Director Elissa Down’s coming of age story, “The Honor List,” will open this year’s Bentonville Film Festival (BFF), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Additionally, “Back to the Future” actress Lea Thompson’s directorial debut, “The Year of Spectacular Men,” has been selected as the festival’s Centerpiece Screening.
Down’s feature, written by Marilyn Fu, stars Meghan Rienks (“Freakish”), Sasha Pieterse (“Pretty Little Liars”), Karrueche Tran (“The Bay”), and Arden Cho (“Teen Wolf”) as former best friends who reunite due to tragic circumstances. It embodies the bond between women both on and off-screen, as emphasized by its 60 percent-female crew. “The Honor List” is produced by both PopSugar Films and sisters Mariel, Zoe, and Cisely Saldana’s Cinestar Pictures.
“Avatar” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” actress Zoe Saldana serves as executive producer. “We are very happy to premiere ‘The Honor List’ at this year’s Bentonville Film Festival,” she said. “The festival’s focus on women and inclusion perfectly reflect the theme and spirit of our film, filmmakers, and cast. We couldn’t ask for a better setting to launch this special movie.”
Additionally, Thompson’s “The Year of Spectacular Men” is this year’s Centerpiece. Following college graduate Izzy (Madelyn Deutch), the film explores the intersections between dating and family, and how they complicate adulthood.
“The Year of Spectacular Men” is penned and scored by Deutch, Thompson’s daughter. Thompson and her other daughter, Zoey Deutch, co-star. As we previously reported, the pic is set for a wider theatrical release via MarVista Entertainment sometime this June.
“We’re thrilled to be hosting these trailblazing women in the beautiful region of Northwest Arkansas at the fourth installment of BFF,” festival co-founder and Oscar winner Geena Davis announced. “This IS the Year of the Woman, and BFF is proud to be at the forefront of this seismic change. If they can see it, they can be it!”
The 2018 Bentonville Film Festival runs May 1–5 in Bentonville, Arkansas. Its full lineup will be announced next week.
