About Us

The Fayetteville Film Fest, now in its fifteenth year, has long been committed to bringing world-class film to our state, developing meaningful relationships with filmmakers, and nurturing the art of filmmaking by uniting a community of creators and supporters. The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis is only the latest in a long and tragic history of inequality, injustice, and racial violence in America. From the original sin of slavery, the tragic lynching of 237 black sharecroppers in the Elaine race riot here in Arkansas, to the enduring structural inequalities that continue to devalue the dignity and basic humanity of Black, indigenous, and people of color in our community. We must also acknowledge the role of film and mass media in perpetuating that system of inequality; as one of the most powerful mediums of communication in our society, the film has long participated in the construction and perception of racist stereotypes that shape the way we see each other and ourselves. And this is not only a matter of representation in front of the camera but perhaps more critically, the lack of representation in front of the camera but perhaps more critically, the lack of representation behind the camera, shaping the stories that shape our misunderstanding of the world around us. That is why we, as an organization and as individual board members, publically support and affirm the Black Lives Matter Movement and stand in solidarity with Black artists and filmmakers, community members, and leaders who have long fought for Justice and equality. We acknowledge and condemn the systemic racism that has shaped our industry. We acknowledge and condemn white supremacist violence, racist law enforcement. And the lack of equitable resources and rights given to the black people of the country. Finally, we must also acknowledge our complicity in the enduring system of inequality; despite our efforts to cultivate diversity in our audience and among our filmmakers each year, those efforts have lacked focus and urgency. More importantly, the lack of diversity in our board of directors shows that we have fallen short of our anti-racist values. We are taking steps to address the issues, and we are committed to the following actions.

• Re-structuring our board of directors to reflect our anti-racist values.
• Developing a film fund similar to our Fayetteville film prize specifically for Arkansas-based projects that address issues of social and racial justice.
• Developing year-round programming, including educational and workshop opportunities, to encourage and support black content creators and all filmmakers of color to tell their own stories to cultivate audiences that are truly reflective of our whole community.

We will approach these issues with the same passion that informs our mission to nurture the art of filmmaking by uniting a community of creators and supporters, and we are empowering that community to hold us accountable. In Solidarity, The Fayetteville Film Fest Board of Directors