The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) has announced their Shaping the Narrative, Geena & Friends participants, Juneteenth and Spotlight programming, jurors and additional panels and events taking place at the 2025 festival, set for June 16-22. The 2025 Bentonville film Festival marks 11 years of amplifying the voices of female, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and people with disabilities in entertainment.
Among the returning programming for 2025 is “Geena & Friends,” featuring Geena Davis and participants including Shoreh Aghdashloo (“The Penguin), Toks Olagundoye (“Frasier”), Alysia Reiner (“The Diplomat”) and Brenda Song (“Running Point”). This year’s event will take place Friday June 20 at the Thaden Theater.
Additionally, in partnership with Variety, Song will be presented with the Variety Virtuoso Award, also on June 20. Bentonville’s “Shaping the Narrative” conversation series will return this year with Olympic track and field champion Allyson Felix participating in a talk presented by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Ingeborg Initiatives.
“We’re thrilled about this year’s festival, featuring expanded programming that celebrates our mission to champion diverse voices in storytelling — and a jury that shares our passion and excitement,” said BFF president Wendy Guerrero. “We’re especially looking forward to the conversations with advocate Allyson Felix, whose work exemplifies the spirit of equity and empowerment we strive to elevate. We’re proud to continue building a platform where the next generation of inclusive storytellers can thrive.”
The Bentonville Film Festival has also announced the Jury for this year’s festival awards, which will include Anne Alvergue, Keely Cat-Wells, Joshua Dahlman, Kathryn Everett, James Faust, Marie Jamora, Michelle Krusiec, Toks Olagundoye, Pallavi Sastry, Nicole Shipley, Bomani J. Story and Claire Taylor.
The BFF will also commemorate Juneteenth with a two-day spotlight on films and creators with “deep roots in Arkansas.” Titles in the Juneteenth program include “The Paris 3,” “COLBERT: All Students Can Learn,” “Traveling Mercies” and “God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines.” Other panels and spotlight screenings announced for the festival include “Authenticity Matters: Rewriting Disability on Screen,” STEAM Sessions, “Find Your Fight: A Conversation & Book Signing with Jay Ruderman,” “A Guiding Light for Documentary Ethics + Case Study” and more.
A full lineup of programming and ticketing information can be found at bentonvillefilm.org.
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