The third annual Bentonville Film Festival will soon be accepting submissions. The fest, co-founded by Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis, is scheduled to take place in Bentonville, Arkansas May 2–7, 2017. The fest celebrates women and diverse voices across media, including film and advertising. Submissions for the film competition program will open October 3, and the accepted films will be announced in March, 2017.
If your film features complex female characters and embraces inclusivity onscreen or behind-the-scenes, be sure to make the deadline — as a press release details, “BFF is the only film competition in the world to guarantee theatrical, television, digital and retail home entertainment distribution for its winners in the following categories: Best Family Film, Audience Award and Best Narrative Selected by Jury.”
“We are so very proud of the progress we’ve made and the response we are getting in support of the mission of BFF,” Davis stated. “Now moving into our third year, I feel more confident than ever that — with the support of our partners — we will create change in the media our children view so that it will reflect the world they actually live in, which is half female and very diverse.” Davis is a long-time, vocal proponent of gender equality in the film business. She founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in 2007.
BFF co-founder Trevor Drinkwater added, “One of the goals of BFF is to create an opportunity for films to secure commercial distribution. This year’s festival marked the second year in a row in which that goal was accomplished for a majority of the films in competition. In addition, several films locked in distribution agreements with major studios such as Sony Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn, The Orchard, and Broad Green.”
In addition to a feature competition, BFF 2017 will also feature short film competitions and a newly added commercial competition. Attendees can look forward to screenings of docs and narratives, as well as panel discussions, musical performances, and an “A League of Their Own”-inspired softball game.
Past guests at Bentonville Film Festival include Meg Ryan, Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”), Constance Wu (“Fresh Off the Boat”), and broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien.
This year’s fest opened with Meera Menon’s Wall Street drama “Equity” and closed with Rebecca Miller’s Greta Gerwig comedy “Maggie’s Plan.”
To learn more about submission guidelines, head over to Bentonville Film Festival’s website. Note: as the press release details, “Films can only qualify for the competition portion of the Festival by containing two or more of the following characteristics: female or diverse lead, female or diverse director, female or diverse writer, female or diverse production company, gender and diversity balanced cast, gender and diversity balanced crew.”
