  John David Ware
Writer:  Bonne Bartron, Christy McGlothlin

Starring: Eric Roberts, T.C. Stallings and Tea Mckay

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Cast and Director of "The Archer" talk about their passion for the festival and their film

Dustin spoke with cast members Bailey Noble, Jeanine Mason and director Valerie Weiss from the film "The Archer".  Their film "The Archer" was a Narrative film at the Bentonville Film Festival. They talk about their passion for the festival and their film.  Check out their interview below. 

A high-school Tri-state Archery Champion (played by Bailey Noble) and her teammate Emily go to celebrate, upon returning to their hotel room they are interrupted by Emily's abusive boyfriend.  Lauren snaps and brutally beats Daniel.  Lauren is sentenced to a girls reform camp Paradise Ridge. This reform camp isn't what it seems and turns out to be corrupted and twisted prison. Lauren befriends Rebecca (played by Jeanine Mason) and together they escape into the Utah wilderness.  This is a film about the journey of growth, acceptance and resilience of what they believe is right.  Bailey Noble has had rolls in "Timeless", "The last Tycoon", "The Good Neighbor", "True Blood" to name a few.  Jeanine Mason is starring in the new CW Network pilot "Searchers" .   


Director:  Valeri Weiss
Producer:  Ruth Du
Writer:  Casey Schroen

Starring: Bailey Noble, Jeanine Mason, Michael Grant Terry, Bill Sage, Dendrie Taylor and Kyanna Simone

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Arkansas Anime Festival announces special guest A. E. Taylor

Arkansas Anime Festival-River Valley Edition announces special guest upcoming Fan-Fiction Writer A.E. Taylor! The anime festival will be held in the Fort Smith Convention Center on May 26th-28th.

Amy Elizabeth loves to write!  She is the admin of several Harry Potter themed fanfiction groups as well as a beta reader for other writers.  At A2F she will be talking about how  you can begin writing fanfiction and what it takes to make a great fanfiction story and much more.  For more about Amy go to http://arkansasanimefestival.com .  

Get your tickets now! For tickets and other event information go to  Arkansas Anime Festival Website now!

We spoke with the film director Kavi Raz about the film "The Black Prince"

Jenna spoke with writer/director Kavi Raz and consulting producer Travis Cloyd about their film "The Black Prince" based on a true story and being showcased at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out the interview below.

"The Black Prince" is the fascinating true story of the last King of the mighty Kingdom of Punjab.  Maharajah Duleep Singh character evolves and is torn between two cultures.  He is facing constant dilemmas because of this.  His most impactful relations in the film was with Queen Victoria.  The Black Prince begins a lifelong struggle to regain his Kingdom.

Director and writer: Kavi Raz
Consulting Producer:  Travis Cloyd

Starring: Satinder Sartaaj, Jason Flemyng, Amanda Root, Shabana Azmi, David Essex, Ranjit Singh Shubh, Ameet Chana and Sophie Stevens

Here is some more interesting information about the life of The Black Prince

For more information on the film and when you can see it in theaters go here:  http://www.theblackprince.com

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Dustin speaks with the director of the documentary Mothers in the Middle

Dustin sat down with the director of the documentary "Mothers in the Middle", Lauren Hollingsworth.  "Mothers in the Middle" screening is Saturday May 6th at 4pm at the Cinetransformer Apple Blossom at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out the interview below.

The documentary "Mothers in the Middle" is an intimate look at the challenges of being full-time working mother in America.  They follow five middle-class mothers juggling parenting and jobs while dealing with major life changes.

Director:  Lauren Hollingsworth

Producers:  Lauren Hollingsworth, inbal B Lessner and Jamara Ghalayini

Executive Producer Lyle Gamm

For more information on the film go to www.MothersInTheMiddle.com

Director William H Macy's film Krystal a Spotlight film at BFF

Jenna had a chance to sit down with William H Macy, Director and Rachel Winter, producer of the film "Krystal".  "Krystal" is a Spotlight film at the Bentonville Film Festival.  Check out the interview below.

"Krystal" is a comedic drama about a man who never had a drink in his life.  After meeting a woman an ex-hooker-stripper-junkie-alcoholic he pretends to be in AA to get closer to her.

Directed by: William H Macy
Producer: Rachel Winter
Writer: Will Aldis

Starring: Rosario Dawson, Nick Robinson, Grant Gustin, William Fichtner, William H Macy, Kathy Bates.

What you can expect at the Bentonville Film Festival

The Bentonville Film Festival is in it third year and continues to grow.  The festival will be held this year May 2nd through 7th.  We wanted to get the latest from the BFF office.

Jenna Farris had a chance to check back in with co-founder of Bentonville Film Festival, Trevor Drinkwater.  Check out what he had to say about BFF 2017!

  Single tickets are on sale and can buy tickets through the BFF app or their website    www.bentonvillefilmfestival.com .

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Local film finds its way to the Spotlight at the Bentonville Film Festival

Courtesy of Priscilla Tran

Painted Woman is a western produced locally by Chasing Sunsets Productions, a Northwest Arkansas based Production company.  This is their first feature film and already landed in the Spotlight Screening at the Bentonville Film Festival.  The film was shot in various places in Oklahoma.  Starring Stef Dawson (The Hunger Games Trilogy) David Thomas Jenkins (Return to the Hiding Place), Kiowa Gordon (Twilight Saga), with Matt Dallas (Kyle XY) and Robert Craighead (Tyler Perry's Too Close to Home). 

We had a chance to talk with associate producer, Priscilla Tran.  Check out the interview below.

You can find out more about this film by going to  https://www.paintedwomanfilm.com/