Clarification: The date of the festival will be Oct. 18-26. The schedule of films will be released in September.
Original article:
The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is now accepting admissions for this year's festival.
The early bird deadline to submit a documentary is Feb. 22. The regular deadline is April 19, the late deadline is June 14 and the extended deadline is set for July 1.
The festival's executive director, Jen Gerber, said they average around 1,100 submitted films each year. Last year, 127 films that were submitted where selected to be shown.
A group of trained screening committee members will watch each of the films, finding the best films that were submitted. Gerber said hard decisions are made on which films make the cut, but they also make an effort to solicit films that were not submitted that would "be a good fit for Hot Springs."
In looking for in submissions, Gerber said the festival "provides diverse perspectives while offering something for everyone, has a mix of hard-hitting stories and some with entertainment value; we want buzz-worthy films and first-time filmmakers."
Last year's festival was the most successful one yet, she said. Gerber has been associated with the festival since 2013, and this will be her third year as executive director. She said each year since she started attending, the festival has grown. Over the last two years, the attendance of the festival has grown nearly 30 percent.
Five of the films selected for last year's festival have since been shortlisted for the 91st Academy Awards later this year. "I anticipate a few of these films will end up with a nomination and likely a win," Gerber said. "I am personally on a mission to bring the best of current documentary films to Hot Springs and last year we definitely had some standout films."
While the festival attracts filmmakers from all over, it also has a lot of locally made movies, too. "Our Arkansas films are the heart of our programming and I hope to see more and more in our lineup every year," Gerber said.
One day of the festival is dedicated to Arkansas focused films. At the end of that day, there will be a party "to celebrate the accomplishments of our local talent," Gerber said.
The festival is the longest-running documentary film festival in the country. This will be the 28th season the festival has been held.
The dates for the festival have not been announced yet. A schedule will be available near the end of September.
Those interested in submitting a documentary can do so at https://filmfreeway.com/HotSpringsDocumentaryFilmFestival.
Local on 01/20/2019