BFFoundation, in collaboration with founding partner, Walmart, and presenting partner, Coca-Cola, announced the lineup of films premiering in the Narrative, Documentary, Shorts, Episodic, Adventure and Animation categories at the 2023 Bentonville Film Festival.
Led by Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, the 9th annual festival, produced by the BFFoundation will take place in-person from June 13-18 in Bentonville, Arkansas, with on-demand streaming extended through June 25.
Bentonville Film Festival is dedicated to championing women, persons with disabilities, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and API voices in media and entertainment. More than 75% of the competition program is comprised of women or gender non-conforming content creators; 60% are BIPOC, Asian, or Pacific Islander industry professionals; 55% are part of the LGBTQIA+ community; 15% of creators are over 50 years old; and over 30% of the program is comprised of creators with disabilities. Additionally, over 65% of onscreen leads are women/gender non-conforming; BIPOC actors make up 60% of leading roles, 40% are part of the LGBTQ+ community, and 25% represent talent with disabilities.
Opening night of the festival will feature the world premiere of “A Great Divide,” the feature directorial debut of Emmy-winning commercial and short-film director, Jean Shim, starring Ken Jeong, Jae Suh Park, and Emerson Min. The screenplay, written by Shim, Jeff Yang, and Martina Nagel, tackles the anti-Asian hate that sprung up in America in the wake of Covid-19.
“The Bentonville Film Festival has been part of my mission to ensure that the world we see on screen includes the vision of underrepresented communities. Marking our 9th consecutive year, we are proud to continue identifying and highlighting artists who are creating exceptional content behind the camera. From the onscreen lead to the production team, our stance on inclusion is consistent – and that’s how we drive real change in the industry,” says Geena Davis, Bentonville Film Festival Chair. “This year’s lineup exemplifies our mission, which is, and always has been, to bring awareness of the challenges we still need to overcome — and we could not be more excited to share it with you this year.”
Throughout the month of May, Bentonville Film Festival will release additional details on their Spotlight program, celebrating festival favorites like the World Premiere of “Hard Miles,” as well as panels, speakers, events and musical performances.
“As we approach nearly a decade of amplifying underrepresented voices, we are excited to introduce two new categories to our festival program: Adventure and Animation,” announces Wendy Guerrero, President of Bentonville Film Festival and BFFoundation. “It is our hope that this expansion will not only welcome fresh faces to our festival but it will provide a wider platform for artists to disrupt the industry. With this year’s films, panels, discussions, and key events highlighting intersectionality in such thought-provoking ways, we know it will be an unforgettable week here in Bentonville.”
“Together with BFFoundation, we have created something special here in Bentonville,” said Casey Schlaybaugh, Vice President of Brand Marketing and Strategy at Walmart. “Our involvement with Bentonville Film Festival over the past 9 years has allowed us to share our home with filmmakers, families, and others who share in our mission to amplify diverse voices and foster equity and inclusion in media and entertainment.”
“The Bentonville Film Festival is truly unique in its approach to accelerating change in the film industry.” explains Coca-Cola President, Alberto Dominguez. “We are honored to have the opportunity to work with Geena and the BFFoundation to ensure inclusion is at the forefront of storytelling – both in front of and behind the camera.”
TICKETS AND PASSES ON SALE NOW:
Tickets and passes to the 9th annual Bentonville Film Festival are on sale now, offering new ways to experience the festival unlike in years past.
“This year, we are offering three new passes to Bentonville Film Festival that will enhance the community’s experience and provide a unique experience for every kind of festival goer,” said Wendy Guerrero. “Whether this is your first-time attending Bentonville Film Festival or your ninth, there will be something new for you to enjoy along with our festival staples, including Geena & Friends, free festival village screenings, and so much more.”
In addition to over 70 film screenings, pass holders can participate in panels that challenge industry norms, and conversations that emphasize independent artists in the art of film, storytelling and technology; and curated studio spotlight films with celebrity conversations.
Bentonville Film Festival goers can choose from three different pass tiers, all on sale now:
On Demand Film Pass | $175: This tier provides On Demand access to our festival competition films, documentaries, episodics, shorts, panels and Spotlight films (13 days). On Demand Film Pass holders also receive On Demand access to Special Virtual Events.
All Festival Pass | $375: The All Festival Pass includes 25 ticket allocations for festival screenings and panels; admission to BFF Headquarters at the Meteor Guitar Gallery; admission to select in-person and virtual events during the festival; On Demand Access to our festival competition films, documentaries, episodics, shorts, panels and Spotlight films (13 days); Two (2) tickets to the BFF2023 Opening Film; and Two (2) tickets to the BFF2023 Awards Gala.
Foundation Festival Pass | $1,000: Thirty-five (35) ticket allocation for our festival screenings and panels throughout NWA; admission to BFF Headquarters at the Meteor Guitar Gallery; admission to select in-person and virtual events during the festival; On Demand Access to our festival competition films, documentaries, episodics, shorts, panels and Spotlight films (13 days); Two (2) tickets to the BFF2023 Opening Film; and Two (2) tickets to the BFF2023 Awards Gala; One (1) complimentary Community Membership; and $350 Tax Deductible.
Individual Tickets | $15: An individual ticket allows participants to pick a film screening to attend, without the benefits offered with a festival pass. Tickets to the opening night film screening of “A Great Divide” can be purchased here.
THE PROJECTS BELOW ARE CONFIRMED FOR THE 2023 BENTONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL:
**Bentonville Film Festival is curated by Film Curators, Drea Clark and Cindy Kitagawa and Director of Programming, Ashley Edwards**
SPOTLIGHT FILMS
HARD MILES U.S.A. (Director, R.J. Daniel Hanna; Writer, Christian Sander, R.J. Daniel Hanna)
WORLD PREMIERE | A strong-willed social worker at a youth prison assembles a cycling team of teenage convicts and takes them on a transformative 1000-mile ride. Inspired by the life of Greg Townsend and the Ridgeview Academy Cycling Team. This is the story of how these troubled young men found another gear.
Cast: Matthew Modine, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Jahking Guillory, Jackson Kelly, Zachary T. Robbins, and Damien Diaz, with Leslie David Baker and Sean Astin
COMPETITION NARRATIVE FEATURES
A GREAT DIVIDE U.S.A.(Director, Jean Shim; Writer, Brian Yang)
WORLD PREMIERE | The Lee family leave the Bay Area for a fresh start in the rural expanses of Wyoming, only to encounter hostility and xenophobia in their new community. How they confront these issues will break them – or make them stronger.
Cast: Ken Jeong, Jae Suh Park, Emerson Min, Margaret Cho
A SONG FOR IMOGENE U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Erika Arlee)
WORLD PREMIERE | A sudden death and unexpected pregnancy force an impoverished woman to decide between freeing herself or remaining a relic of a drive-by Southern town.
Cast: Kristi Ray, Haydn Winston, McKenzie Barwick
A VIEW OF THE WORLD FROM FIFTH AVENUE U.S.A. (Director, Fiona Robert; Writer, Fiona Robert & Sophia Robert)
WORLD PREMIERE | A young woman risks being ostracized from an insular New York clique led by her socialite best friend when she falls for a charming downtown photographer.
Cast: Annabella Sciorra, Elaine Hendrix, Logan Miller
BIG BOYS U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Corey Sherman)
Jamie is a chubby, gay fourteen year-old confused about his sexuality and uncomfortable in his own body, but all that changes when his cousin brings her new boyfriend, Dan, on a family camping trip.
Cast: Issac Krasner, Dora Madison, Taj Cross
FRESH KILLS U.S.A. (Director/Writer; Jennifer Esposito)
Like every mob movie you’ve never seen before. The women behind the men, the stories never told, violence, fear and unspoken rules dictate who they are and who they become.
Cast: Jennifer Esposito, Annabella Sciorra
ONLY THE GOOD SURVIVE U.S.A. (Director, Dutch Southern)
While unwittingly doing crimes in Texas, Brea Dunlee stumbles upon a QAnon-like cabal that prey on the poor and the powerless. Through a series of interrogations led by a gaslighting sheriff named Cole Mack, we discover not everything is as it seems.
Cast: Frederick Weller, D’Pharaoh Woon-ATai, Jon Gries
POLARIZED U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Shamim Sarif)
US PREMIERE | When a White farm worker gets fired for racism by her Palestinian boss, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with her. In a small town where Muslims and Christians don’t mix, they will have to break the barriers that separate them, or risk settling for the lives their families have laid out.
Cast: Holly Deveaux, Maxine Denis
RAMONA AT MIDLIFE U.S.A. (Director, Brooke Berman)
Ramona At Midlife is a dark comedy about a single mother and former Literary It Girl who discovers that her unflattering current reality is the subject of a hot filmmaker’s newest project. As Ramona faces up to her disappointments and wrecked friendships, she finds true creative power and is finally ready to become her best self.
Cast: Alysia Reiner, Yvonne Woods, April Mathis
STORY AVE. U.S.A. (Director, Aristotle Torres; Writer, Bonsu Thompson)
After running away from home, a teenage graffiti artist holds up an unsuspecting MTA worker in a robbery gone right that changes their lives forever.
Cast: Asante Blackk. Luis Guzman, Alex Hibbert
THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Bomani J. Story)
Vicaria is a brilliant teenager who believes death is a disease that can be cured. After the brutal murder of her brother, she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring him back to life.
Cast: Chad L. Coleman, Laya DeLeon Hayes, Denzel Whitaker
TOBACCO BARNS U.S.A., Mexico (Director/Writer, Rocio Mesa)
The landscape of a rural area is filled with mysterious tobacco barns. Three generations spend the summer uncovering the secrets of these structures in a little town that is a childhood playground, a teenage cage, and an elder’s memory.
Cast: Ada Mar, Tamara Arias
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS U.S.A. (Director, Juan Felipe Zuleta; Writer, Leland Frankel, Juan Felipe Zuleta)
An uptight dwarf and his free-spirited, alien-obsessed neighbor hit the road on a border-defying search for their place in the universe.
Cast: Sarah Hay, Matthew Jeffers, Roy Abrahmson
WILDER THAN HER U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Jessica Kozak)
After the death of their friend Bea, tight-knit friends Emilia, Finn, and Lucey attempt to reconnect on an annual camping trip, but things grow increasingly strange and uncomfortable in the isolated forest as their friendship unravels.
Cast: Sunita Mani, Kate Easton, Adam Faison
COMPETITION DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
BLACK BARBIE U.S.A. (Director, Lagueria Davis)
A look into the transformative arrival of Mattel’s groundbreaking Black Barbie.
AITAMAAKO’TAMISSKAPI NATOSI: BEFORE THE SUN U.S.A. (Director, Banchi Hanuse)
A thrilling portrait of a young Siksika woman and the deep bonds between her father and family in the golden plains of Blackfoot Territory as she prepares for one of the most dangerous horse races in the world… on bareback.
CHASING CHASING AMY U.S.A. (Director, Sav Rodgers)
The unexamined legacy of Kevin Smith’s cult classic, CHASING AMY.
Cast: Joey Lauren Adams, Kevin Smith
ESTHER NEWTON MADE ME GAY U.S.A. (Director, Jean Carlomusto)
A rare look at queer history and gender studies through a living lesbian icon, encompassing amazing archival footage peppered with Esther’s other passion….dog training poodles!
FINDING HER BEAT U.S.A. (Directors, Dawn Mikkelson, Keri Pickett)
A master of Japanese drumming and a Korean adoptee from Minnesota boldly convene an all-female troupe to perform Taiko, the Japanese drumming art that has been off-limits to women for centuries.
GULLSPÅNG MIRACLE, THE Sweden (Director, Maria Fredriksson)
A divine premonition leads two sisters to buy an apartment in the small Swedish town of Gullspång. To their surprise, the seller looks identical to their older sister who died by suicide 30 years earlier.
HUMMINGBIRDS U.S.A. (Director, Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras)
Two filmmakers find healing in their everyday joyful antics on the streets of Laredo, Texas.
JOIN OR DIE U.S.A. (Director, Rebecca Davis)
Follow the half-century story of America’s civic unraveling through the journey of legendary social scientist Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking “Bowling Alone” research into America’s decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy’s present crisis.
JOONAM U.S.A. (Director, Sierra Urich)
Spurred by a provocative family memory and a lifetime of separation from the country her mother left behind, a young filmmaker delves into her mother and grandmother’s complicated pasts, and her own fractured Iranian identity.
KING COAL U.S.A. (Director, Elaine Sheldon)
Coal’s cultural influence on identity, while telling a magically real tale of a girl who glimpses into a future beyond coal, observing the pain and beauty of a community on the brink of change.
PATRIA Y VIDA: THE POWER OF MUSIC U.S.A. (Director, Beatriz Luengo)
The powerful story of six afro descendants rappers who have rewritten Cuban history and sparked a lyric battle for human rights through a song called “Patria y Vida”.
COMPETITION SHORTS
A REAL ONE U.S.A. (Director/Writer, McKenzie Chinn)
Lauren and Keisha’s friendship is an “us against the world” type friendship. They’re 17 and live in a working class neighborhood on Chicago’s largely Black south side. Their friendship is tested when Lauren reveals a tightly-held secret to Keisha, and the two friends must take matters into their own hands in a landscape where the only thing they can truly count on is each other.
AGENTS OF CHANGE, PROJECT: POLYMER U.S.A. (DirectorJett Garrison; Writer, Shaan Dasani)
Agents of Change, Project: Polymer is a spy-genre film that centers a fully a queer and transgender cast while bringing issues facing the environment to the forefront.
ASTONISHING LITTLE FEET U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Maegan Houang)
Afong Moy, the first documented Chinese woman to come to the United States, realizes the men who separated her from her family only have interest in profiting off the peculiarities of her bound feet.
BLACK BELTS U.S.A. (Director, Spencer Glover; Writer, Spencer Glover, Xavier Stiles)
When KJ, an offbeat middle schooler and martial arts movie nerd from Compton, challenges the top dojos in South LA and wears his uncle’s old Black Belt, his former fighter dad gets too involved and both learn there’s more to life than keeping your guard up.
CHRONICLE OF A SUMMER DAY U.S.A. (No Credited Director)
Loosely documenting John Caleb Pendleton’s (Planks & Pistils) 2021 Juneteenth floral installation, “Chronicle of a Summer Day” is a community bouquet of remembrance and celebration.
DAUGHTER OF THE SEA Puerto Rico (Director/Writer Alexis C Garcia)
After the death of her grandfather, a young woman experiences a spiritual awakening when she is called by Yemaya, the orisha Goddess of the Sea.
FISH OUT OF TOWN U.S.A., Mexico (Director/Writer, Sofia Garza-Barba)
Anita has been struggling to make friends in her neighborhood, but with her birthday coming up, she’ll do anything to find someone to attend her party… even if it means going out of her comfort zone to invite a new creature who just moved in.
HERITAGE DAY U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Lara Everly)
After Evie dresses up like her estranged grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, on “Heritage Day” at school, she becomes increasingly obsessed with this dark part of her family history.
I CAN’T KEEP QUIET U.S.A. (Director Eurie Chung; Writer, Maile M. Zambuto)
An intimate portrait of one woman’s quest for healing that reverberated around the globe through her song “Quiet,” an anthem for the women’s movement. Five years later, we take a deeper look into the song’s impact on MILCK’s journey of reclamation: reclaiming trust in herself, her sense of belonging, and her sisterhood with the song’s co-creator, AG. As we follow MILCK’s path of activism and artistry, we get a window into how she’s awakened by the stillness of quarantine and the reckoning of our country’s racial justice movement. Her acknowledgement and accountability for her blindspots give her and AG a renewed sense of freedom as they celebrate that it’s never too late to reclaim our voices.
INHERITANCE U.S.A. (Director, Erin Lau; Writer, Justin Omori)
A struggling nature photographer is forced to confront the pain his family has carried for Generations.
LOOK BACK AT IT U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Felicia Pride)
A forty-something single mother gets her groove back with a little assistance from her teenage daughter. LOOK BACK AT IT is set in Baltimore and also serves as a proof of concept for a feature film of the same name.
MAKEOVER MOVIE U.S.A. (Director Sue Ding)
A pop culture essay film on the makeover movies we grew up loving—and all the ways they taught us that we needed to fix ourselves.
MAXINE U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Niki Ang)
Allie is a newly out teen who is keeping her girlfriend a secret from her Chinese American Family. During her family’s celebration of the Hungry Ghost Festival, Allie meets the ghost of a long lost relative named Maxine, who was queer when she was alive several decades ago.Though they come from different times, they find that they share many feelings about struggling to belong, especially within their own family’s legacy.
MY EYES ARE UP HERE United Kingdom (Director Nathan Morri; Writer, Aminder Virdee, Arthur Meek)
A disabled woman sets off on a mission to get the morning after pill. The only thing in her way is… everything.
PASSENGER SEAT U.S.A. (Director, Neha Gautam; Writer, Neha GautamAngbeen Saleem)
A young Pakistani girl from Queens, New York finds herself growing distant to her father as his taxi business starts to decline with the rise of ride-share apps.
PECCADILLO Mexico (Director/Writer, Sofia Garza-Barba)
Lorenzo’s desire to explore his feminine side is a secret…and according to his religious family, secrets belong to the devil. With a choice to make, he’ll either live a lie, or come out to his loved ones by killing his secret AND THE DEVIL HIMSELF.
POOF U.S.A. (Director, Margaret Miller; Writer, Margaret Miller, Jeff Roberts)
Ruby and Paula are gearing up to be their own bosses through multi-level success magnet FYZZLE Cosmetics when a small dog, a medium amount of blood, and a box of loose powder conspire against them.
RUN AMOK U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Nitzan Mager)
A teenage girl decides to stage a musical reenactment of the shooting that took place at her high school ten years ago.
SHADOW WOMAN U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Jess Coulter)
While going through labor, a woman’s resolve is tested by the pain of childbirth and the temptations presented by her shadowy counterpart in this hilarious, thought provoking short by Director Jess Coulter.
TAKE ME HOME U.S.A. (Director/Writer Liz Sargent)
After their mother’s death, a cognitively disabled woman and her estranged sister must learn to communicate in order to move forward.
THE AUCTION U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Jordan Hidalgo)
Jeremiah Wright, a top football recruit, performs a workout under the microscope of the best football programs in the country.
THE CAB U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Nicole Melillo)
The Cab is a short narrative drama that explores the mind of a woman with depression through a fantastical ride in a NYC Taxicab.
THE SONS OF GOD Mexico (Director, Sebastian Torres Green; Writer, Sebastian Torres Green, Edgar Cortez Campo)
In the midst of the Hispanic conquest of America, an idealistic friar plans, along with other soldiers of the crown, an escape from a devastating expedition that only seeks riches.
THE VAN U.S.A. (Director/Writer Bernard Badion)
A son’s stubborn father refuses to move unless a broken down van comes with him.
COMPETITION EPISODICS
A VERSION U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Asad Farooqui)
When Amir and Amna, a newly married Muslim-American couple visit the therapist to hash out their differences, we, the audience, get to see exactly what they’re complaining about.
ALL AT ONCE U.S.A. (Director/Writer, Mustafa Eck)
Before Yasser and Stephanie’s intercultural-interfaith wedding, Yasser’s Palestinian father, Ziad, is taken by ICE, which opens up a forgotten family past that threatens to unravel their marriage before it starts.
CARLY DOLLS U.S.A. (Director, Maudie Schmidt, Jaxson Power; Writer, Lindsay Newland)
When Carly, a naive, homeschooled fourteen-year-old, is forced to face the treacherous waters of public high school, she turns to her beloved dolls, Lily and Mermia, for comfort and advice. Sprung from Carly’s own vivid imagination and taking the form of lifesize “friends,” they guide Carly through the ups and downs of growing up, fitting in, and figuring herself (and her sexuality) out.
HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS U.S.A. (Director, Meghan Ross, Justin Ross; Writer, Meghan Ross)
We’ve seen enough shows and movies about women trying to find the (usually heteronormative) love of their lives. Here to Make Friends is about finding the platonic love of your life, in the form of a Big Friendship. After an ego-shattering friendship breakup, when Nora realizes she’s outgrown college bestie Sloane in her thirties, Sloane spirals, realizing the void she’s been feeling all her life is from her struggle to maintain those Strong Female Friendships that winery tours always seem to advertise. She makes it her mission to find a new best friend, come hell or Ranch Water.
OFF FAIRFAX U.S.A. (Director, Erica Eng; Writer, Rell Battle)
Quinn Park, still reeling from the disappearance of his black activist mother twenty years earlier, has dedicated his life to solving local mysteries in his LA neighborhood. Quinn is accompanied by his two best friends to a diner on Fairfax Avenue on his latest hunt to solve the murder of a popular musician which as by a twist of fate ends up shedding light on Quinn’s mother’s disappearance.
THE ROAD TO MILAN U.S.A. (Director, Curran Ferrey)
The Road to Milan follows Andrea Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab through her journey from winning the US Barista Championship to Milan, where she will compete in the World Barista Championship. With the support of her team, her family, and her husband, Jon, she creates a routine worthy of the world stage. It’s a story of perseverance, of craft, of quality over quantity, of pushing boundaries, of family, and of Community.
COMPETITION ADVENTURE SHORTS
WELL WORN LIFE U.S.A. (Director, Daniel Mitchell, Trent Sugg)
Dani Reyes-Acosta: a mountain athlete, land cultivator, and storyteller whose path consistently seeks the limits of her possibility. Ticking off climbs and ski lines across South America, cultivating her role as a legacy Coloradoan, and setting the course for the future of outdoor access in remote communities, Dani is a visceral example of how self-care and self-determination can harmonize via the outdoors.
A BITCH OF A RACE U.S.A (Director, Danielle Dawn DiVito)
Cyclist, Anna Lena Kempen, gave life to the idea for The Frigid Bitch Race 9 years ago because there wasn’t a space for her in the male-dominated cycling field. She wanted to create an inclusive space for women and all underrepresented genders.
LANDOSTEEZY UK (Director Mark Johansson, Matt Butterworth)
Leo Smith is a bodge job. And a proud one at that. Hailing from the streets of Manchester in the North of England, Leo—known to his thousands of Instagram followers as @Landosteezy—is a self-proclaimed helper of the people. Forging his own path in the bike industry, Leo is creating space in the sport for everyone.
MALIK U.S.A (Directors, Christopher Murphy, Max Lowe)
Malik Martin and Conrad Anker may come from vastly different backgrounds, but they find a strong bond through their shared experiences of loss. While Conrad mourns his mountain-climbing comrades, Malik has suffered the loss of his friends in the inner city. Despite the perceived barriers that separate them, their friendship proves that connections can be formed in unexpected ways. This film showcases the idea that the most profound relationships can often arise from the most unlikely of friendships.
INSEPARABLE: SKYE U.S.A. (Andrew Harrison-Brown)
Kanaka Maoli, a Native Hawaiian, participates in the traditional activity of climbing. Climbing mountains has been something Native Hawaiians had to do in the past in order to participate in trading and communicating with others. This practice is a way for Kanaka to connect with her ancestors.
THE RIGHT TO JOY U.S.A (Jay Melena, Tim Kressin)
As a trans-masculine cyclist and policy scholar, Izzy Sederbaum was searching for community and acceptance within the sport. After surviving a rare cougar attack on a ride outside of Seattle in early 2018, Izzy was hospitalized with severe facial trauma while hateful anti-trans rhetoric filled comment sections of news articles that he had little to no control over. In the years since, he has struggled to overcome his anxiety of being alone in the woods and the self-doubt brought on by strangers after the attack. Despite these challenges, Izzy found solace and support in the Seattle cycling community, which reignited his passion for the sport. This film follows Izzy’s journey as he navigates the aftermath of the attack, overcomes his fears, and becomes a vocal advocate for diversity and trans inclusion within cycling communities across the country.
AFTER YOU’VE GONE U.S.A. (Maxwell Erickson)
A story about a female fishing guide in the Adirondacks overcoming the hardships of battling cancer and losing her husband. She then takes a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Argentina where she is reignited with hope, passion, and life.
Rosalie Fish U.S.A. (Faith E. Briggs, Tim Kemple)
For Rosalie Fish, Indigenous student-athlete and activist, running isn’t just a sport — it’s how she represents the strength and resilience of indigenous women within her tribe and beyond. As we look forward to #IndigenousPeoplesDay, we are honored to share Rosalie’s story in our second episode of “Who is a Runner” – a docu-series collaboration with Brooks Running.
COMPETITION ANIMATION SHORTS
*Sponsored by Kickstart Productions
A JOURNEY WITH MY DAD Israel (Mor Israeli)
For the first time, Tamar (5 years old), accompanies her dad in a hotel where vacationers look a bit strange… Through the eyes of the child then begins a journey tinged with surrealism. Tamar will eventually discover the hidden story of her father, a part of his life that she does not know.
APOCALYPSE DOG France (Aziliz Le Clainche, Camille Nasarre, Jing Qian, Juliette Barraux, Emma Plumey, Lucile Arnaud, Solène Cauchie)
In a post-apocalyptic universe, Bob and his dog Pasha survive in a wasteland. They are hungry, thirsty and tired. When suddenly, they see a city in the distance!
HELLSCAPE France (Alixe Devaux, Camille Leroux, Félicia Poggi, Clémence Lacoume, Lara Brière, Valentine Wilke)
Enyo is a brave and daring warrior determined to bring back her dead mentor from Hell. In her quest, Enyo meets Cerberus and becomes friends with him.
LITTLE THINGS France (Camille Burles, Andréea Ciora, Lou Fraleu, Manon Lambert, Clara Mesplé, Chloé Viala)
Piqued by her curiosity, a cow is carried away by the mechanics of a destructive giant.
MY GRANDMOTHER IS AN EGG Taiwan (Wu-Ching Chang)
The film reflects the fragility and resilience of a woman who faced oppression from unjust Confucian traditions in Asia. It aims to reflect upon women’s oppression and struggle for freedom.
PIVOT Canada (Ana Gusson)
Growing up isn’t easy, and it’s no exception for 12-year-old Ashley whose well-meaning Mom has her own ideas about who Ashley should be. Finding herself in an impossible situation, Ashley must decide whether to wear a gaudy dress she hates or find the courage to stand up for herself and fight the inner monster that is holding her back. The animated short film ‘Pivot’ is a defining moment in Ashley’s quest to be herself at the risk of disappointing the person she loves the most, her Mom.
PETE U.S.A. (Bret Parker)
“Pete” is an animated short film based on a true story about gender identity, Little League Baseball, the people who inspire change by trying to be themselves, and the superheros who allow that change to happen.
TINY Canada (Ritchie Hemphill, Ryan Haché)
The film portrays modern day Colleen as she reflects on her past, and re-enacts the stories she tells of her youth, as a young girl growing up on a float-house in the wild and unpredictable Pacific Northwest and its waters.
TEHURA Canada (Wei Lei)
Tehura aims to explore the vastly different meanings our bodies can hold for ourselves as well as for others. For a tourist, the body of an exotic dancer lifts him into the fantasies of love. For a dancer such as Tehura, her body is a battlefield where she struggles to find herself.
WELL WISHES MY LOVE, YOUR LOVE Malaysia (Gabriel Gabriel Garble)
Newly orphaned and freshly wounded from an immense loss, a boy lends his companion a prosthetic arm for the day. The companion would then expose the prosthetic limb to a mélange of textures and materials, whilst documenting the whole process.
For more details about Bentonville Film Festival, visit https://bentonvillefilm.org/.