Geena Davis’s Bentonville Film Festival Is Back for a Third Year
The third annual Bentonville Film Festival kicked off Tuesday in Bentonville, Arkansas, with a lineup of films and panels that supports the event’s goal to champion women and diverse voices in all entertainment media. The festival was co-founded in 2015 by Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis (Founder and Chair, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media) and entrepreneur Trevor Drinkwater (CEO, ARC Entertainment).
The festival, which runs through May 7, includes 38 feature-length films and documentaries. New this year is an expanded schedule which includes 18 short films and four pieces of episodic and web series content. “I’m so excited to be heading into our third annual BFF,” said Davis in a release. “The Festival has become an important catalyst for change and we look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of the past year and setting the stage for years to come.”
BFF is currently the only film competition to guarantee theatrical, television, digital and retail home entertainment distribution for its Narrative and Documentary Feature Competition winners. This is thanks to support from Walmart, Coca-Cola, AMC Theatres, Lifetime and Starz.
TV Guide Magazine will host the closing night cocktail party, while West Coast Bureau Chief Jim Halterman will moderate three panels, including the ‘Girls Rule’ panel presented by Starz. The panel features creatives from hit series Outlander, The White Queen and The White Princess.
Rounding out the festival: a softball game featuring some of the stars of the beloved film, A League of Their Own. The movie celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
For more on the Bentonville Film Festival, visit the website and keep checking back for our daily recaps.
