Fort Smith International Film Festival starts Friday

Fort Smith's second annual film festival is showing 137 films created by people from more than 30 countries. 

The Fort Smith International Film Festival will be Friday, Aug. 26 and Saturday, Aug. 27 at TempleLive. Tickets cost $10.

On the opening day of the festival Friday doors will open at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m., Mayor George McGill will speak, kicking off the event, said Executive Director Brandon Chase Goldsmith. 

On Saturday, the festival will begin showing films at 10 a.m. and will continue showing films until 11:45 p.m. 

“Basically Saturday is a movie marathon," Goldsmith said. 

At midnight, there will be an awards show, and after that the party will continue until 2 a.m. 

The first day of the festival will include lectures from the Arkansas Cinema Society and the Cherokee Nation Film Office. 

Filmmakers submitted 365 films from 51 countries. 

The festival is featuring new categories of film this year. These include thrillers, westerns and LGBTQ+. 

Another new category includes alum, which are filmmakers who were a part of the festival last year. 

“And the beautiful thing about having the alum is getting to watch them grow as filmmakers, so what we’re doing we’re creating a film festival community with our alums, and we get to watch them grow every year," Goldsmith said. 

After each feature-length film, the directors will have a Q&A. 

"Because that’s what makes a film festival different from just going to the movies is you get to talk to the director, the actors and the producers," Goldsmith said. 

With films showing in four rooms at TempleLive, audience members can choose the films they want to see, making their own itinerary during the festival. 

“You get to choose your own adventure for movies," Goldsmith said. 

Clay Pruitt, who is also involved with the festival, talked about what the festival brings to Fort Smith. 

“Honestly I think the festival benefits Fort Smith in multiple ways, but the biggest one is just bringing the community together," Pruitt said. He later added, "For me, that’s the most gratifying part of the film festival is just being able to bring the community together.' 

Goldsmith said the festival is also creating a space for filmmakers to meet each other and discuss new ideas. 

“By having them all in one place, they can have conversations that give birth to new projects," Goldsmith said. 

Alex Gladden is a University of Arkansas graduate. She previously reported for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Jonesboro Sun before joining the Times Record. She can be contacted at agladden@swtimes.com.