This May, Oscar Winning Actress Geena Davis will break new ground in championing for gender equality in the film industry by presenting The First Bentonville Film Festival.
Sponsored by Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, AMC Theaters and Arc Entertainment, the Arkansas film festival is dedicated to promoting women and diversity in film. It is the first and only film competition in the world to guarantee the winning filmmakers theatrical, television, digital VOD and retail home entertainment distribution. Categories include Jury Selection Award, The Audience Award and Best Family Film. Winners are guaranteed distribution in Wal-Mart stores, online through its instant video demand service, VUDU and a traditional theatrical release on a minimum of 25 screens from AMC Theatres.
“The key for us is to support and champion women and diversity in film, not only on screen or regarding the environment in which it was created in, but also behind the camera. We believe the films will be highly commercial and appealing to a mass audience," said Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of Arc Entertainment and co-founder of the festival.
Advisory Board members include Angela Bassett, Nick Cannon, Viola Davis, Bruce Dern, Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, Randy Jackson, Eva Longoria, Julianne Moore, Paula Patton, Natalie Portman, M. Night Shyamalan and Shailene Woodley.
The festival will open on May 5th with the heartfelt feature premiere of War Room by Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick. A free screening of Universal’s Pitch Perfect 2 is set for closing night on May 9th at the AMC Fiesta Square 16 in Fayetteville.
Attendees can look forward to screening the premieres of 75 films ranging from studio films to independent features and documentaries. In addition to the screenings, the festival itinerary will include additional programs designed to offer industry support, mentorship activities and celebrity panel discussions. There will also be free public events and film screenings held in exciting non-traditional venues.
“A lot of the schools, churches, and local businesses have auditoriums, so we were able to find venues that we could convert into pop up theaters in the town. We’re pretty excited about how we put this together," said Drinkwater.
Davis and other festival guests (including A League Of Their Own co-star Rosie O’Donnell) will re-create some of the greatest dialogue in the history of cinema. They are also slated to participate in “In Control of Her Own Destiny," a panel discussion featuring female celebrities who manage their own successful film production companies.
Robert De Niro and Joey Lauren Adams (Big Daddy, Chasing Amy) will also headline special panel discussions about the film industry. Iconic actor Bruce Dern (Nebraska) will be in attendance to host and present “The Dernsie," a new feature film screenplay competition. In addition to the award, the winning screenwriter will receive $1,500 and a potential 18-month option of their script with Kickstart Productions.
Nick Cannon (America's Got Talent) and award winning journalist Soledad O’Brien will co-host the festival’s star studded closing night awards show, presented by Kraft Foods Group.
As part of the film festival’s initiative, events will be held year round at several universities in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender In Media Studies at Mount St. Mary’s College.
The Bentonville Film Festival takes place May 5th – 9th in Bentonville, Arkansas. For more information visit http://bentonvillefilmfestival.com.