16th annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest lineup announced
BATESVILLE — The 16th annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest has released the schedule of screenings and other activities for this year’s festival, set for April 14, 15, 21 and 22. All screenings will take place in Independence Hall at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. Other activities will take place at Lyon College and Josie’s Steakhouse, also in Batesville.
The FilmFest will screen 34 films during the four-day event, most of which are Arkansas premieres. About a dozen of the filmmakers whose work is presented will attend and conduct post-screening Q&As. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for students and seniors for individual screenings, and $30 for adults and $25 for students and seniors for a Red Eye all-movie pass.
The festival will continue its tradition of screening a feature film with live music accompaniment.
Yakona, winner of the Audience Award in the Visions category at the SXSW Film Festival, is a tribute to the San Marcos River that explores the history and ecology of the river’s flowing waters from the perspective of the river itself. According to the Hollywood
Reporter, “With nary a word of narration and only one explanatory onscreen title at the very end, the hybrid documentary Yakona tells a captivating story through a rich blend of sound and image. … The strong visuals are enhanced by Justin Hennard’s artfully layered sound design and Justin Sherburn’s impressively varied score.”
The composer of the score, Justin Sherburn, and members of the Montopolis Chamber Ensemble will perform the score live to accompany the screening.
On the last day of the festival, April 22, the focus will be on movies that embody authentic portrayals of the people, places and practices unique to rural America. The series of films and related filmmaker panel discussion, titled Reel Rural: Rural America in Independent Film, will explore how the independent film genre is uniquely positioned to depict regional mores and points of view.
The program will begin with a f ilmmaker panel discussion at 10:15 a.m. on the Lyon College campus and continue throughout the day with screenings of three feature-length and five short films at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville, with most of the filmmakers on hand to introduce their movies and take questions from the audience.
Kieran Valla, director of the film Delinquent, explains how a limited budget can contribute positively to both the filmmaking process and the final product: “We still didn’t really have enough money, so what made the movie possible — and what also made production challenging — was shooting in our hometown in rural Connecticut.
“We didn’t have the infrastructure of a city with a lot of film production or the money for professional extras and props, but we were able to get the town behind us, build relationships with everyone from the police and fire departments to schools, and substitute enthusiasm for cash support.”
Films of special interest to Arkansans include The Arkansas
Wild Man, a profile of beloved rockabilly trailblazer Sonny Burgess; Relocation Arkansas:
Aftermath of Incarceration, about the experiences of Japanese detainees during and following their incarceration at the Rohwer, Arkansas, internment camp during World War II; and
Downstream People, exploring the social and environmental consequences of a corporately contracted industrial hog farm built inside the Buffalo National River watershed.
For the complete schedule for the 16th annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest, visit www. ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org.