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The Arkansas Cinema Society is thrilled to announce the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded the organization a Grants for Arts Projects award of $20,000 to support Filmland 2024, taking place August 15-18, 2024, at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. In total, the NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants.
“Projects like Filmland exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
ACS Executive Director Kathryn Tucker is ecstatic about receiving the NEA grant.
“Since our inception, we have worked hard to bring quality films and acclaimed filmmakers to the state,” Tucker said. “Putting together programming of this caliber is a challenge with our limited resources, but this generous grant from the NEA will allow us to continue to offer Arkansans unique film programming with sneak previews of critically acclaimed films, in depth Q+A’s, and workshops with top filmmakers. We are very grateful to have this national endorsement of our efforts and the support of the NEA.”
About Filmland
Over the last six years, Filmland has been honored to host award-winning filmmakers like actors Jessica Chastain, Michael Shannon, Margot Robbie, Joel Edgerton, Will Forte, Ted Danson, David Arquette and 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. Parties and happy hours also provide networking opportunities for filmmakers. Filmland also features selections from Filmland: Arkansas and the short films created each year by our Filmmaking Lab for Teen Girls and Spring Break Teen Filmmaking Lab. Workshops and seminars give the audience first-hand access to industry professionals on topics such as directing, producing, screenwriting, pitching, special effects and entertainment law.
About Arkansas Cinema Society
Arkansas Cinema Society (ACS) is a non-profit committed to building a film community in Arkansas where film lovers can watch films, share ideas, connect and nurture the new and existing film talent within our state through increased exposure to filmmakers and their art. Memberships are available to the public at large who may wish to dive into educational videos, member-only discounts and more. Those interested in supporting ACS can visit their website at www.arkansascinemasociety.org.
For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
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.
