The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) was founded in 2015 by Academy Award–winning actress Geena Davis. The mission of the festival is to influence mainstream media to increase diversity and the presence of underrepresented groups in their content. We were honored to speak to two filmmakers who presented projects at the 2023 festival.

In this episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins, director Meghan Ross, and filmmaker Sierra Urich discuss:

Meghan’s project, Here to Make Friends, and its diverse cast and crew
The difficulties Meghan had in filming her episodic proof in Texas, when abortion became illegal
Sierra’s film, Joonam, that won ‘Best Documentary Feature’ at BFF
What it was like to watch footage with actual subtitles, compared to the translation she received during filming
Getting excellent feedback and guidance from a supervising editor
Discovering the storyline in post production
How the most uncomfortable scenes end up being the most meaningful
Forgetting about the physical filming tools as much as possible
What it was like to feature her film at Sundance 2023

Memorable Quotes

“There’s a requirement for inclusivity in all the films that are featured at Bentonville.” [6:21]
“Pay yourself first because if you don’t, you may never get paid.” [29:31]
“When you’re dealing with real people with real personalities, you’re just along for the ride with them.” [36:48]

Resources:

Bentonville Film Festival

Here to Make Friends

Meghan’s website

Joonam

Sierra’s website

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