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Fresh off of its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, Jeff Nichols marks a triumphant return with his latest work, The Bikeriders. Don’t miss what Variety calls "pure Americana" and a "luscious period drama" when the Arkansas Cinema Society and the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts host a special pre-release presentation of the film on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. Nichols will attend the event and participate in a Q+A following the film. Watch the trailer for The Bikeriders here.
“We launched ACS as a platform for Arkansas filmmakers to showcase their work so it’s an honor to bring my latest work to Filmland at the new Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts for one of the first screenings in the U.S.,” said Nichols. “The Bikeriders is a story that’s very personal to me and has been with me since my brother first gave me the book of Danny Lyon’s photographs. I can’t wait to share this one with all of my friends and family back home—see you in October.”
ACS Executive Director Kathryn Tucker added, “Jeff is a masterful storyteller and ACS is thrilled to welcome him back to Arkansas with his lauded latest film The Bikeriders packed with an incredible, all-star cast and months before it hits theaters!”
So don’t miss Filmland 2023 taking place Friday, Oct. 13th through Tuesday, Oct. 17th at AMFA, located at 501 E. Ninth St. in Little Rock. ACS has added the dates to make sure that they can welcome Nichols home for the special screening of The Bikeriders! So, if The Hollywood Reporter is right and Jodie Comer snags an Oscar nomination for this one, you can tell your friends, “I saw it at Filmland first!”
ACS will also host Filmland: Arkansas, a collection of Arkansas-made and Arkansas-connected shorts and features, the previous weekend on Oct. 6th and 7th at the AMFA. Stay tuned for more announcements regarding the line-up for both in the coming weeks. Tickets for all events go on sale in the coming weeks. Become a member or a sponsor and sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know more.
Filmland is made possible by ACS Premiere Sponsor the Tyson Family Foundation; Presenting Sponsors Courtyard by Marriott–Little Rock Downtown and the Rahman Family Fund; and Executive Producer Sponsors City of Little Rock, The Arkansas Arts Council, Slim Chickens, The Stella Boyle Smith Trust, and Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.
About The Bikeriders
From writer-director Jeff Nichols (Loving, Midnight Special, Mud), 20th Century Studios and New Regency, The Bikeriders is a furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members, starring Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, The Last Duel), Austin Butler (Elvis) and Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant).
Inspired by Danny Lyon’s iconic book of photography, The Bikeriders immerses you in the look, feel, and sounds of the bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture of ’60s motorcycle riders. Kathy (Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny (Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes, and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Hardy). Over the years, Kathy tries her best to navigate her husband’s untamed nature and his allegiance to Johnny, with whom she feels she must compete for Benny’s attention. As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.
The cast, most of whom did their own riding on an array of period-correct bikes, also includes Michael Shannon (Bullet Train), Mike Faist (West Side Story), Boyd Holbrook (Logan) and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead). Sarah Green, p.g.a., Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, p.g.a. and Arnon Milchan are the producers. Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, Sam Hanson, David Kern and Fred Berger are the executive producers.
The Bikeriders opens in U.S. theaters on December 1.
About Jeff Nichols
Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jeff Nichols is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts’ School of Filmmaking. Nichols wrote and directed the internationally acclaimed features Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special, and Loving. His films have won numerous awards at festivals around the world. In 2022, he served as a juror for the Cannes International Film Festival. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.
About Filmland
Over the last 5 years, Filmland has been honored to host award-winning filmmakers like actors Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Will Forte, Ted Danson, David Arquette and ACS board member Mary Steenburgen along with directors including Chloé Zhao, Richard Linklater, David Lowery, Neil LaBute, David Gordon Green and Jeff Nichols; and producers such as Evan Hayes, Jayme Lemons, Christina McLarty Arquette, Fred Berger and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones. Filmland has showcased award-winning films such as Nomadland, The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Free Solo from top festivals like Sundance, Telluride, Toronto and Venice before they had a theatrical release in Arkansas. Each screening features a Q+A moderated by Writer/director and ACS Co-founder Jeff Nichols, board members or staff and every night wraps with a party for filmmakers and attendees. Filmland also features selections from Filmland: Arkansas and the short film created each year by our Filmmaking Lab for Teen Girls.
About the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
Founded in 1937, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is the largest cultural institution of its kind in the state, offering a unique blend of visual and performing arts experiences. AMFA is committed to featuring diverse media and artistic perspectives within its permanent collection of 14,000 works of art as well as through rotating temporary exhibitions. AMFA’s international collection spans seven centuries, with strengths in works on paper and contemporary craft, and includes notable holdings by artists from Arkansas, the Mid-South region, and across the United States and Europe. With a vibrant mix of ideas, cultures, people, and places, AMFA extends this commitment to diversity through its dynamic children’s theatre and performing arts program, the innovative Windgate Art School, and community-focused educational programs for all ages. Located in Little Rock’s oldest urban green space, MacArthur Park, AMFA’s landmark building and grounds are designed by Studio Gang and SCAPE, in collaboration with Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects.
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.
