Pages tagged “little rock film festival”

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Little Rock Film Festival 2011: Part Two

Rounding out my coverage of LRFF 2011 are a couple of documentaries with outside-the-mainstream looks at religion, plus a glance back at two entirely different kind of southern films, and a sprinkling of interesting shorts. DOCUMENTARIESSONS OF PERDITION I had heard the news stories about Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed prophet and leader of a fundamentalist Mormon church in the Utah desert who was arrested for arranging marriages between men and underage girls. But this engrossing and disturbing film shows the affect his cult-like compound has had on the children who have managed to "escape" into the outside world. What these...  read more

Little Rock Film Festival 2010: War is Still Hell

"I don't know what they did in the four or five thousand years of civilized history before we had film," said Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe at the festival's closing night gala where filmmakers were present for the awards ceremony. "I'm sure they told some kind of stories but they never could tell them as well as you all could. They never could, I think, penetrate the depths of people's souls the way you can penetrate those depths." Beebe's support has led to more favorable tax incentives for filmmakers wanting to work in Arkansas. And he's right about their abilities to...  read more

Little Rock Film Festival 2010: Lost on Another Island

Don't tell anyone (lest more people attend) but festival co-founder Owen Brainard is concerned about the LRFF's rapid growth and success. "What are we gonna do if someone like Brad Pitt comes and we're not prepared for a crowd of young ladies fighting outside to get a closer look?" Not a bad problem to have. But it does demonstrate that even in a tough economy a festival well off the beaten festival path, like in Little Rock, can still bring in an appreciative audience--if the right product is provided. And I doubt that Brad would be turned away.The film that...  read more

Little Rock Film Festival 2010: Down to the Bone

If standards used in measuring a film festival's success are solely based on the fruition of its films, the Little Rock Film Festival continues to surpass those measurements. In its first three years, pre-distribution screenings like Knocked Up, That Evening Sun, Touching Home, Breaking Upwards and (500) Days of Summer have all gone on to further acclaim. This year is no exception.Having already snatched the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Winter's Bone opened the Little Rock festival and went on to win Best Narrative. Co-writer/director Debra Granik continues the high quality of recent Southern films with her gripping Appalachian tale of Ree, a...  read more

Little Rock Film Festival 2009: Final thoughts

The Eyes of MeIf you missed the biggest little film fest in the south here are some things to look forward to next year....  read more

Little Rock Film Festival 2009: More Films

LRFF organizers say attendance numbers have more than doubled over last year's festival. Part of the reason has to be the high quality of films screening. Here are some of my favorites.Daryl Wein (Breaking Upwards) & Logan Miller (Touching Home) at LRFF PicnicTouching HomeThink about this scenario: You've never written a screenplay. You've never directed a film. You've never acted in a film. Heck, you've never even been a grip. Try taking that resume and making a film with it, starring veteran actor Ed Harris. That is exactly what co-directors Logan and Noah Miller have done with Touching Home. Based...  read more

Little Rock Film Festival 2009: Donahue talks

Raving about the city's downtown restoration to a glammed up crowd at the Clinton Library Gala, Phil Donahue gave the keynote address for the Little Rock Film Festival declaring "You look like you bought a pretty prom dress." The legendary talk show host had screened his documentary Body of War earlier in the day. Also, awards were distributed for best documentary The Way We Get By and best narrative That Evening Sun. Festival Organizers Craig and Brent Renaud with Phil DonahueThe Way We Get ByDirector Aron Gaudet follows three senior citizens who voluntarily spend their days, with others, greeting American troops as they arrive at...  read more

Little Rock Film Festival 2009

First thing to do when arriving to the Little Rock Film Festival (if the films and parties haven't started) is to walk down Markham St. to The Flying Fish restaurant, just a rock's throw from the Bill Clinton Library. While waiting in line to order (there is ALWAYS a line) you giggle at the hundreds of photos of customers with fish that are posted on the wall . Then you grab a beer from the fridge and order from a choice of catfish, shrimp, oysters, frog legs, crawfish, calamari--fried, grilled, boiled, whatever. Today I kept it simple with a shrimp cocktail, a...  read more