Hot Springs film festival mostly online

HOT SPRINGS — The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival will return for its 29th year this fall as a mostly online experience, with several physical components also taking place, festival officials said Tuesday.

Karina Nagin, the festival’s executive director, said it will “look a little different” this year because of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. For example, rather than having screening after screening on theater screens, most of the films will be shown on a virtual platform. The festival will be held from Oct. 9-17.

Nagin said the change will allow more access to the festival than ever before. The online platform will be downloadable and can be accessed using computers, smartphones and smart TVs. This will allow people from across the state to be able to watch the festival films, she said.

“A wonderful part of the virtual platform [is that] our audience will be able to access films at any time,” Nagin said.

The platform will also host “panels, Q&As, and workshops, virtually as well,” Nagin added.

Nagin said festival customers will have the ability to buy individual tickets, or they can purchase a festival pass good for each movie. Prices and event schedule will be released in September. The platform will be “free to download,” she said.

The platform will host a pre-festival screening of “Gather” at 7 p.m. Aug. 20. The film “follows a chef from White Mountain Apache (Arizona) opening an Indigenous cafe as a nutritional recovery clinic; a young female scientist from Cheyenne River Sioux (South Dakota) conducting landmark studies on bison; and a group of environmental activists from Yurok (Northern California) trying to save their river,” a news release said.

(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford) A crew repairs the Oyster Bar on Markham Street last week. A car drove through the front of the Little Rock shop.