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April 5, 2018

Bentonville Film Festival Announces The Lineup For Official Film Selections


The 2018 Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) founded by Walmart and Presented by Coca-Cola, announced the lineup for official film selections for May 1st through the 6th screenings, Meg Ryan will receive BFF's first "Legacy Award".  BFF will also enhance its filmmaker prizes with a Feature Film Directorship Opportunity from MarVista Entertainment for the winner of the Short Film Competition. There will be 96 featured films including 42 Competition Films, 13 episodic content presentations, notable showcase screenings of top festival films, critical favorites, anniversary screenings of classics, family focused and animated greats plus, every film to date from the Marvel Cinema.  Below is the official list and link to full press release.


The 2018 BENTONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:  

OPENING NIGHT SELECTION
THE HONOR LIST
Director: Elissa Down
Country: USA, Running Time: 103 min
Four girls sink a time capsule  in a lake with a list of things  they want to do before graduation,  but they all go separate ways before graduating.  When a tragedy strikes, they reunite to find the capsule and complete the bucket list.


CENTERPIECE SCREENING SELECTION
THE YEAR OF SPECTACULAR MEN
Director: Lea Thompson
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
Izzy Klein (Madelyn Deutch) has (barely) graduated from college, broken up (sorta) with her boyfriend, and is stranded in New York City with a bad case of pre-real-world millennial-itis. Unsure of what the future holds, her movie star little sister, Sabrina (Zoey Deutch), convinces her to move back home to Los Angeles and into her shared apartment with actor boyfriend, Sebastian (Avan Jogia), where they can keep an eye on rudderless Izzy. Emotionally unable to deal with the loss of her father, and slightly distracted by her mother Deb’s (Lea Thompson) newfound love affair with loopy yogi Amethyst (Melissa Bologna), Izzy funnels her energy into dating a colorful bouquet of five complicated and spectacular men over the course of the next year.


DRAMATIC FEATURE COMPETITION

ANJELICA
Director: Marisol Gomez-Mouakad
Country: Puerto Rico, Running Time: 100 min
Angelica has spent her whole life escaping from her mixed racial identity, but a family crisis forces her to look inside and rethink her life.

BANANA SEASON
Director: Sanghoon Lee
Country: USA, Running time: 104 min
BANANA SEASON is a high-concept dramedy centered on an unusually beautiful relationship developed at a pivotal time in the lives between a Peter, Little Person and Sun, an Asian MMA fighter.

BENJI THE DOVE
Director: Kevin Arbouet
Countries: USA/Iceland, Running time: 85 min
A tender tale of four boys who are rapidly coming to terms with school, bullies, friendship, and loyalty.

EGG
Director: Marinanna Palka
Country: USA, Running time: 90 min
EGG is an unflinching comedy about why we choose motherhood, why we revere it or fear it or delegate it, and why some women choose to forgo it.


FIND ME
Director: Tom Huang
Country: USA, Running time: 103 min
Joe is an accountant who on a downward spiral after a recent painful divorce. His only solace is his co-worker and 'office wife,' Amelia, whom he spends most of his free time with at work. Amelia loves to travel and see the outdoors, trying to get Joe to get out again  and  live  life,  which  he  can't  yet  bring  himself  to  do.  It's  only  when  Amelia mysteriously disappears for weeks that he finally gets himself out of his shell to try to find her through clues she leaves for him in National Parks across the West

F.R.E.D.I.
Director: Sean Olson
Country: USA, Running time: 90 min
An intelligent, lovable robot known as ”FREDI” is stolen from a secret research facility by the project’s lead scientist. The robot is found by a 15-year-old teenager, James. Soon the two begin to communicate and form a bond in which Fredi learns about teenage life and James learns about some new values.

GOOD AFTER BAD
Director: Anne-Marie Hess
Country: USA, Running time: 98 min
When a troubled young girl crosses paths with an eccentric bachelor, her life is changed forever.


LEZ BOMB
Director: Jenna Laurenzo
Country: USA, Running time: 90 min
A still closeted young woman brings her girlfriend home for Thanksgiving only to have her coming out efforts thwarted by the unexpected arrival of her male roommate.

MARY GOES ROUND
Director: Molly McGlynn
Country: Canada, Running time: 84 min
An alcoholic substance abuse counsellor, Mary, gets a DUI and returns home to Niagara Falls where she ends up taking care of her dying, estranged father and her teenaged half sister whom she's never met.

MISS ARIZONA
Director: Autumn McAlpin
Country: USA, Running time: 92 min
A former pageant queen embarks on an all night adventure with four unlikely friends she meets while volunteering at a women's shelter.

MOKO JUMBIE
Director: Vashhti Anderson
Country: USA, Trinidad, Tobago, Running time: 94 min
A Gothic Caribbean love story set in Trinidad

QUEST
Director: Santiago Rizzo
Country: USA, Running time: 85 min
QUEST is a non-romantic story of love, about a friendship between a 12-year-old graffiti addict  who  faces  constant  abuse  from  his  step-father,  and  a  teacher  named  Tim Moellering who believes there is no such thing as a bad kid – only a bad situation. Based on the stories of their lives, the first draft of Quest was written by director Santiago Rizzo and his teacher Tim Moellering. This is their story.

RIDE
Director: Alex Ranarivelo
Country: USA, Running Time:
RIDE is about the life story of John Buultjens, who has dedicated his life to the sport of
BMX.

RUST CREEK
Director: Jenn McGowan
Country: USA, Running time: 104 min
When overachieving college senior Sawyer Scott makes a wrong turn, her road trip becomes a life-changing fight for survival in the wilds of eastern Kentucky.

SADIE
Director: Megan Griffiths
Country: USA, Running time: 96 min
While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother takes an interest in a new man.

SHINE
Director: Anthony Nardolillo
Countries: USA/UK, Running Time: 95 min
Two brothers who were once East Harlem's best Salsa dancers are separated after the death of their father only to be reunited years later on opposing ends of gentrification.

TATTERDEMALION
Director: Ramaa Mosley
Country: USA, Running time: 96 min
A young woman returns home to the Ozarks to find her brother and instead discovers a young boy in the woods who may or may not be the demon of local folklore.

TIME TRAP
Directors: Mark Dennis, Ben Foster
Country: USA, Running time: 87 min
A group of students become trapped inside a mysterious cave where they discover time passes differently underground than on the surface.

URBAN COUNTRY
Director: Teddy Smith
Country: USA, Running time: 88 min
Faith, a troubled 18-year-old girl from the city, moves to a horse ranch in the country to help her dying mother.

UNLOVABLE
Director: Suzi Yoonessi
Country: USA, Running Time: 85 min
A sex and love addicted woman learns what real intimacy is when she starts making music with a reclusive man.

WHEN JEFF TRIED TO SAVE THE WORLD
Director: Kendall Goldberg
Country: USA, Running time: 92 min
When Jeff, the manager of Winky’s World, an old-school  bowling alley, discovers the owner's plans to sell, saving the place means pulling himself out of the gutter, too.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION

6 WEEKS TO MOTHER’S DAY
Director: Marvin Blunte
Country: USA, Running time: 92 min
Tucked away in the Thai jungle lies a small democratic school called Children’s Village. Children's village teaches freedom of speech and human rights to some of Thailand’s most underprivileged children. 6 WEEKS TO MOTHER’S DAY documents the everyday lives of the students as they prepare a special celebration to honor Rajani Dhongchai, the founder and person they refer to as Mother, on the school's 35th Mother's Day anniversary.

A FINE LINE
Director: Joanna James
Countries: USA/Spain/Italy, Running time: 72 min
The feature-length documentary, A FINE LINE, explores why only 6% of head chefs/restaurant  owners  are women,  when  traditionally  women  have always  held the central  role in the kitchen. Experiences  from world-renowned  chefs are woven  into a central narrative of a single mother, small-town restaurateur who beat the odds stacked against her. This personal story opens up a national discussion on gender inequality, motherhood and career balance, and how this inequity in the kitchen is representative of industries across the board.

BIAS
Director: Robin Hauser
Country: USA, Running time: 85 Min
If you’re  human,  you’re  biased.  Now  what?  'Bias'  is a provocative  documentary  that explores  how  our  unconscious  assumptions  influence  our  choices,  how  we  perceive others, and how we see ourselves. Groundbreaking research, driven by advances in technology,   reveals   the   surprising   ways   in  which   unconscious   bias   perpetuates inequities in our social groups, workplaces, and communities.  Can we save ourselves from the harmful effects of bias?

DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION
Director: Stacey Reiss
Country: USA, Running time: 85 Min
Spanning three decades (1960-1989), DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION is the never-before-told story of the late Suzanne Mitchell, the fiercely loyal den mother of  the  Dallas  Cowboys  Cheerleaders.  Seen  by  many  as  regressive,  this  diverse sisterhood of small-town “girls next door” became unlikely, controversial icons of womanhood  at  the  height  of  the  Sexual  Revolution  and  Second  Wave  Feminism, changing the game of football -- and America – forever.

THE DISUINTED STAES OF AMERICA
Director: Luis Prieto
Country: USA, Running time: 88 min
THE  DISUNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  documents  the  divisive  2016  Presidential election from six drastically different perspectives of Americans spread across America.

EMANUEL
Director: Brian Ivie
Country: USA, Running time: 80 min
The untold story of the victims and survivors of 'The Emanuel Church Shooting' in
Charleston, South Carolina, and the radical forgiveness that followed.

FOREVER ‘B’
Director: Skye Borgman
Country: USA, Running time: 91 min
On October 17th, 1974, in the quiet town of Pocatello Idaho, 12-year-old Jan Broberg was kidnapped by her family's best friend and neighbor. 18 months later, out on bail and awaiting  trial  for  kidnapping,  Robert  Berchtold  (Brother  'B'  to  Jan  and  her  family) abducted Jan a second time, triggering a nationwide FBI manhunt. Through threats and brainwashing,   Brother   ‘B’   successfully   turns   Jan   against   her   own   family,   while simultaneously manipulating her parents who paved the way for Jan’s abduction, in plain sight.

INTELLIGENT LIVES
Director: Dan Habib
Country: USA, Running time: 70 min
Three pioneering young adults with intellectual disabilities — Micah, Naieer, and Naomie
— challenge perceptions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college, and the workforce.  Academy  Award-winning  actor  Chris  Cooper,  the  narrator  of  the documentary, contextualizes the lives of these central characters and shares a personal perspective as he unpacks the sordid track record of intelligence testing in the U.S.

LIVING IN FUTURE’S PAST
Director: Susan Kucera
Country: USA, Running time: 84 min
Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges presents this beautifully photographed tour de force of original thinking on who we are and the environmental challenges we face. Bridges, alongside prominent scientists and authors, weaves evolution, emergence, entropy, dark ecology,  and  what  some  are  calling  the  end  of  nature,  into  a  story  that  helps  us understand our place among the species of Earth’s household. The film upends our way of  thinking  and  provides  original  insights  into  our  subconscious  motivations,  their unintended consequences, what to do about our fossil slaves, and how our fundamental animal nature influences our future as Humankind.

LOVE ALWAYS, MOM
Directors: Trish Russo, Craig E. Shapiro
Country: USA, Running time: 94 min
A stage 4 cancer survivor and her husband make the controversial decision to have a child using an egg donor and a surrogate.  With laughter and tears, we witness a mother’s love letter to her unborn child and a never before seen look into cancer and infertility.

MAN MADE 
Director: T Cooper Country: USA
MAN  MADE  takes  us  into  the  heart  of  transgender  male  (FTM)  culture,  revealing
unexpected truths about gender, masculinity, humanity, and love. Four trans men, take a variety  of  life  paths  toward  stepping  on  the  stage  at  Trans  FitCon,  the  only  all- transgender bodybuilding competition in the world.

MIND OVER MATTER
Director: Sebastien Paquet
Country: USA, Running time: 87 min
A  young  man  with  cerebral  palsy  overcomes  a  paralyzed  left  hand,  bullies,  and stereotypes,  dreaming  of  becoming  a  rock  guitarist  even  while  told  he  will  never succeed. His dreams become reality as he leads his own band, inspired by the band Korn to express himself through music.

THE NEED TO GROW
Directors: Rob Herring, Ryan Wirick
Country: USA, Running time: 92 min

With an estimated 60 years of farmable soil left on Earth, THE NEED TO GROW is a character driven story of innovators behind decentralized solutions and cutting edge technologies. Underdog leaders face unpredictable challenges as they fight to heal our broken food system and regenerate the planet’s dying soils.

ORIGIN STORY
Director: Kulap Vilaysack
Country: USA, Running time: 106 min
When Kulap Vilaysack was 14, she took her father's side in an argument and her mother replied, 'Why are you defending him? He's not your real dad.' Twenty years later, she's finally   ready   to  explore   what   that  means.   ORIGIN   STORY   is  a  feature-length, international  quest  - with  stops  in  Los  Angeles,  Minnesota,  and  Laos  - to  meet  the biological father she never knew. On the road, unforeseen revelations strike as hilarious or heartbreaking, rarely in between. ORIGIN STORY is a deeply personal but universally relevant tale of immigration, conflict, and personal responsibility.

ROLLER DREAMS
Director: Kate Hickey
Countries: USA/Australia, Running time: 82 min
It’s 1984 and Venice Beach, CA, is at the epicenter of a pop culture explosion. Young people  of color seeking  refuge  from the turmoil  of inner city life flock to the eclectic ocean community  to create a brand new phenomenon:  roller dancing! The talent and vibrant personality of this multicultural roller ‘family’ draws massive crowds and influence Hollywood.  But  just  as  roller  dancing  flourishes,  politics,  money  and  gentrification conspire to take their dreams away.

SKID ROW MARATHON
Director: Mark Hayes
Country: USA, Running time: 85 min
A criminal court judge starts a running club on L.A.’s skid row, where he trains a motley group of homeless people to run international marathons.

STUMPED
Director: Robin Berghaus
Country: USA, Running time: 72 min
When a filmmaker loses his limbs, he turns to stand-up comedy as therapy and undergoes a double-arm transplant in the hope of reclaiming his independence.

SURVIVING HOME
Directors: Jillian Moul, Matthew Moul
Country: USA, Running time: 85 min
They survived war, yet over the years, five veterans from different generations must find their own unique bridge of connection to survive and thrive back home.

THROUGH THE BANKS OF THE RED CEDARS
Director: Maya Washington
In 1963, Michigan State Head Coach Duffy Daugherty gave 23 African American young men the opportunity of a lifetime. The daughter of football legend Gene Washington uncovers how the first fully integrated college football team in America changed the face of the game forever.


WHEN THEY AWAKE
Directors: P.J. Marcellino, Hermon Farahi
Country: Canada, Running Time: 92 min
In WHEN THEY AWAKE, we follow the footsteps of trailblazers like Buffy Sainte-Marie and Robbie Robertson to modern Indigenous musicians in Canada and elsewhere, who are getting noticed on the mainstream scene, reclaiming their place as key players in contemporary society.

WOMEN LIKE US
Director: Sally Colón-Petree
Countries: Kenya/USA, Running time: 90 min
WOMEN LIKE US features 14 astounding women creating change in the areas of sex trafficking, female genital mutilation, teen suicide, education, and more. Featuring commentary from Catt Sadler, Sherri Shepherd, Dianne Hudson, Ida Odinga and more, with music by Moby.


EPISODIC COMPETITION

Beast
Director: Ben Strang
Country: USA, Running time: 18 min
After the mysterious disappearance of his father, a young boy riles the help of his small fishing-town to find the sea-monster he believes his father was hunting.

Brooke
Director: Morgan Beck
Country: USA, Running time: 22 min
A pregnant woman and her husband find out they are going to have their baby early. Even though it messes up their timeline, they (along with her family and their friends) are excited to start this new adventure. It just came a little faster than they thought it would.

Brooklynification
Director: Keith Miller
Country: USA, Running time: 11
This  diverse  cast  of  characters  take  on  the  good,  the  bad  and  the  awkward  as transforming  neighborhoods   face  the  unexpected  encounters  of  Brooklyn’s  rapidly changing streets.

Fabled
Director: Jennifer Morrison
Country: USA, Running time: 15 min
The imaginative realities of two young women living in a bureaucratic behavioral therapy ward are empowered and affirmed through the friendship that grows between them.

From Jappan
Director: Raj Trivedi
Country: USA, Running time: 8 min
When Jappan's mother is scandalized by his live-in relationship, he flashes back to his twelve-year-old self-living under the thumb of his family's culture.


Mustangs FC
Directors: Corrie Chen, Tori Garrett
Country: Australia, Running time: 25 min
A goal-kicking comedy drama about girls who are abandoning the sidelines and starting their local football club’s first all female team.

Reaver Vs. Specter
Director: Kholi Hicks
Country: USA, Running time: 13 min
Roan is a young black woman making ends meet as a nurse in Inglewood, California--a rundown and struggling community where specters are as common as insects.

Root for the Villain
Director: Max Rissman
Country: USA, Running time: 7 min
In a superhero universe, Lana is a parole officer who works with low-level super-villains, helping them reintegrate into society after they are released from prison.

Sink Sank Sunk
Director: Will Seefried
Country: USA, Running time: 16 min
A reclusive photographer  (Will Seefried) investigates  his antagonistic  relationship  with his late mother (Laura Linney) by completing  her passion project: a documentary  film about her synchronized swimming team.

SusaneLand
Director: Andrew Olsen
Country: USA, Running time: 4 min
Vignettes from a young woman's bizarre life. Episode one: Susane kills someone in the elevator.

Threads
Director: Jeremy Redleaf
Country: USA Running time: 11 min
Episode one tracks the hat of an iconic cartoon as it passes hands between the voice of the character and an immigrant mother trying to find her voice in America.

Unspeakable
Director: Milena Govich
Country: USA, Running time: 15 min
A young woman  in a desperate  situation  whose only option to avert authorities  is to claim to be a girl who disappeared  years ago as a child. But when the missing girl’s family welcomes the impostor home, she’s forced to keep the deception alive or face the consequences.

Whatta Lark (Ep 1)
Director: Allison Vanore
Country: USA, Running time: 5 min
Megan, children's book author, and her husband are suddenly thrust into the life-altering discussion  of whether  to  have  kids.  Uncharacteristically  indecisive,  the  type-A  writer turns to the internet for answers and among the noise discovers a voice of reason and joy, Whatta Lark, a fabulous drag queen.



SHOWCASE FILMS

BLINDSPOTTING
Director: Carlos Lopez Estrada
Country: USA, Running Time: 95 min
Lifelong friends Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal co-wrote  and star in this timely and wildly  entertaining  story  about  the  intersection  of  race  and  class,  set  against  the backdrop of a rapidly gentrifying Oakland.

BOOM FOR REAL
Director: Sara Driver
Country: USA, Running Time: 78 min
Exploring  the pre-fame years of the celebrated  American  artist Jean-Michel  Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and '80s shaped his vision.

CHANGE IN THE AIR
Director: Dianne Dreyer
Country: USA, Running Time: 94 min
When a beguiling young woman moves in next door, a quiet neighborhood is awakened, bringing people face to face with their secrets, and ultimately, themselves.

GOD BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD
Director: Harold Cronk
Country: USA, Running Time: 113 min
God Bless the Broken Road tells the story of a young mother who loses her husband in Afghanistan  and  struggles  to  raise  their  young  daughter  in  his  absence.  The  film combines elements of faith, country music, and stock car racing while paying tribute to those who serve in the United States Military.

GOOD FORTUNE
Directors: Joshua Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell
Country: USA, Running Time: 86 min
GOOD FORTUNE is the rags to riches tale of conscious capitalism pioneer John Paul DeJoria. Born with nothing, at times homeless on the streets of LA, "JP" spent his early adulthood in and out of motorcycle gangs only to wheel and deal his way to the top of a vast  hair  and  tequila  empire.  A  modern  day  Robin  Hood,  JP's  motto  is  "Success unshared is failure." The son of immigrants, JP defies the stereotype of 'the 1%' and is the poster boy of the triple bottom line - people, planet and profit.

HEARTS BEAT LOUD
Director: Brett Haley
Country: USA, Running Time: 97 min
A father and daughter form an unlikely songwriting duo in the summer before she leaves for college.

LOST IN AMERICA
Director: Rotimi Rainwater
Country: USA, Running Time: 105 min
Documentary follows director Rotimi Rainwater, a former homeless youth, as he travels the country to shine a light on the epidemic of youth homelessness in America.

ORPHAN HORSE 
Director: Sean McNamara Country: USA, Running Time:
A young runaway girl hides out in the barn of a retired horse trainer and forms a bond with his troubled filly.

PUZZLE
Director: Marc Turtletaub
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
Agnes, taken for granted as a suburban mother, discovers a passion for solving jigsaw puzzles which unexpectedly draws her into a new world - where her life unfolds in ways she could never have imagined.

RBG
Directors: Julie Cohen, Betsy West
Country: USA, Running Time: 97 min
A look at the life and work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

SURVIVOR’S GUIDE TO PRISON
Director: Matthew Cook
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
Today, you're more likely to go to prison in the United States than anywhere else in the world. So in the unfortunate  case it should happen to you - this is the SURVIVOR’S GUIDE TO PRISON.

THE TALE
Director: Jennifer Fox
Country: USA, Running Time: 114 min
An  investigation  into  one  woman's  memory  as  she  is  forced  to  re-examine  her  first sexual relationship and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.

LEGACY SCREENINGS

BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (2002) 
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Country: UK, Running Time: 112 min
The daughter  of orthodox  Sikh  rebels  against  her parents'  traditionalism  and joins  a football team.

ENTER THE DRAGON (1973) 
Director: Robert Clouse
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
A  martial  artist  agrees  to  spy  on  a  reclusive  crime  lord  using  his  invitation  to  a tournament there as cover.

JURASSIC PARK (1993) 
Director: Steven Spielberg
Country: USA, Running Time: 127 min
During a preview tour, a theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaur exhibits to run amok.

LA BAMBA (1987) 
Director: Luis Valdez
Country: USA, Running Time: 108 min
Biographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.

MAMMA MIA! (2008) 
Director: Phylilda Lloyd
Country: USA, Running Time: 108 min
The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular
1970s group ABBA.

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993) 
Director: Nora Ephron
Country: USA, Running Time: 105 min
A recently widowed man's son calls a radio talk show in an attempt to find his father a partner.

STAR WARS: EPISODE IV “A NEW HOPE” (1977) Director: George Lucas
Country: USA, Running Time: 121 min
Nineteen  years  after  the  formation  of  the  Empire,  Luke  Skywalker  is  thrust  into  the struggle of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has lived for years in seclusion on the desert planet of Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luke's Jedi training as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the beautiful Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Empire. Although Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader, his former apprentice, Luke proves that the Force is with him by destroying the Empire's dreaded Death Star.

YOU’VE GOT MAIL (1998) 
Director: Nora Ephron
Country: USA, Running Time: 119 min
Two business rivals who despise each other in real life unwittingly fall in love over the

Internet.


OUTDOOR    SCREENINGS    –    SONY/ORVILLE    REDENBACHER’S    OUTDOOR THEATER AT LAWRENCE PARK

OCO
Directors: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina
Country: USA, Running Time: 105 min
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the
Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000) Director: Ang Lee
Countries: China/Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA, Running Time: 120 min
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.

THE EAGLE HUNTRESS (2016) 
Director: Otto Bell
Countries: UK/Mongolia, Running Time: 87 min
Thirteen-year-old  Aisholpan trains to become the first female in twelve generations  of her nomad family to become an eagle huntress.

THE EMOJI MOVIE (2017) 
Director: Tony Leondis
Country: USA, Running Time: 86 min
Gene, a multi-expressional emoji, sets out on a journey to become a normal emoji.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (2012) 
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky Country: USA, Running Time: 91 min
Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count's teenaged daughter.

JUMANJI (1995) 
Director: Joe Johnston
Country: USA, Running Time: 104 min
When two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped for decades in it and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game.

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
Director: Jake Kasdan
Country: USA, Running Time: 119 min
Four  teenagers  are  sucked  into  a  magical  video  game,  and  the  only  way  they  can escape is to work together to finish the game.

MULAN (1998)
Directors: Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min
To save her father from death in the army, a young maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.

PETER RABBIT (2017) 
Director: Will Gluck
Country: USA, Running Time: 95 min
Feature adaptation of Beatrix Potter's classic tale of a rebellious rabbit trying to sneak into a farmer's vegetable garden.

SMURF’S LOST VILLAGE (2017) 
Director: Kelly Asbury
Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min
In this fully animated, all-new take on the Smurfs, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her friends Brainy, Clumsy, and Hefty on an exciting race through the Forbidden Forest, leading to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history.

MARVEL EXPERIENCE AT SKYLIGHT SCREENINGS

ANT-MAN (2015) 
Director: Peyton Reed
Country: USA, Running Time: 117 min
Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

AVENGERS: THE AGE OF ULTRON (2015) Director: Joss Whedon
Country: USA, Running Time: 141 min
When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it's up to Earth's mightiest heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plan.

THE AVENGERS (2012) 
Director: Joss Whedon
Country: USA, Running Time: 143 min
Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.

BLACK PANTHER
Director: Ryan Coogler
Country: USA, Running Time: 134 min
T'Challa,  the  King  of  Wakanda,  rises  to  the  throne  in  the  isolated,  technologically advanced African nation, but his claim is challenged by a vengeful outsider who was a childhood victim of T'Challa's father's mistake.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Country: USA, Running Time: 147 min
Political involvement in the Avengers' activities causes a rift between Captain America and Iron Man.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011) Director: Joe Johnston
Country: USA, Running Time: 124 min
Steve Rogers, a rejected military soldier transforms into Captain America after taking a dose of a "Super-Soldier serum". But being Captain America comes at a price as he attempts to take down a warmonger and a terrorist organization.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014) Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Country: USA, Running Time: 136 min
As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with a fellow Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Black Widow, to battle a new threat from history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.

DOCTOR STRANGE (2016) 
Director: Scott Derrickson
Country: USA, Running Time: 115 min
While on a journey of physical and spiritual healing, a brilliant neurosurgeon  is drawn into the world of the mystic arts.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014) Director: James Gunn
Country: USA, Running Time: 121 min
A group of intergalactic criminals are forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 2 (2017) Director: James Gunn
Country: USA, Running Time: 136 min
The Guardians  must fight to keep their newfound  family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill's true parentage.

IRON MAN (2008) Director: Jon Favreau
Country: USA, Running Time: 126 min
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.

IRON MAN 2 (2010) Director: Jon Favreau
Country: USA, Running Time: 124 min
With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father's legacy.

IRON MAN 3 (2013) Director: Shane Black
Country: USA, Running Time: 130 min
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017) Director: Jon Watts
Country: USA, Running Time: 133 min
Peter Parker balances his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens with his superhero alter ego Spider-Man, and finds himself on the trail of a new menace prowling the skies of New York City.

THOR (2011)
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Country: USA, Running Time: 115 min
The powerful, but arrogant god Thor, is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in
Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013) 
Director: Alan Taylor
Country: USA, Running Time: 112 min
When Dr. Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful entity known as the Aether, Thor is heralded of the cosmic event known as the Convergence and the genocidal Dark Elves.

THOR: RAGNAROK (2017) 
Director: Taika Waititi
Country: USA, Running Time: 130 min

Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian  civilization,  at the hands of an all-powerful  new threat, the ruthless Hela.


About the Bentonville Film Festival:
Co-founded by Academy Award® winner Geena Davis & Inclusion Companies CEO Trevor Drinkwater, the Bentonville Film Festival is a one of a kind annual event that champions inclusion in all forms of media. BFF is a yearlong platform culminating with an annual six-day festival, in partnership with founding sponsor Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola. The Bentonville Film Festival is held the first week of May of every year in Bentonville, Arkansas and includes an impactful Inclusion, Research and Content Summit. Connecting engaged entertainment industry leaders and major corporate changemakers with a diverse array of storytellers affords BFF the unique opportunity to amplify commercially viable content, solutions and initiatives that adequately represent the world around us. Because if they can see it, they can be it!  www.bentonvillefilmfestival.com


_____________________________
Proud Media Sponsor of the 
Bentonville Film Festival






April 4, 2018

NWA Fashion Week Spring 2018 Highlights

Lauren James Spring Collection-Record, Bentonville NWAFW runway show
NWA Fashion Week Spring 2018 show was held at the Record in Bentonville, AR on March 28, 29, 30 and 31st.  Over the next week we will be posting each of the designers runways and interviews.  See below some of the highlights from the week.

NWA Fashion Week started the week off with a "Shopping Night Out" in downtown Bentonville.  Participating boutiques stayed open for fun shopping with a few designers taking some time to speak to folks about fashion. 


INKJNK Fashion Clothing
Participating boutiques and locations listed here:  Lola, Denium & Essenials, Label with Fashion Designer for Albert & Co, Dallas Musick, Remedy Road with Love, Zelda and Emily's Onemanband, Visit Bentonville Office hosted INKJNK and Tigersasha, Haxton Road Studio hosted Hello Luvvy and Ropa Plus, NA Martin hosted Uptown Eyes and LFLS Shoes.


Shopping Night Out Gallery
...



NWA Fashion Week Spring 2018 Show had 17 designers to go down the runway on Friday and Saturday plus local boutiques had their own runway on Thursday night.  Over the next week we will be posting each of the designers runways and interviews.  


NWA Highlights Friday and Saturday

...


About NWA Fashion Week:
NWA Fashion Week’s mission is to highlight fashion trends, burgeoning local brands and up and coming designers, to celebrate Northwest Arkansas’ growing culture, and raise awareness and support for local organizations that are doing incredible things in the world. NWA Fashion Week aims to showcase and retain the talent that makes Northwest Arkansas unique and to act as a catalyst for future collaborative productions.

Arkansas Arts & Fashion Forum was created as  NWA Fashion Week's 501c3 nonprofit organization.  The Arkansas Arts and Fashion Forum was founded in 2017 with the hope of providing a central location for creative producers in Arkansas to find professional development resources, creative inspiration, and a community of support. The mission of the Arkansas Arts and Fashion Forum is to provide educational opportunities and professional support for aspiring avant-garde fashion designers, artists, and other creative professionals who are committed to building a vibrant and inspired creative fashion community in Arkansas.


For more information on how you can support NWA Fashion Week and our fashion communtiy go here: http://nwafw.com/  
___________________________


Proud Media Sponsor of the NWA Fashion Week



April 2, 2018

4th Annual Bentonville Film Festival Announces Lineup of Filmmaker and Industry Panels

Press Release:


4th Annual Bentonville Film Festival Announces
Lineup of Filmmaker and Industry Panels
(May 1-6)

Participants include BFF Co-Founder Geena Davis, with Aisha Tyler, Alysia Reiner, David Arquette, Kiersey Clemons, Nic Novicki, Debbie Matenopoulos, Meghan Rienks, and Victoria Arlen. Business and industry leaders include Coca-Cola Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Andrew Davis, NBC Universal Chief Diversity Officer Craig Robinson, UN Special Advisor Claudia Romo Edeleman and many others!

BENTONVILLE, Ark (April 2, 2018) — The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) (May 1-6) announced an ambitious lineup of filmmaker and film industry panels for this year’s edition of the popular film festival.

The filmmaker and film industry panels will feature attending actors, producers and directors, along with some of the leaders and brightest minds from forward-thinking companies and organizations, discussing issues and ideas focused on diversity, inclusion practices, and innovative and authentic perspectives that influence and shape our continually shifting world.

BFF Co-Founder and Inclusion Companies CEO Trevor Drinkwater, said, “One of the unique aspects of the Bentonville Film Festival is our focus on impacting the portrayal of diversity and inclusion in all forms of widely consumed media. The BFF Discussion events are designed to create dialogue and inspire action. This year we are incredibly excited to be joined by decision makers from all aspects of the media industry; creators, marketers and distributors, as well as the financiers and the advertisers who pay for the media the next generation of leaders consume. These industry leaders are speaking up because they are all committed to immediate action to assure the media they produce, market, distribute or support financially, inspires ALL young minds to do great things.”


2018 Bentonville Film Festival Panels and Discussions

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2

Men as Allies: Being A Valuable and Effective Force Alongside Women Promoting

Gender Balance
Associate Resource Group Hosted Event
Presented by MARS
(9:00AM - 10:00AM) at Record North
Feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal opportunities. This panel will look at how men can be true allies in the effort to achieve gender equality in the workplace and all walks of life. Moderator: Brickson Diamond (Big Answers, LLC) With Jim Breach (Unilever), Mark Rahiya (Coca-Cola), Chris Mondzelewski (MARS)

Know Yourself: A Look at How Our Brains Process Bias Without Us Knowing

Content & Distribution
Presented by MARS
(10:30AM - 11:30AM) at Record North
Understanding how the brain works can help us understand our own biases. Dr. Steve Robbins will set the tone for the week as he sheds light on how our brains work, and how that influences our perceptions of what we see and hear in our daily lives, helping us to lead with an open mind for the rest of the week’s discussions. With Dr. Steve Robbins

Purposeful Storytelling: Going Beyond Entertainment to Make an Impact

Content & Distribution
Presented by MARS
(12:00PM - 1:00PM) at Record North
It all starts with a story. Building a creative, innovative, and inclusive team is the key to great storytelling. This panel will look at how creatives, in front and behind the camera, can deliver stories that are not only meaningful and diverse but also free from bias. Let’s tell stories that reflect the world we see around us. Moderator: Elisabeth Sereda (HFPA) With Nikkole Denson-Randolph (AMC Theatres), Lance Edward Nichols (“Treme”), Meghan Rienks (THE HONOR LIST)

THURSDAY, MAY 3

Redefining the Term “Strengthening Disability Inclusion in a world of Filmmaking,

Storytelling, and Beyond”
Associate Resource Group Hosted Event
Presented by MARS
(9:00AM - 10:00AM) at Record North
One in every five Americans is living with a disability, making it the largest minority population today. Yet far too often, their important and varied stories go untold. Moderator: Becky Curran (USBLN) With Katy Sullivan Paralympian – Track & Field), Gail Williamson (Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin & Associates)

Casting in the Real World: Taking Action to Ensure Inclusiveness

Content & Distribution
Presented by MARS
(10:30AM - 11:30AM) at Record North
Writers, directors, producers, and casting agents have the ability to broaden the scope of their projects to truly reflect the world we live in. This discussion explores the steps we can take to make sure we all feel like insiders. With Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd (Casting Director – FRUITVALE STATION), Nic Novicki (“Boardwalk Empire”), Jaime Primak Sullivan (Producer – BREAKING IN)

Creating, Marketing, and Distributing Content for Positive Change

Content & Distribution
Presented by MARS
(12:00PM - 1:00PM) at Record North
Content creators have the power to change and inspire audiences. How do we make sure the content we distribute supports an inclusive world? Once we understand our own biases, how can we harness that to effect change through the content we create and distribute, to positively influence young minds. Moderator: Heather Kruse (Haworth) With Pam Kaufman (Nickelodeon), Traci White (AMC Theatres)

The Social Responsibility of Business: Doing Well by Doing Good

Celebrity Series
Presented by L’Oréal Paris
(1:30PM - 2:30PM) at Record North
In an internet fueled, social media-driven world, companies and celebrity influencers have the ability and power to collaborate and inspire a meaningful impact. This panel will discuss the reality that millennials have demonstrated they care about companies that care about them. Therefore, how can media be utilized to communicate that companies have an interest in effecting positive change? How can it play a key role in amplifying social responsibility initiatives and inspiring creativity and innovation? Moderator: Michele L. Sullivan (Caterpillar) With David Arquette (SURVIVOR’S GUIDE TO PRISON), Claudia Romo Edelman (UNICEF), Shannon Lee (Bruce Lee Foundation), Dennis Williams (HBO)

A League of their Own: Remarkable change happens when Women are in the

Driver’s Seat.
Presented by American Cinema International (ACI)
(4:30PM - 5:30PM) at Record North
Research from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media shows that when there is a female writer and director, there is a 10% increase in onscreen roles. Remarkable change happens when women are in the driver’s seat. These successful business leaders will share case histories and best practices how they’ve leveraged their extensive experience to create more intersectional and gender balanced projects Moderator: Madeline Di Nonno (CEO, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media) With Aisha Tyler (“Archer”) and Chevonne O’Shaughnessy (ACI) 


FRIDAY, MAY 4

Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS, and Math (STEAM) Jobs are Gender

Neutral
Associate Resource Group Hosted Event
Presented by MARS
(9:00AM - to 10:00AM) at Record North
Over 1 million jobs in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, ARTS, and Math) go unfilled. This panel will look at how we can harness the power of media to unlock potential and opportunities for women and minorities, and inspire them to pursue careers in STEAM and create an inclusive playing field. With: Laurie Gaskins Baise (Tufts University), Dr. Knatokie Ford (FLY SCI Enterprise), Han Soto (ENDER’S GAME), Courtney McCarthy (Google)


Inclusion is Good for Business: Include Means Everyone

Content & Distribution
Presented by MARS
(10:30AM - 11:30AM) at Record North
Content creators in Film, Television, VR, and elsewhere have the power to change and inspire audiences. The case is indisputable; media that is gender balanced and inclusive performs better. This discussion will prove the business case for inclusion. How do we collaborate more purposefully to get inspiring stories in front of a wider audience? With Monica Diaz (Campbell), Mindy Sherwood (Proctor & Gamble), Han Soto (ENDER’S GAME), Andrew Davis (Coca-Cola)

Landing Pad: Will Companies Be Ready when Diversity Shows Up?

Images Matter
Presented by MARS
(12:00PM - 1:00PM) at Record North
This panel will explore how companies can create, implement, and support programs to assure diversity is celebrated and inclusion is the norm within their businesses. We’ll explore the idea that one cannot exist without the other, and how each can help to generate a productive and vibrant workforce under the company’s umbrella. Moderator: Dr. Steve Robbins With Alanna Cotton (Samsung), Lori Flees (Walmart), Laurie Gaskins Baise (Tufts University), Sarah Bettman (Constellation Brands)


How the Gamechangers Changed Their Game and Achieved Success

Celebrity Series
Presented by Maybelline New York
(1:30PM - 2:30PM) at Record North
By definition a gamechanger is a newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation. What are basic lessons we all can learn and incorporate into our lives to give us a better chance to succeed? This panel will explore what these influencers and high performers do when challenges arise. What strategies did they use to persevere, change their own game, and inspire others to do the same? Moderator: Debbie Matenopoulos (Home & Family) With Victoria Arlen (ESPN Host and Personality), Matt Stutzman (The Armless Archer -Paralympian - Guinness World Records Holder)

SATURDAY, MAY 5


Media can Inspire Young Minds: Developing the Workforce of the Future

Images Matter
Presented by MARS
(9:00AM - 10:00AM) at Record North
This panel will look at the real cause and effect when media dollars are spent. We’ll explore how a conscious management of media buys are directed can directly influence and inspire entire generations, leading to more diversity in the workplace. With Vivian Greentree (First Data), Craig Robinson (NBC Universal)

The Time Is Now: How Leading Brands Deliver Social Impact

Images Matter
Presented by MARS
(10:30AM – 11:30AM) at Record North
The lines between consumers, citizenship and brands, are blurred. In order to be relevant, consumers have a much higher expectation that Brands reflect their values not only in their products and services, but also in their workplaces and external messaging. Successful Brands are engaging with social impact issues that are complementary to their business. And, we’ve all seen what happens when the brand's business and social issue are not authentically aligned. Consumers are rewarding brands that are authentic and sincere in their ability to advocate around specific issues resulting in doing good and doing good business. Our esteemed panelists will spotlight how they are driving social impact initiatives to achieve gender equality and intersectionality. With Geena Davis, Alysia Reiner (“Orange is the New Black”), Jeanine Liburd (Viacom)

Geena and Friends Talk About Reversing Gender Roles On Screen

Celebrity Series
Presented by L’Oréal Paris and Maybelline New York
(12:00PM - 2:00PM) at Record North
Join BFF Co-Founder and Academy Award-winner Geena Davis for a mind-bending session of role-reversal, as she and some celebrity guests explore the idea still mystifying to some that that complicated and interesting characters are not gender specific. Equity on screen can be achieved simply by changing the gender of a character, without changing any dialogue. With Geena Davis, Meg Ryan, Alysia Reiner (“Orange is the New Black”) and Kiersey Clemons (HEARTS BEAT LOUD)

About the Bentonville Film Festival
Co-founded by Academy Award® winner Geena Davis & Inclusion Companies CEO Trevor Drinkwater, the Bentonville Film Festival is a one of a kind annual event that champions inclusion in all forms of media. BFF is a yearlong platform culminating with an annual six-day festival, in partnership with founding sponsor Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola. The Bentonville Film Festival is held the first week of May of every year in Bentonville, Arkansas and includes an impactful Inclusion, Research and Content Summit. Connecting engaged entertainment industry leaders and major corporate changemakers with a diverse array of storytellers affords BFF the unique opportunity to amplify commercially viable content, solutions and initiatives that adequately represent the world around us. Because if they can see it, they can be it!  www.bentonvillefilmfestival.com

Link to full press release.

                         _________________________________________________________

Proud Media Sponsor of the 
Bentonville Film Festival



March 30, 2018

Designers from across the state will be showing off their talents tonight and Saturday in Bentonville

Designers from across the state will be showing off their talents on the Runway at the "Record" at the NWA Fashion Week Spring 2018 Show in Bentonville tonight March 30th and Saturday March 31st.  Get your tickets now.

Local fashion designers to go down the runway at the Record will be: 

Friday Runway:
Regal Radiance, Gina Gallina, and Project Runway Alumni Korto Momolu, Love, Zelda, Rosie Rose, Aimz, Felix Bui and Ashley Little of Material Concepts 

Saturday Runway:
Richard Cotto, A'Lyece Lenae, G by Gavin, Eric Jones of Like Father Like Son partnered with Lola, Denim & Essentials, Richie Clark Clothing, Ink Jnk, with a grand finale Arkansas' most successful brand Lauren James.

As part of our Flash Back Friday Series take a look back at a few of the runways from local fashion designers from the NWAFW runway shows from last November.


Fashion Designer Richard Cotto 



Fashion Designer Brittany Nicole



Fashion Designer Ashley Little



Fashion Designer Amy Johnson



Love Zelda



Fashion Designer Felix Bui



Fashion Designer Chavon Shree



Fashion Designer Rosie Rose



Fashion Designer Dallas Musick




______________________________________



Proud Media Sponsor of the NWA Fashion Week Spring 2018