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HomeMovieBentonville Movie Fest 2024 Units Competitors Lineup, Opening Night time Movie

Bentonville Movie Fest 2024 Units Competitors Lineup, Opening Night time Movie

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Amber Sealey’s Out of My Thoughts will open the tenth annual Bentonville Movie Pageant, which goals to amplify feminine, nonbinary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and folks with disabilities’ voices in leisure. 

The tenth version of the competition, which was based and is chaired by Geena Davis, runs June 10-16 in Bentonville, Arkansas. The lineup of premieres — together with narrative, documentary, brief movie and episodic choices — was introduced Tuesday by the Bentonville Movie Basis, founding accomplice Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola. The Hollywood Reporter is a media sponsor of the occasion.

Out of My Thoughts, based mostly on the novel by Sharon M. Draper, might be launched on Disney+ later this 12 months. Following the screening, Sealey and Draper, together with star Phoebe Rae-Taylor, will take part in a Q&A. 

As well as, Nuked, the recipient of the See It, Be It, Make It Filmmaker Grant offered by NBCUniversal and the BFFoundation, might be included on this 12 months’s lineup as a Highlight Screening choice. The movie was shot completely in Bentonville. 

The competition will display 5 world premieres all through the week. Organizers even have added a brand new class, the Alumni Showcase, in honor of the tenth anniversary of the competition, that may characteristic films from filmmakers whose work has been screened at earlier festivals.

Stated Davis: “In celebrating BFF’s 10 years of dedication to inclusion, I’m thrilled to current Out of My Thoughts as our opening movie. It’s a universally relatable story about making an affect on this planet, whereas centering artists with differing talents as each performers and collaborators. Out of My Thoughts is a humorous and heartfelt manifestation of BFF’s perception that if they will see it, they are often it.”

Organizers famous that greater than 75 p.c of this 12 months’s competitors program is from creators who determine as feminine or gender non-conforming; 51 p.c who determine as BIPOC, Asian or Pacific Islander; 30 p.c who determine as LGBTQIA+; 7 p.c who’re over the age of fifty; and 6 p.c who determine as an individual with incapacity. As well as, for the 2024 program, onscreen leads are 56 p.c ladies/gender non-conforming, 45 p.c BIPOC and 11 p.c representing expertise with disabilities. Greater than 60 p.c of all chosen movies have background forged and crews that have been made up of a majority of people that determine as feminine or gender-nonconforming and BIPOC, AAPI or Indigenous.

“Our curated movies, led by creative director Drea Clark, replicate who Bentonville Movie Pageant is as a corporation,” BFF president Wendy Guerrero stated. “The chosen storytellers symbolize a variety of views, however are united by their skill to move, affect and encourage audiences.”

A listing of tasks confirmed for the 2024 Bentonville Movie Pageant competitors follows. Pageant passes are on sale now.

OPENING FILM

OUT OF MY MIND
U.S.
(Director, Amber Sealey; Author, Daniel Stiepleman; Based mostly on the Novel by Sharon M. Draper)
Melody Brooks is navigating sixth grade as a non-verbal wheelchair person who has cerebral palsy. With the assistance of some assistive know-how and her devoted, exuberant allies, Melody reveals that what she has to say is extra necessary than how she says it.
Solid: Phoebe Rae-Taylor, Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby, Judith Gentle, Michael Chernus, Courtney Taylor

ALUMNI SHOWCASE

ALL HAPPY FAMILIES
U.S.
(Director/Author, Haroula Rose)
Graham is ready for his massive break whereas his massively profitable brother stars in his personal sitcom. On the weekend earlier than new tenant Dana – Graham’s school crush – is because of transfer into their childhood house, the household gathers to filter the home, however finds themselves airing out resentments.
Solid: Josh Radnor, Rob Huebel, Becky Ann Baker, John Ashton, Chandra Russell, David Pasquesi

GHOSTLIGHT
U.S.
(Administrators, Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson; Author, Kelly O’Sullivan)
When melancholic building employee Dan finds himself drifting from his spouse and daughter, he discovers group and function in a neighborhood theater’s manufacturing of Romeo and Juliet. Because the drama onstage begins to reflect his personal life, he and his household are pressured to confront a private loss.
Solid: Keith Kupferer, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Tara Mallen, Dolly De Leon

THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS
Canada
(Director/Author, Fawzia Mirza)
Queer Pakistani grad pupil Azra is worlds other than her conservative Muslim mom. When her father immediately dies, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey by way of recollections, each actual and imagined; from her mom’s youth in Karachi to her personal coming-of-age in rural Canada.
Solid: Amrit Kaur, Nimra Bucha, Hamza Haq

SPOTLIGHT SCREENINGS

BLIND AF
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director, Gina LeVay)
Shawn Cheshire, a blind feminine Paralympic champion and a number of world-record holder, turns into the primary blind particular person to trip a single, non-tandem bike throughout america — 3,600 miles in 60 straight days — whereas confronting painful truths about her previous that she spent a lifetime making an attempt to outrun.

NUKED
U.S.
(Director/Author, Deena Kashper)
A bunch of pals will get collectively for a cannabis-infused, know-how free, banquet solely to study a bomb is headed proper for them.
Solid: Anna Camp, Justin Bartha, Lucy Punch, George Younger, Ignacio Serricchio, Tawny Newsome, Maulik Pancholy, Stephen Guarino, Natasha Leggero

OUR BLUE WORLD: A WATER ODYSSEY 
Eire
(Director, Ruán Megan)
Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey celebrates the human relationship with water and explores how historic knowledge mixed with fashionable know-how can restore our waterways, hydrate the land and assist cool our planet. 

RYAN’S WORLD THE MOVIE: TITAN UNIVERSE ADVENTURE
U.S.
(Director, Albie Hecht; Author, Rose Frankel; Story by: Rose Frankel, Shion Kaji)
When Ryan’s twin sisters, Emma and Kate, get sucked right into a mystical comedian guide, he has no selection however to stand up as the good massive brother he’s and bounce in after them, in a live-action/animated hybrid journey showcasing the celebs of certainly one of YouTube’s largest children’ channels.
Solid: Ryan Kaji, Emma Kaji, Kate Kaji, Shion Kaji, Loann Kaji

WAKHRI
Pakistan
Introduced in partnership with Worldwide South Asian Movie Pageant Canada (iSAFF)
(Director/Author, Iram Parveen Bilal)
A widowed faculty instructor in Pakistan turns into a viral sensation in a single day when she by chance unleashes her unabashed opinions on social media, and finds herself navigating archaic mindsets and secret identities.
Solid: Faryal Mehmood, Gulshan Majeed, Shees Sajjad Gul, Saleem Meraj, Sohail Sameer, Bakhtawar Mazhar

NARRATIVE COMPETITION

ADJUNCT
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director/Author, Ron Najor)
A Center Japanese American author turned adjunct professor at a neighborhood school faces the cruel actuality that he’s expendable to the system, setting him on a path to find out his subsequent transfer.
Solid: Ron Najor, Kristin Erickson, Ross Turner, Nikohl Boosheri, Paige Slaght, Phillip Andrew Botello.

BEN AND SUZANNE, A REUNION IN 4 PARTS
U.S.
(Director/Author, Shaun Seneviratne)
The romantic reunion of Ben Santhanaraj and Suzanne Hopper is thwarted when their vacation plans grow to be a work-from-home trip. The couple’s romantic journey turns unconventional as they embark on a hilarious but amorous journey throughout Sri Lanka.
Solid: Sathya Sridharan, Anastasia Olowin

BOCA CHICA
Dominican Republic
(Director, Gabriella Athena Moses; Writers, Mariana Rondón, Marité Ugás)
Pre-teen Desi spends her days on the seashores of her hometown, dreaming of changing into a well-known singer, however her purpose is threatened by lies, darkish realities and a sinister betrayal from those that ought to defend her most.
Solid: Scarlet Camilo, Jean Cruz, Lia Chapman, Xiomara Rodriguez, Richarson Díaz

CHAPERONE
U.S.
(Director/Author, Zoe Eisenberg)
Alienated by family and friends for her lack of ambition, 29-year-old Misha finds a harmful acceptance in a shiny 18-year-old athlete who errors her for a fellow pupil.
Solid: Mitzi Akaha, Laird Akeo, Kanoa Goo, Jessica Jade Andres, Krista Alvarez, Ioane Goodhue

DANDELION
U.S.
(Director/Author, Nicole Riegel)
Dandelion, a struggling Cincinnati singer songwriter in a downward spiral, takes a final ditch-effort gig at a motorbike rally in South Dakota the place she strikes up a whirlwind romance with Casey, a guitarist who walked away from his dream way back.
Solid: KiKi Layne, Thomas Doherty

IF THAT MOCKINGBIRD DON’T SING
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director/Author, Sadie Bones)
After being brutally dumped, 17-year-old Sydnie discovers she is pregnant. Seeing this as a chance to get her ex again and provides her life path, she decides to maintain the child, however quickly finds herself in a sophisticated love triangle.
Solid: Aitana Doyle, Ava Bodnar, Nadia Dajani, David Krumholtz, Catherine Curtin, Kevin Corrigan

RILEY
U.S.
(Director/Author, Benjamin Howard)
Disciplined highschool athlete Dakota Riley lives inside carefully-designed boundaries upon which he’s shaped the idea of his identification. However when that artifice is thrown into disarray, Dakota is pressured to come back to phrases with who he actually is, or confront the results of denying himself.
Solid: Jake Holley, Colin McCalla, Connor Storrie, Riley Quinn Scott, J.B. Waterman, Rib Hillis

SUZE
Canada
(Administrators/Writers, Linsey Stewart, Dane Clark)
When her solely daughter leaves for faculty, Suze, a single mother who has misplaced her function, will get caught taking good care of her daughter’s heartbroken ex-boyfriend, whom she will be able to’t stand.
Solid: Michaela Watkins, Charlie Gillespie, Sara Waisglass

THREE BIRTHDAYS
U.S.
(Director/Author, Jane Weinstock)
When Bobbie discovers her mom’s infidelity and acts out furiously, she units off a sequence of confrontations that forces her dad and mom to face their very own insecurities, because the household wrestles with the contradictions of the Sexual Revolution within the period of the Vietnam Struggle.
Solid: Josh Radnor, Annie Parisse, Nuala Cleary, Dolly Wells, Jasmine Batchelor, Gus Birney

TOKYO COWBOY
U.S.
(Director, Marc Marriott; Writers, Dave Boyle, Ayako Fujitani)
Brash businessman Hideki arrives in Montana having satisfied his Tokyo bosses he can flip a profitless U.S. cattle ranch right into a premiere-performing asset. He’s quickly poised to misfire magnificently until he identifies a lacking aspect that’s key to the transformation … himself. 
Solid: Arata Iura, Goya Robles, Ayako Fujitani, Robin Weigert, Jun Kunimura

WE STRANGERS
U.S.
(Director/Author, Anu Valia)
Rayelle Martin works as a business cleaner in Gary, Indiana, who grows uninterested in being a witness in her second job, cleansing the house of her boss’s mistress. She impulsively tells one small lie — that she will be able to converse to the lifeless — and finds herself in an odd new place of energy.
Solid: Kirby, Tina Lifford, Sarah Goldberg, Maria Dizzia, Kara Younger, Hari Dhillon

YEAR ONE
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director/Author, Lauren Loesberg)
A collection of occasions throughout Ruby’s freshman 12 months of school spin her right into a troubling decline, culminated by the arrival of a glamorous alter ego who begins to stay a lifetime of her personal.
Solid: Elizabeth Yu, Emma Raimi, Maya Schnake, Taylor Kinkead, Billy Chengary, Ryder McDaniel

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

ALL WE CARRY
U.S.
(Director, Cady Voge)
After fleeing violence in Honduras, becoming a member of the notorious migrant caravan, and enduring months in a U.S. detention middle, Mirna and Magdiel are sponsored by a synagogue in Seattle, who lend them an empty beachfront mansion whereas they wait for his or her asylum verdict.

CAREFULLY TAUGHT
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director, Cynthia Kao)
An exploration of the intricate net between U.S. insurance policies, Asian stereotypes and Hollywood imagery, as private tales from notable Asian artists spotlight the profound affect of Asian stereotypes on particular person lives. 

DAUGHTERS
U.S.
(Administrators, Natalie Rae, Angela Patton)
4 younger ladies put together for a particular Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as a part of a singular fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.

THE DEBUTANTES
U.S.
(Director, Contessa Gayles)
A Black lady coming-of-age story about an intergenerational group of ladies and ladies revitalizing a long-lost custom — the debutante ball.

FAMILY TREE
U.S.
(Director, Jennifer MacArthur)
Exploring sustainable forestry within the American South by way of two Black households preventing to protect their land whereas navigating household dynamics, unscrupulous builders and altering environmental wants.

THE IN BETWEEN
U.S.
(Director, Robie Flores)
Following the loss of life of her brother, filmmaker Robie Flores returns to her hometown on the Texas/Mexico border, colliding with quinceañeras, Rio Grande river excursions, teen makeovers and past, that invite her to take in the main points of the house her brother adored and he or she ignored.

PRECONCEIVED
U.S.
(Administrators, Sabrine Keane, Kate Dumke)
An exploration of the pervasive presence of disaster being pregnant facilities all through the U.S., and their function in furthering the anti-abortion motion.

SHARI & LAMB CHOP
U.S.
(Director, Lisa D’Apolito)
Earlier than Mr. Rogers and Sesame Avenue, there was Shari Lewis and her lovable forged of puppets, together with Hush Pet, Charlie Horse and probably the most beloved puppet of all time, Lamb Chop.

S/HE IS STILL HER/E
U.S.
(Director, David Charles Rodrigues)
Genesis P-Orridge lived her artwork and died 3 times for it. Persecuted by Queen Elizabeth, a disciple of Burroughs, Leary, Nepalese monks and African witch docs; Gen influenced and revolutionized music, artwork and gender — all with out a lot of the world even figuring out. At the very least not the total story.

UNSEEN
U.S.
(Director, Set Hernandez)
Most individuals dream of a greater future. Pedro, an aspiring social employee, isn’t any completely different. However as a blind, undocumented immigrant, Pedro faces political restrictions to acquire his school diploma, safe a job as a well being care supplier and assist his household.    

WE ARE GUARDIANS
Brazil
(Administrators, Chelsea Greene, Rob Grobman, Edivan Guajajara)
Following an Indigenous forest guardian and activist preventing to guard their territories from deforestation, an unlawful logger who has no selection however to chop the forest down and a big landowner on the mercy of 1000’s of invaders and extractive trade.

WE CAN BE HEROES
U.S.
(Administrators, Carina Mia Wong, Alex Simmons)
For attendees of a stay motion role-playing (LARP) camp in upstate New York, the deeply accepting atmosphere has given neurodivergent, queer, and self-proclaimed “nerdy” youngsters the house and group for self-discovery that they’ve by no means discovered wherever else.

EPISODICS SHORTS COMPETITION

THE COCKROACH
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director, Mary Pat Bentel)

DO IT TO ME IF YOU WANT
U.S.
(Administrators, Elise Kibler, James Udom)

GONE NATIVE
U.S.
(Director, Joey Clift)

WHAT ABOUT ME
U.S.
(Director, William Lott)

SHORT FILM COMPETITION

THE BALLAD OF TITA AND THE MACHINES
U.S.
(Director, Miguel Angel Caballero)

THE BULLFIGHTER
U.S.
(Director, Giselle Bonilla)

CANYON CHORUS
U.S.
(Director, Chris Cresci)

CARNIVORA
U.S.
(Director, Felipe Vargas)

DEAD BIRD HEARTS
U.S.
(Director, Ryan Redcorn)

THE DOG
Australia
(Director, Danielle Baynes)

FIGHT OR FLIGHT
U.S.
(Director, Lindsey Hagen)

FOUR NIGHTS AND A FIRE
U.S.
(Director, Alex Nystrom)

F*CK THAT GUY
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director, Hanna Grey Organschi)

GOLDEN CHILD
U.S.
(Director, Hannah Levin)

GOOD GRIEF
U.S.
(Director, Megan Chumbley)

GRACE
U.S.
(Director, Natalie Jasmine Harris)

THE GRIEVANCE
U.S.
(Director, Richie Eager)

HOW DID I GET HERE
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director, Kate Hamilton)

LAST TO LEAVE
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director, Mary Elizabeth Ellis)

THE MASTERPIECE
Spain
(Director, Alex Lora)

NIAN
U.S.
(Director, Michelle Krusiec)

ORDER FOR PICKUP
U.S.
(Director, Jackie! Zhou)

POPS
U.S.
World Premiere
(Director, Sylvester Ok. Of us)

SEOUL SWITCH
U.S.
(Director, Liann Kaye)

SHIMMER
U.S.
(Director, Alice Gu)

SIS
U.S.
(Director, Brooke Markham)

TAYAL FOREST CLUB
Taiwan
(Director, Laha Mebow)

TINY JOY
U.S.A.
(Director, Leena Pendharkar)

WILD ANIMAL
U.Ok.
(Director, Beth Park)

THE WORLD IN A GLASS
U.S.
(Director, Ekwa Msangi)

ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION

ASHKASHA
Spain
(Director, Lara Maltz)

DRAGONFLY
U.S.
(Director, Julia Morizawa)

THE SHADOW OF DAWN
Turkey
(Director, Olga Stalev)

SLOW LIGHT
Poland/Portugal
(Administrators, Katarzyna Kijek, Przemysław Adamski)

THE SPRAYER
Iran
(Director, Farnoosh Abedi)

THIS IS A STORY WITHOUT A PLAN
U.S.
(Director, Cassie Shao)

WANDER TO WONDER
Belgium
(Director, Nina Gantz)

ADVENTURE SHORTS COMPETITION

ABLE.
U.S.
(Director, Gretchen Powers)

BOTH & NEITHER
U.S.
(Director, Julie Ellison)

THE CAPTAIN
U.S.
(Director, Greg Kohs)

COMING HOME
U.S.
(Administrators, Katie Lozancich, Alex Showerman)

FORWARD
U.S.
(Director, Palmer Morse)

RAISED BY SAND AND SALTY WATER
Spain
(Administrators, David Corrochano, Daniel Simón)

THE ROUTE TO EMANCIPATION
U.S.
(Administrators, Talib Abdullahi, Riley Engemoen)

SPEED OF SOUND
U.S.
(Director, Jade Ang Jackman)

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