Dear BFF Community,
I am honored to wish each of you a Happy International Women’s Day.
Motivated by the work Geena Davis started with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the inaugural Bentonville Film Festival was created by her in 2015 based on the foundation of championing female driven stories and storytellers and has grown from the idea that embracing change in the industry includes intersectionality. Our focus has expanded through the growth of our programs and filmmaker community to champion all underrepresented storytellers and artists industry, which includes female, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, API, and persons with disabilities.
As we prepare for the coming 8th annual festival, I am eager for our community and audiences to experience stories by women and about women around the globe.
Women have historically been underrepresented both behind and in front of the camera. This imbalance perpetuates the existing disparity by normalizing the absence of deep, fully human female characters. When women are present, they are often portrayed in films in traditionally stereotyped roles. Therefore, having female role models on the big screen is detrimental to young girls. It helps encourage them to pursue their ambitions and gives them the power they need to know that their voices are important and should be heard, changing generations and changing our history.
Wendy Guerrero,
President, Bentonville Film Festival and BFFoundation
Learn more about the importance of International Women’s Day below!