Geena Davis’s BFFoundation (BFF) has set dates for the 2021 Bentonville Film Festivaland have officially opened submissions. The 7th annual fest that amplifies the voices of diverse storytellers will take place on August 2-8 in Bentonville, Arkansas.

This year’s Bentonville Film Festival will be a hybrid festival, featuring digital and in-person events as well as drive-in screenings. The full program will be unveiled in July.

“During this last year of uncertainty across all sectors of the entertainment industry, and throughout our organization’s history, BFF has remained unwavering in its commitment to support groups and people historically underrepresented in the media,” said Wendy Guerrero, President of BFFoundation and Bentonville Film Festival. “As we move further into 2021, we continue to learn and to hone our focus on creating positive social change, an increased support base, and more measurable impact. With all of this in mind, our 7th annual film festival will deliver our most unforgettable experience yet.”

“One of our favorite times of the year is finally upon us and we are thrilled to begin screenings and to build our most uncompromising Festival program yet,” said Davis, who also serves as the Bentonville Film Festival Chair. “We are humbled and cannot wait to share the many exciting plans, panels, and new events we have in store.”

Filmmakers with projects where at least fifty percent of cast and/or crew are from an underrepresented group are now invited to submit to the 2021 program via Filmfreeway.

Over the past six years, BFF has launched careers and amplified the voices of filmmakers such as Sujata Day, Oge Egbuonu, Alysia Reiner, Meg Ryan, Lea Thompson, Ondi Timoner, Kulap Vilaysack. Past festivals have hosted talent such as Constance Wu, Will.i.Am, Meg Ryan, Jamie Brewer, and Tanya Suracho.

Categories for 2021 include:
US Narrative Feature
US Documentary Feature US Short
US Episodic International Feature International Shorts International Episodic

Other 2021 special programming categories slated to include Spotlight, Regional, Animation, and Family.

Submission Deadlines:

January 27, 2021: Submissions Open
February 23, 2021: Early Bird Deadline
May 4, 2021: Regular Deadline
May 18, 2021: Late Deadline
May 31, 2021: Extended Deadline
June 22, 2021: Notification Date

For full details click here.

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