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Filmland returns to downtown Little Rock on Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. As always, ACS seeks submissions from local filmmakers for Filmland: Arkansas. Submissions open on May 1 via FilmFreeway.
“Arkansas Cinema Society and Filmland were created to build a film community in our state where film lovers can watch films, share ideas, connect with each other and nurture the new and existing film talent within our state through increased exposure to filmmakers and their art,” said ACS Executive Director Kathryn Tucker.
ACS Filmland is a non-competitive, curated event but there will be an Audience Award for the Filmland: Arkansas program. Events and other details will be announced once special guests and screenings are finalized.
Submissions are for Arkansas filmmakers who either made their film in Arkansas or for an Arkansas Filmmaker who is an Arkansas producer, director, or writer of a film. Films may also be considered if an Arkansas native was the lead or key role as an Actor, Supporting Actor, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Sound Designer, Composer, Editor, Cinematographer, Animator, Visual Effects, Makeup and Hair or First Assistant Director. The Arkansas filmmaker(s) must be available to attend the screening for a conversation after the film.
Previous Audience Award winners include Green by Matthew Magdefrau (2018), Shelter by Daniel Hanna (2019), “Absent” by Damon McKinnis (2020, Arkansas Shorts) and “A Promising Voice” by Obed Lamy (2020, Arkansas Student Shorts).
Since 2017, Filmland has been honored to host many industry luminaries such as Academy Award-nominated actor Adam Driver, five-time Oscar nominated Director Richard Linklater, Director David Lowery, Producers Fred Berger and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Actor and Director Joel Edgerton, David and Christina Arquette, Will Forte and Ted Danson and Oscar-winner and ACS board member Mary Steenburgen. Last year's films featured Nomadland with Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao and One Night in Miami with Kemp Powers. Screenings also feature Q&A's moderated by ACS Founder and Director Jeff Nichols and every night wraps with a party for filmmakers and attendees.
At ACS, we believe that if we provide filmmakers an arena to exhibit their talents, and film enthusiasts a healthy diet of quality programming, we can inspire more Arkansans to make and watch more films. By supporting filmmakers, festivals, theaters and young people interested in filmmaking throughout the state, we hope to create statewide network, pool Arkansas’s resources and be an umbrella organization that feeds all things film. We believe a rising tide lifts all boats.
To be a filmmaker, we have to connect to create. A painter needs a brush, paint and a canvas. A director needs a writer, a cinematographer, a sound mixer, production designer, editor, actors, distributors, and an audience. We cannot do it alone. This art form forces one to collaborate and thus, creates jobs. Filmmaking is unique in the arts in this way. It takes an army.
