[00:00:00] Speaker A: It's Year 15 for the Fayfield Film Festival, which runs October 1214. We're going to talk about this year's film fest with some of the folks who make it happen on this week's edition of the Know The News podcast.
Welcome everybody to know the news. A production of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat newsroom. I'm Dave Perozic. Your host this week. And I'm pleased to introduce my guests. We've got Dan Robinson, co executive director of the film festival and Ringo Jones, programming director of the film festival. Gentlemen, thanks for joining us here. Really great to have you on.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: Happy to be. Thanks for having us.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: So I want to start just by asking how long you guys been involved with this personally?
[00:00:55] Speaker C: So I've been involved with the festival since 2011. So it's been a long time, more than a decade. We've been bringing film to the Fayetteville.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Square and I'm one of the new guys. This is my second year of involvement. I moved to town for a job at the university a couple of years ago and along with that, I joined up with the film festival.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Okay. All right.
And so I guess the best way.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: To start here is just if one.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: Of you could give us an overview of how this festival goes and what to expect.
[00:01:30] Speaker C: Sure, I can. Give us a start. The Fayetteville Film Fest has been an effort that has brought film enthusiasts together with filmmakers and given people an opportunity to celebrate film on the square. And we do that with the hopes of fostering film production here. The vision of the festival was to bring filmmakers here, show them a good time, show them the amazing resources here and then with the hopes that they would produce in the future. And we have seen that happen. Now, the film industry has grown and we have a robust representation of local filmmakers, but we also have incredible submissions from around the world. And then a big part of that mission is educational opportunities. So the Fayetteville Film Fest offers workshops and networking opportunities and the opportunity to see movies before they hit the big screen.
That is what the Fayetteville Film Fest does.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: And to Dan's point, there really is something for everyone. So there are opportunities to meet and network and build your resume in the film industry here. But there's also if you're just a film enthusiast and you just want to hang out and watch some great films that you're not going to hear about in the normal channels, we have that for you too. So there's something that everybody can do you can plug in in different ways.
[00:02:46] Speaker A: What do you think makes this film festival different from others in our region? We've got several in the state and the region.
What would you say makes it unique?
[00:02:59] Speaker C: The other festivals that have grown in the state are amazing because they specialize in lots of different aspects of film production. I feel like the fayetteville Film Fest is kind of a catch all in that we've got a little bit of everything. But the thing that really makes us unique is the fact that we have so many filmmakers in attendance. People have the opportunity to meet filmmakers to find out what's behind the creative products.
So I would say the interactivity when it comes to just being able to casually hang out with someone who watched a movie you just watched, is what makes the festival special.
[00:03:39] Speaker B: I think that's a great point that Dan's making, is like, we really want this to mean festival means party, right? So we are celebrating what we feel like we do the best. So we have these great local filmmakers or even statewide filmmakers, but we also have a national contingency and even some international films. And bringing all these people together is the main goal here. Can we get these people all in the same block to talk about what they're doing? And maybe some great collaborations come out of that. So, for me, what I get excited about when I talk about our film festival is the fact that you do get to meet the other filmmakers. I feel like there's other film festivals you've been to where it's really like there's different tiers. So it's like you don't get to hang out with the big names, the people that are bringing the features, whereas here it's like, no, we're all in the same room.
We have these very intimate screening environments too, so we all get to sit down and we're maybe rubbing shoulders, literally, with the person that made the film. So it really is an access. So you get to hang out with the filmmakers and be part of that community.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: So this is the 15th year.
Nice little milestone for you guys.
Looking back, Dan, you're probably the best to answer this. How would you say this festival has changed over the years?
[00:05:03] Speaker C: I'd say the most interesting thing is the change in technology. We have been riding the wave of movie technology.
There was a time when we were getting DVDs and Blu rays in the mail, and now that the technology has shifted so much, we see more accessibility for people. We've seen people with lower budgets create higher quality stuff.
But then at the end of the day, we're showing films. We're able to show a lot more films because we're not having to do the technology juggle that we used to do. Now that we're in the digital age, things are moving a lot smoother. But it's been fascinating to watch as the industry has shifted into four K and into these new standards that everyone kind of takes for granted. Now, part of running a festival is being on the front side of that technology. And so we've been intimately involved with the developments in technology as we've been running this festival.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: My first year I attended the Fayetteville Film Festival was the Pandemic year I moved here in the Pandemic and it just happened to be, hey, this is a totally virtual festival. To Dan's point, the technology was there on the display the first year. Maybe not in the way we wanted it to be, but now it's an opportunity to really, I think, bring all these people together.
And what's great about the technology point specifically, is that I have seen the local products that filmmakers are making transform in just the last couple of years, like what we can produce locally because the technology is more affordable, more accessible, all these things. What we are producing in Arkansas, in northwest Arkansas, is on par with the stuff that you're seeing in Hollywood. So it really is exciting in that regard to be like, look, they're neck and neck. And when we can put them in the same screening together, you get to watch a $100,000 production out of Hollywood and a $10,000 production out of Fayetteville, and you can't tell which one's which. So that's been really exciting to me to say, wow, Arkansas has something here, and let's go out in this party and celebrate it.
[00:07:09] Speaker A: In terms of this year's film selections, what went into choosing them?
How does that process work?
[00:07:18] Speaker B: I'll take that one first. So we have a small but dedicated group of screeners who watch everything. So we have at least two eyeballs on every film. And usually the films that end up being selected have more than a few eyeballs because rumor gets out that, hey, this one's pretty good, you should watch it. And then we all get together on a zoom call, not much different than this. And we talk through every single film. So this year we had over 170 submissions and we talk through every single one. We have our ones that are this is clearly in. This one maybe isn't up to snuff or maybe doesn't fit into what we're trying to do this year. And then we have the ones that are kind of on that bubble where it's like, man, we'd really like to include this is there that we can make this fit. And it ends up being a very big discussion. It starts out as one meeting. It kind of expands over a week. And then we say, oh, we have some wiggle room here. We can sneak one of these other ones in. And then we look at how is that going to fit together in the program itself. So we really wanted to emphasize local films this year, so we even made Thursday night, let's have an opening night where we feature the local filmmakers. It gave us an opportunity to feature them first, but also kind of create that environment where we can say, here's what we're doing well in this state. And then the rest of the weekend we can kind of put it together with national, local, international, foreign. So there's a lot of variety that goes into it. But it's a tough process. Somebody, me in this case, watches every single film and then we have that dedicated group that watches a handful here and there and we just work through it all.
[00:08:47] Speaker A: That's that must be fun in some ways watching every movie, but grueling in others.
When do you start that process?
[00:08:59] Speaker B: So submissions really start rolling in in the spring and that's when there's enough in there that you're like, okay, I could start watching these.
It takes a long time. And I got to the point where I was like, well, I'll get on the treadmill and watch these. That way I'm doing something not to sit on my butt for hundreds of hours watching these. And you just watch them all. And there are some that you're like, obviously this isn't what we're looking for. But then the real hard part is there's a lot of good films. There are some really fantastic films that you wish you could include. And that's the heartbreaking part, is that you're like, we have to cut some of these, otherwise this festival would be a month long.
So it is grueling in that sense is that you know that somebody put hours, if not weeks, if not months, if not years of their lives into this project and you're going to turn it down. So that part that's hard. But at the same time, you look at some of the other ones that we do accept and you're like, those people put that much effort into it too, and it may just fit our festival better. So you're excited about the ones that you get to take and you feel heartbroken every time you have to send a rejection. But it is a long grueling process.
Most of the time it's fun.
[00:10:18] Speaker A: And you've got several panel discussions this year. Do you want to talk a little bit more about that?
[00:10:26] Speaker C: Yes. We have a Women in Film panel that's going to have an exceptional lineup of female directors as well as industry professionals who are going to be talking about the space that's being made for women in the industry. Now that's very exciting.
We have a making it work in Arkansas panel. So our other co executive director, Cassie Self, has put together an amazing panel of people who are working in the state in different capacities. Commercial, feature films, short films, all the different paths. And the film commissioner, Chris Crane, will be on that panel discussing with us the state of the industry here in the state.
And so that one is going to be awesome. We are really proud of what the Michelle Lab Film Lab and Award has accomplished over the last couple of years. That was birthed out of the pandemic as well.
It creates a space for BIPOC filmmakers.
And so the Michelle Film Lab is going to be presenting physical awards to their awardees. They hand out money for people to produce projects so that panel and discussion is going to be great. We have a music licensing workshop, one of the biggest things that filmmakers run into. They make their film and then they're like, I need music. And then they just grab music. And they don't know how to get the clearances, the appropriate clearances. So we're really proud to have the people from Brumley Publishing. Kevin and Betsy are going to be coming in to discuss with us the legal ways to use music in your films.
So we just have incredible educational offerings. We have a grip truck experience. If you don't know what a grip truck is, it's what you roll up on set. And it holds all the equipment you need to make a movie anywhere on location. And so we have a three ton grip truck brought by New Harvest. Creative is going to roll up and people are going to see what it looks like when a movie crew rolls up to a location and how they get the equipment off and set up a scene and then put the equipment back on the truck and can move to the next location. So we have a wide variety of educational offerings this year at the festival.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: Are there any films this year that you would call must see films.
[00:12:45] Speaker B: They'Re.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: All must see to be yeah, I'm really excited about put you on the spot.
[00:12:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Maybelline Prince stands out. To me. That's going to be our Saturday night narrative feature at 06:00 P.m.. Fantastic film. Mostly produced out of Louisiana with a crew kind of all over the world, but mainly out of La. Fantastic feature, but then of local significance. On Thursday night we have Ghost of the Void, which was shot in Arkansas by an Arkansas director. The director, Jason Miller, will be there as well. So Thursday night's narrative feature. And then there's just so many great docs, our docs this year, most of them coming from Arkansas. All of the directors are female directors. And they're all going to be part of that Women in Film panel. So the docs are just fantastic this year. The one that comes to mind for me is Dirt. Really great film. And it's all about Arkansas, which is great too. So there's plenty of great stuff to see if you just want to drop in. And for one block, you're going to love what you see. Because this year I feel like our selections are just top notch, really worked out well.
[00:13:51] Speaker A: How many people do you expect to attend?
Do you have an idea?
[00:14:00] Speaker C: We usually have between two and 300 people come through over the course of the weekend.
Tends to be our average number. And so between the two venues, prior center and the global campus on the square, we're alternating screenings. And sometimes we're having some simultaneous stuff. But yeah, we usually have two to 300 people come out and celebrate film with us on the square.
[00:14:25] Speaker A: Do you want to tell us the info about how to get tickets and all that?
Sure.
[00:14:30] Speaker C: So you can visit our
[email protected] and that is the place where you can find the program, you can find the schedule, all the information you need, and you can purchase your tickets online. And then we'll also have a box office available at the global campus. You can just show up. We're also excited to have food trucks on Center Street, so there's going to be some great local food truck offerings. So you can get some food and watch a movie and hang out on the Fayetteville Square. It's going to be a beautiful weekend.
[00:15:00] Speaker A: Well again. That's a Fayetteville Film festival running next Thursday through Saturday, October twelveTH to the 14th. And gentlemen, Dan and Ringo, thanks so much for joining me today. Really appreciate your time.
[00:15:16] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:15:17] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:15:18] Speaker A: You can read Monica Hooper's story about the Fayetteville Film Festival in this Sunday's. What's up? Section of the Northwest Arkansas democrat gazette. I want to share a brief preview of some other stories we have coming your way this weekend. Fayetteville's long range planner gave the city Council the second in a series of three reports about housing, this one having to do with land use and zoning. In a nutshell, the advice is city needs to start growing upward more than outward to make full use of the land that's available.
Fayetteville reporter Stacey Ryburn will tell us about that.
And the Benville School Board met for a work session Thursday night and the teacher housing issue was tops on the agenda. Al Gaspeny was there and he'll have a full report for us.
Dipping south into the River Valley, reporter Thomas Ascente tells us about the Dairy Dip Diner in Mulberry, which was founded in 1952 and is now for sale after its 80 year old owner decided to retire. Thomas also will have a feature story on Dr. Lawrence Price, who was recently recognized as the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce Physician of the Year for 2023. Price has more than 50 years of experience in healthcare and currently volunteers at the Good Samaritan Clinic in Fort Smith.
Sunday's. What's up? Has a little something for everyone besides the film festival. You can read about the True Lit Festival at the Fayetteville Public Library October 14 26th. The Johnny Cash concert experience at the Walton Arts Center next weekend, October 14 15th. And you definitely don't want to miss Becca Martin Brown's look at the upcoming Arkansas Bigfoot Conference in Enola next weekend.
All this plus all the calendar listings you can imagine Sunday. And what's up? And don't forget to check out our sports coverage, the best in the region, especially when it comes to high school football. We'll have coverage of all the big games this weekend, including Springdale at Springdale Harbor, Benville west at Rogers, and Fayetteville at Fort Smith Southside, and more.
Then look for award winning columnist Rick Fires. His column on Sunday.
All this and more available to our subscribers on our tablet and smartphone apps, and at our websites nwaonline.com and Rivervalleddemocratcazette.com. Really appreciate you listening to this point and want to thank you for your support of local journalism. If you're not a subscriber to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, I sure hope you'll consider being one. And I welcome you to take advantage of a special offer we have for podcast listeners. Just visit nwaonline.com podcast 23 to get started.
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Hope you've enjoyed this podcast. The production of the northwest arkansas democrat gazette. Know the news is brought to you by both northwest arkansas democrat gazette and the river valley democrat gazette.
Thanks for listening again. I'm Dave Perozic, your podcast host this week. Have a great weekend and until next Friday so long.
