BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The 8th annual Bentonville Film Festival is underway. Both in-person and virtual showings pull people from all over the country into Northwest Arkansas.
Many creators are debuting their films for the first time in the BFF. This year is Aizzah Fatima’s debut in directing.
Fatima directed and wrote “Muslim Girls DTF: Discuss Their Faith.” The web-series pilot aired Wednesday evening. Fatima said she loved creating content for such an include festival.
“I think the Bentonville Film Festival is the only one that really champions diverse voices,” said Fatima.
She also enjoyed seeing other Muslim voices represented last year.
“We were able to put out a film very much all about Muslim female identities. There were also five other projects led by Muslim creators,” said Fatima.
The BFF was hybrid last year— with many events happening virtually due to COVID-19. BFF Founder and Actress, Geena Davis, said she’s thrilled to be back this year.
“It’s very exciting. I was here for one day, one day only last year, but it’s great to be back in-person,” said Davis.
Davis reflected on its growth and looked back to when the location was first slated for Bentonville.
“When I came to take a look I was like ‘what a perfect film festival town’ although it had no movie theaters at the time,” said Davis.
The in-person festival is from June 22-June 26 the virtual festival will continue until July 3.
While some film showings are free and displayed at the momentary— others require tickets. You can also buy passes that start at $175.
You can find out more by going to the BFF website.