Hot Springs Film Festival

The Hot Springs Film Festival began in 1992 by local Hot Springs Residents interested in enhancing the arts in Hot Springs, Arkansas. There were 10 Academy Award nominated documentary films screened free of charge to the public, in that first year. Now entering its 18th year, the festival has grown to become the largest documentary film festival in the United States and second only to Amsterdam internationally.
2009 Festival
The 2009 festival will be held from October 16 – 25, and will feature 139 documentaries selected from nearly 1000 entries. About 22,000 people are expected to attend this 10 day festival, which includes film screenings as well as documentary workshops. The cost of a festival pass, good for access to all screenings is $150, or you can purchase a day pass for $20, or a three day pass for $50.
The main theme for this year’s festival is the environment and sustainability, and many of the documentaries relate to this subject. Other prominent topics are the Social Sciences and the Arts.
One of the more talked about documentaries in the arts is Ron English’s Abraham Obama. This documentary chronicles Ron English’s journey across America spreading his street art, of a merging of Abraham Lincoln and Obama, with a crew of artists and musicians. Ron English will be at the festival to discuss the film and the journey.
There will be many filmmakers present at the festival which includes multiple world premiers. The opening night premier of “Coming Back for More” will kick off the festival with a bang. Sly Stone, of “Sly and the Family Stone” will attend the screenings of this movie that was made about him. There have even been rumors of a performance.
Promoting the Arts in Arkansas
One of the main purposes of the Hot Springs Film Festival is to promote the arts, and particularly film making within the state of Arkansas. Part of their mission is to promote the younger film makers and encourage them to work in their profession within the state of Arkansas. Besides screenings of films by younger film makers, there are also numerous workshops to help budding film makers enhance their skills. Sponsored by the University of Central Arkansas’ film department these workshops are free to the public, simply pre-register with the film institute.