Lights, Camera, Action!

June 16 - 22, 2025

CELEBRATING 11 YEARS OF CINEMA EXCELLENCE IN ARKANSAS

See exclusive films, enjoy FREE family fun, meet your favorite stars and other creators, filmmaker panels, and enjoy Bentonville’s inclusive film festival founded to highlight untold and underrepresented stories.

Free Family Movie Nights

Find BFF Inspired Eats

Homegrown Competition


The Homegrown Competition is a brand-new category in the 2025 Bentonville Film Festival, spotlighting narrative and documentary features, shorts, and episodic films either created by Arkansas-based filmmakers or shot in the Natural State. It celebrates powerful storytelling rooted in local voices and landscapes—bringing attention to the creative talent flourishing “homegrown” in Arkansas.

🎬 Why It Matters
This competition amplifies authentic, regionally inspired work, with entries including psychological thrillers, sports documentaries, shorts, and more—all connected to Arkansas through cast, crew, or setting.

Click here to discover more →

Cinema Themed Pop-Ups

Coffee, Cats, and Cinema Jun 20

Coffee, Cats, and Cinema! When: Friday June 20th at 10am Where: Third Space Coffee at Best Friends Pet Resource Center Have you ever wanted to travel the world while petting cats and drinking coffee? Let the documentary, “The Connected Cup”, transport you to eight countries with…

Brothers Meethouse BFF Pop-up Jun 16

Strike a Pose with Pork Chop: A Film Fest Photo Experience |📍 Brothers Meethouse | June 16–22 We’re thrilled to be part of Film Festival Week—and we’re bringing the fun to our back patio with a western-themed photo booth experience you won’t forget! Hop on Pork Chop , our…

Explore the Blogs!

Culture
The BFF Inspired Movie Lover’s Eatery Guide Jun 09

The BFF Inspired Movie Lover’s Eatery Guide

  • 2 minute read

We’re going to make you an offer you can’t refuse The 11th annual Bentonville Film Festival is happening June 16-22, 2025, and we are gearing up for another full week of movies, workshops, and community events. But here's…

Events
The Comprehensive Bentonville Film Festival Guide Jun 11

The Comprehensive Bentonville Film Festival Guide

  • 4 minute read

Catch a Movie Your Way Bentonville Film Festival champions inclusion and diversity in film, both on and off-screen. The 11th Annual BFF runs from June 16–22, 2025. Expect a fantastic lineup of features, documentaries, episodics, and…

Bentonville Film Festival Selfie

2025 BENTONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL

Entering its 11th year, the Bentonville Film Festival is an annual event chaired by Academy Award® winner Geena Davis in partnership with founding sponsor Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola. This year, our festival dates will be June 16 – June 22, 2025 in Bentonville. In 2024, we had over 10K+ viewers watching films, panels and Q&A’s on our virtual platform and over 15,000 attendees in-person screenings of competition and spotlight films, outdoor family films, panels and discussions, private filmmaker events and BFF community events, around Bentonville and the Northwest Arkansas region.

In the BFF 2024 juried competition program, 75% was from content creators who identify as female or gender non-confirming; 51% who identify as BIPOC, Asian, or Pacific Islander; 30% who identify as LGBTQIA+; 7% over 50 years of age; and 6% who identify as a person with disability. Additionally, onscreen leads were 56% women/gender non conforming, 45% BIPOC, and 11% representing talent with disabilities. More than 60% of all selected films had background cast and crews made up of majority of people who identify as female or gender-nonconforming and BIPOC, AAPI or Indigenous.
 
We want to continue this important work, so filmmakers, if you have a project that fits our mission to champion inclusion on and off screen and accurately reflect the gender balance and diversity of our world, please submit your shorts, episodics, and feature films to the 2025 Bentonville Film Festival, produced by the BFFoundation (501c3).