New York, NY —The Bentonville Film Festival, presented in partnership with founding sponsor Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola, announced the jury prize winners for their sixth annual festival, which concluded today. BFF is a one-of-a-kind event, uniquely dedicated to championing underrepresented voices in film, entertainment and media and this year was their most diverse festival to-date with over 70 films where over 80% were directed by women, 65% BIPOC and 45% LGBTQA+.
Isobel Sandoval’s “Lingua Franca” took home the top prize winning the jury award for Best Narrative Feature. Alice Gu’s The Donut King was awarded Best Documentary, Broken Bird was selected for Best Short Film Narrative and Ava & Bianca won for Short Film Documentary. Lady Liberty and Immigrant Voices of America took the honors in Episodic.
Co-founded by Academy Award®-winning actor Geena Davis, this year’s festival was a new hybrid model that paired digital screenings, panels and events alongside select on-the-ground premieres and conversations.
The full list of awards and honorees are below:
Jury Award Winners:
Narrative Film Award: LINGUA FRANCA, Director: Isobel Sandoval
Documentary Film Award: THE DONUT KING, Director: Alice Gu
Short Film Narrative Award: BROKEN BIRD, Director: Rachel Harrison Gordon
Short Film Documentary Award: AVA & BIANCA, Director: Rachel Fleit
Episodic Narrative Award: LADY LIBERTY, Director: Taylor Lee Nagel
Episodic Documentary Award: IMMIGRANT VOICES OF AMERICA, Director: Miguel Angel Duran
Special Recognition Awards:
Best First Feature, Narrative: FAREWELL, Director: Chris Chalk
Best Performance, Narrative: TAKE OUT GIRL, Director: Hissoni Johnson, Actor: Hedy Wong
Best Editing, Documentary: MY DARLING, VIVIAN, Director: Matt Riddlehoover
For more information visit the Bentonville Film Festival Foundation.
Additional sponsors supporting BFF’s mission include:
Kellogg’s, MARS, Inc., Mattel, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Starz/ Lionsgate, Unilever, Upfield and ViacomCBS.
Bentonville Film Foundation Social Media:
About the Bentonville Film Festival Foundation
The Bentonville Film Festival Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on promoting underrepresented voices in the entertainment industry through research, education, mentoring, and industry partnerships. The primary partner of the Foundation is the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDIGM). The Foundation believes that by convening the media ecosystem – advertisers, content creators and content distributors – in support of media that accurately reflects the gender balance and diversity of the population, it can create a seismic change in how we inspire young minds to do great things. The Foundation also hosts events throughout the year in multiple locations and in collaboration with other like-minded organizations.
About the Bentonville Film Festival
Co-founded by Academy Award® winner Geena Davis & Inclusion Companies CEO Trevor Drinkwater, the Bentonville Film Festival is a one of a kind annual event that champions inclusion in all forms of media. BFF is a yearlong platform, culminating with an annual six-day festival, in partnership with founding sponsor Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola. The Bentonville Film Festival is held every year in Bentonville, Arkansas, and includes an impactful Inclusion, Research and Content Summit. Connecting engaged entertainment industry leaders and major corporate changemakers with a diverse array of storytellers affords BFF the unique opportunity to amplify commercially viable content and champion stories that adequately represent the world around us. Because if they can see it, they can be it! www.bentonvillefilmfestival.com