EXCLUSIVE: The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival announced the lineup for the 32nd edition of North America’s longest-running all doc festival, a slate that includes several world premieres and a slew of Academy Award-contending films. In addition, Hot Springs announced Oscar-winning actress Mary Steenburgen, an Arkansas native, will serve as honorary chair of the event in the resort town located in the scenic Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas.
Filmmaker, artist and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Sky Hopinka will receive the HSDFF Brent Renaud Career Achievement Award at this year’s festival; Diane Becker and Shane Boris, two of the Oscar-winning producers of Navalny, will earn the Impact Award (their new documentary, King Coal, will screen at Hot Springs on Oct. 10). The festival runs from Oct. 6-14.
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Among the world premieres happening at HSDFF are A Song Film by Kishi Bashi: Omoiyari, directed by Justin Taylor Smith and Kaoru Ishibashi; Jack Lofton and Jeff Dailey’s The People v. Profits, and Li Lu’s documentary series A Town Called Victoria. A Song Film by Kishi Bashi: Omoiyari “follows the musical journey of multi-talented musician Kishi Bashi as he explores the legacy of Japanese American incarceration during World War II.” Kishi Bashi (the professional name used by co-director Kaoru Ishibashi) will be in attendance at the film festival, HSDFF notes.
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, the Sundance-winning film directed by Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster, will serve as the festival’s closing night film. The film about the renowned poet and activist was recently acquired by HBO Documentary Films. (Black Girl’s Play: The Story of Hand Games, a short film directed by Stephenson and Brewster, also will play at Hot Springs). As previously announced, the opening night film is Relentless Ride, directed by Adam Harbottle and Brian Hill. HSDFF’s Centerpiece Selection will be Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’s The Mission, the National Geographic documentary that premiered earlier this month at Telluride. Scroll for the full HSDFF lineup.
Steenburgen, who was born in Newport, Ark., will participate in the Southern Storytellers Screening and Panel, “one of a handful of special events and new initiatives featured at this year’s edition of the film festival,” HSDFF notes. “Other new initiatives include the previously announced Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)-funded Filmmaker Forum, The Natural State – a new section focused on the environment, outdoor adventure, athletic achievement and the stories and people of Arkansas, a new film series added to the lineup – The Wellness Series, True Stories: A Live Storytelling Event, and a Secret Screening.”
Festival executive director Ken Jacobson said in a statement, “In our 32nd year, we are underlining the high level of film programming that has made the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival such a beacon for the best and most innovative filmmakers working in the documentary form today. In addition, we are incorporating dynamic new programs and events to enrich the audience experience and support the documentary filmmaking community.”
Jacobson added, “Our goal is to embrace the rich tableau of nonfiction storytelling and forge deeper connections between filmmakers, the people and place of Hot Springs, Arkansas and the broader world. We are thrilled to be launching these efforts alongside this year’s Honorary Chair, the extraordinary and beloved Arkansan, the multi-talented Mary Steenburgen.”
The festival is presented by Oaklawn. With the exception of the opening night film, which will screen at Oaklawn’s Event Center, all festival screenings will take place at the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa.
The 2023 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival official selections:
Opening Night
Relentless Ride
Director: Adam Harbottle, Brian Hill
Country: USA; Running Time: 97 min
In their thoroughly gripping documentary Relentless Ride, Arkansas-based filmmakers Adam Harbottle and Brian Hill follow a diverse group of determined bike racers attempting to complete the 2021 Arkansas High Country Race, one of the most challenging rides in the U.S.
Centerpiece
The Mission
Directors: Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
Country: USA; Running Time: 103 min
In this gripping cinematic exploration, Emmy-winning filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine (Boys State) revisit the story of John Chau, a young American missionary who, in 2018, contacted one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous peoples with tragic consequences.
Closing Night
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Directors: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster
Country: USA; Running Time:102 min
On the cusp of her 80th birthday, celebrated American poet Nikki Giovanni reflects on her life and the social movements influencing her fifty-year career.
Special Presentation
A Song Film by Kishi Bashi: Omoiyari [world premiere]
Directors: Justin Taylor Smith, Kaoru Ishibashi
Country: Japan; Running Time: 74 min
Crossing the American landscape in search of sites of former concentration camps, multi-talented musician Kishi Bashi undertakes a musical journey to explore the legacy of Japanese American incarceration during World War II, as well as his own identity.
Additional Features
1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture
Director: Sharon Roggio
Country: USA; Running Time: 92 min
Filmmaker Sharon “Rocky” Roggio explores the provocative thesis that when the word “homosexual” appeared in the 1946 Revised Standard Version of the Bible, it may have been a mistranslation of the original text. Winner, Audience Award, DOC NYC and Outfest LA.
A Disturbance in the Force
Directors: Jeremy Coon, Steve Kozak
Country: USA; Running Time: 87 min
“The Star Wars Holiday Special” is the variety show George Lucas wishes never saw the light of day. This hilarious documentary exposes the making of the infamous Wookie-filled extravaganza.
A Thousand Pines
Directors: Sebastian Diaz, Noam Osband
Country: USA; Running Time: 77 min
Trees are everywhere in Arkansas and so, too, are major tree planting operations. In this fascinating glimpse into a largely hidden world, we meet a group of Mexican workers, who, every year, uproot their lives to come north in the hopes of bettering their lives.
All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars
Director: Jennifer Rainsford
Country: Japan; Running Time: 77 min
Weaving together ruminative natural history vignettes with striking scenes of recovery, All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars is a meditation on humanity’s connection to loss after the 2011 Japanese tsunami.
Art For Everybody
Director: Miranda Yousef
Country: USA; Running Time: 99 min
Thomas Kinkade’s landscape paintings made him the biggest-selling artist of his day. His idyllic images mirrored a public persona entrenched in faith and family. Yet, after his untimely death, a vault of private paintings shatters his detailed façade, revealing a complex man battling inner demons.
Bad Press
Directors: Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler
Country: USA; Running Time: 98 min
When reporter Angel Ellis’ tribe, the Muscogee Nation, repeals free press protection in their media, she is spurred to action to protect the tenets of journalism.
Between Life & Death: Terri Schiavo’s Story
Director: Nick Capote
Country: USA; Running Time: 89 min
A piercing, thoughtful re-examination of the complex story of Terri Schiavo, whose headline-grabbing right-to-die legal saga and media circus in the early 2000s electrified the nation, forcing Americans to confront the tangled intersection of personal faith and federal policy.
Between the Rains
Directors: Andrew H. Brown, Moses Thuranira
Country: Kenya; Running Time: 82 min
Kole is a teenage shepherd in a region of Northern Kenya plagued by years of drought. Supported by stunning landscape imagery, Between the Rains explores coming of age in the time of climate change.
Black Barbie: A Documentary
Director: Lagueria Davis
Country: USA; Running Time: 100 min
Released in 1980, Black Barbie was the first time a black fashion doll was given the moniker Barbie. A rousing account of the untold story of how the doll came to market and the various voices behind the project.
Brother Horse
Director: Marcel Barrena
Country: Spain; Running Time: 73 min
Santi Serra is a horse whisperer, training his equine friends to perform in shows worldwide. But with the pandemic halting public performances, one rescued grey stallion proves to be an unexpected standout.
Confessions of a Good Samaritan
Director: Penny Lane
Country: USA; Running Time: 105 min
Acclaimed filmmaker Penny Lane (“Listening to Kenny G”, “Our Nixon”) captures her experience as an “altruistic” donor — a living person who donates a kidney to someone they don’t know — to create an intimate portrait examining our donor system and the state of altruism in American society.
Dusty & Stones
Director: Jesse Rudoy
Country: USA; Running Time: 83 min
Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi — cousins from the tiny African Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) — fall in love with country music, become a polished musical act, and end up making the journey all the way to Nashville and Texas to pursue their unlikely dreams.
Four Daughters
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Countries: France, Saudi Arabia, Germany; Running Time: 107 min
Winner of the L’Oeil D’or prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, this fascinating hybrid weaves documentary and stylized fiction to explore the shocking story of a Tunisian matriarch whose two eldest daughters suddenly go missing.
Going Varsity in Mariachi
Director: Alejandra Vasquez & Sam Osborn
Country: USA; Running Time: 104 min
The wonders of regional Mexican folk-music are celebrated by a team of passionate high school musicians in South Texas who rehearse year-round to battle it out in the world of competitive scholastic mariachi.
Hollywoodgate
Director: Ibrahim Nash’at
Country: USA; Running Time: 91 min
Filmmaker Ibrahim Nash’at is granted terrifying access to document the high-ranking Taliban inner circle as they begin to take over a former US military base in Kabul in this chilling eye-witness account.
Hummingbirds
Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños & Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
Country: USA; Running Time: 78 min
Set in a sweltering Texan border town, two rebellious best friends, Beba and Silvia, fight passionately against the systems working to control their lives, bodies, and citizenship — all while enjoying the dog days of summer.
It’s Only Life After All
Director: Alexandria Bombach
Country: USA Running Time: 123 min
A heartwarming music doc celebrating the legacy of the Americana folk duo Indigo Girls. It’s Only Life After All intertwines forty years of home movies, interviews, and performances to craft a charming look into a group that feels more like a movement than simply a band.
JessZilla
Director: Emily Sheskin
Country: USA; Running Time: 90 min
Jesselyn “JessZilla” Silva, a three-time national junior boxing champion, is on the cusp of making the U.S. Olympic team. When life takes an unthinkable turn, she is forced to redefine what it means to fight.
King Coal
Director: Elaine McMillion Sheldon
Country: USA; Running Time: 79 min
A sensitive portrait of a community and culture defined by industry, King Coal showcases the beauty of the coal region of Appalachia through the eyes of an inquisitive child.
La Lucha
Director: Violeta Ayala
Country: Bolivia; Running Time: 89 min
Traversing the Andes on foot and in wheelchairs, a group of disabled activists make their way across Bolivia, on a quest to garner support from the government in the form of a pension.
Let the Canary Sing
Director: Allison Ellwood
Country: USA Running Time: 96 min
When Cyndi Lauper exploded onto the pop music scene in the 1980s, her distinctive voice and style became instantly recognizable. But there is so much more to the story. Alison Ellwood’s intimate portrait paints Lauper’s “true colors”.
Nathan-ism
Director: Elan Golod
Country: USA; Running Time: 79 min
For the past 70 years, artist Nathan Hilu has illustrated his experiences guarding Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg trials. Now 90, his urgency to share his story and solidify his legacy increases, but can his waning memories be trusted?
One With the Whale
Directors: Peter Chelkowski, Jim Wickens
Country: USA, United Kingdom, Portugal; Running Time: 83 min
In this striking coming-of-age story, Chris Apassingok is a typical American teenager, except in one way: to feed his family and Indigenous Alaskan community, he must venture into the icy Bering Sea to hunt for whales.
Open Heart
Director: Jonathan Hock
Country: USA; Running Time: 75 min
New York Rangers’ star goalie Henrik Lundqvist had become so popular with New Yorkers that he was known simply as King Henrik. But when the King is diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition, he suddenly is forced to face his own mortality.
Q
Director: Jude Chehab
Country: Lebanon; Running Time: 93 min
Lebanese American filmmaker Jude Chehab’s evocative debut boldly turns her camera on her own mother — an enigmatic woman who has spent decades fervently devoted to a mysterious all-female religious order.
Rather
Director: Frank Marshall
Country: USA; Running Time: 95 min
The life, work and legacy of broadcast journalist and news anchor Dan Rather is chronicled in this stirring portrait charting his rise to national prominence at CBS through to his stunning public downfall and surprising come back.
Razing Liberty Square
Director: Katja Esson
Country: USA; Running Time: 86 min
When the effects of climate change threaten the affluent Miami Beach area, developers invest in Liberty City — a historically Black community outside the floodplains. Despite promising to bring the long-underserved community economic growth, investors’ vision of progress may result in residents’ displacement and permanently alter the city’s culture.
Sex with Sue
Director: Lisa Rideout
Country: Canada; Running Time: 90 min
Sex With Sue is a fitting tribute to trailblazing Canadian radio and TV personality Sue Johanson, nurse turned sex educator. Her approachable persona and comedic attitude have demystified sex for millions.
Silver Dollar Road
Director: Raoul Peck
Country: USA; Running Time: 100 min
In North Carolina, land developers exploit legal loopholes to claim family properties passed down for generations without a will. But when the Reels family refuses to relinquish the land, they’ve owned for over a century, it sparks a decades-long battle with a developer intent on acquiring their waterfront property. Silver Dollar Road, directed by Academy Award®-nominated director Raoul Peck (I’m Not Your Negro), is a biting exploration of a legal system turning a blind eye to predatory practices that have contributed significantly to Black Americans’ rapid land loss and the resulting economic disparity.
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Director: Anna Hints
Country: Estonia; Running Time: 89 min
An intimate glimpse into the bathing rituals of a group of women in southern Estonia. Seeking refuge in a smoke sauna, the women can share their deepest secrets while finding strength and safety in the sanctity of female companionship.
Songs of Earth
Director: Margreth Olin
Country: Norway; Running Time: 90 min
A film as gorgeously made as the breathtaking Norwegian landscape that it depicts, filmmaker Margreth Olin embraces the inescapable reality that the time she has left to spend with her beloved, aging parents is rapidly slipping away.
Stamped From the Beginning
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Country: USA; Running Time: 94 min
From Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams (“Music by Prudence, “Life Animated”), Stamped From the Beginning is a thoughtful and candid examination of the origin, evolution, and continued impact of racist anti-Black narratives on American policy and culture.
Story & Pictures By
Director: Joanna Rudnick
Country: USA; Running Time: 84 min
The colorful, luminous world of children’s picture books takes center stage in this richly creative look at the past, present, and future of this uniquely specific and highly essential art form.
Thank You Very Much
Director: Alex Braverman
Country: USA; Running Time: 99 min
Will the real Andy Kaufman please step forward? Peeling back the layers of this fascinating, brilliant, and often misunderstood comedian, filmmaker Alex Braverman shows us all over again why Andy Kaufman matters. Winner, Best Documentary, Venice International Film Festival.
The Disappearance of Shere Hite
Director: Nicole Newnham
Country: USA; Running Time: 116 min
Considered “a sexual revolution in 600 pages,” The Hite Report is one of the bestselling books in history. It spurred a cultural phenomenon upon release, but what became of its author, Shere Hite?
The Echo
Director: Tatiana Huezo
Country: Mexico, Germany; Running Time: 103 min
Tucked away in the rolling hills and pastures of Mexico, three close-knit rural farming families search for hope and contend with the land while living in an enigmatic village mysteriously named “The Echo.” Winner, Berlinale Documentary Film Award.
The Gullspång Miracle
Director: Maria Fredriksson
Country: Sweden, Norway, Denmark; Running Time: 109 min
Two pious sisters begin to unravel a long-held family secret when a divine sign leads them to purchase an apartment from a woman who looks identical to their deceased sister.
The Hidden Power of Purpose
Director: Elliot V. Kotek
Country: USA; Running Time: 72 min
It is the rare documentary that presents compelling personal stories and highly practicable information. Elliot Kotek’s inspiring film asks, “What does it mean to live a life driven by purpose?” Warning: you may leave the screening with a renewed sense of purpose yourself.
The People v. Profits [World Premiere]
Directors: Jack Lofton, Jeff Dailey
Country: USA; Running Time: 97 min
Arkansas filmmaker Jack Porter Lofton’s revelatory new documentary does something amazing: it gets you all fired up about… tort law. Go behind-the-scenes with the hotshot lawyers who are taking on some of the world’s biggest corporations and find out what’s at stake for all of us.
The Pigeon Tunnel
Director: Errol Morris
Country: United Kingdom; Running Time: 92 min
Academy Award® winner Errol Morris delves into the life and career of former British spy David Cornwell — better known as John le Carré — author of such classic espionage novels as “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”.
The Tuba Thieves
Director: Allison O’Daniel
Country: USA; Running Time: 93 min
This groundbreaking debut by d/Deaf filmmaker Alison O’Daniel follows an odd case of tubas being stolen from high schools across Southern California. O’Daniel deploys a fascinating form of captioning like you’ve never seen before, reorienting the viewer to sound in a thrilling new way.
Your Fat Friend
Director: Jeanie Finlay
Country: USA; Running Time: 96 min
Don’t call her big boned. Aubrey Gordon is a writer, activist, and podcast host. And she’s fat. Aubrey started the Twitter account “Your Fat Friend” to bring awareness to anti-fat biases and advocate for equity. With its authentic and often humorous tone, “Your Fat Friend” becomes a phenomenon for the ages.
Documentary Series
A Town Called Victoria [World Premiere]
Director: Li Lu
Country: USA; Running Time: 164 min
After a mosque is burned to the ground in a small Texas town, residents rally to support the local Muslim community. But is this an inspiring news story or something far more nuanced and complicated? This intricately woven, fascinating 3-part docuseries tells the full story.
Short Films
Baseball Behind Barbed Wire [World Premiere]
Director: Yuriko Gamo Romer
Country: USA; Running Time: 32min
Between Earth & Sky
Director: Andrew Nadkarni
Country: USA; Running Time: 25 min
Big Buffalo Golden Gals
Director: Misty Langdon
Country: USA; Running Time: 20 min
Black Ag
Director: Andy Sarjahani
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min
Black Girl’s Play: The Story of Hand Games
Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson
Country: USA; Running Time: 18 min
Boca Chica
Directors: Ái Vuong, Samuel Díaz Fernández
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
Breaking Silence
Directors: Amy Bench, Annie Silverstein
Country: USA; Running Time: 18 min
By Water
Director: Iyabo E. Kwayana
Country: Singapore; Running Time: 12 min
Camp Courage
Director: Max Lowe
Country: USA; Running Time: 31 min
Cash Crop
Director: Lorenzo Dickerson
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Chicken Stories
Director: Jonathan Pickett
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Echoes of the Rio
Director: Jackie Barragan
Country: USA; Running Time: 8 min
For The Record
Director: Heather Courtney
Country: USA; Running Time: 35 min
Goodbye, Morganza
Director: Devon Blackwell
Country: USA; Running Time: 16 min
In Exile
Director: Nathan Fitch
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Joe Barry Carroll
Director: Ethan Payne
Country: USA; Running Time: 9 min
Liturgy of anti-tank obstacles
Director: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
Country: Ukraine; Running Time: 12 min
Love, Jamie
Director: Karla Murthy
Country: USA; Running Time: 20 min
Merman
Director: Master Sterling
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
Mothertown
Director: Anthony Sneed
Country: USA; Running Time: 11 min
Myth and The Art of Maintenance
Director: Ian Frank
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma)
Director: Sean Wang
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Nina & Irena
Director: Daniel Lombroso
Country: USA; Running Time: 22 min
Parker Sharon
Directors: Liese Hohhman, Catherine Hoffman
Country: USA; Running Time: 13 min
Puffling
Director: Jessica Bishopp
Countries: United Kingdom, Iceland; Running Time: 20 min
Quilted Education
Director: Kayla Robinson
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
Really Good Friends
Director: Adam Sekuler
Country: USA; Running Time: 10 min
SLICE
Director: Zaire Love
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
Slower Animals
Director: John C Kelley
Country: USA; Running Time: 7 min
Sunflower Siege Engine
Director: Sky Hopinka
Country: USA; Running Time: 12 min
The Arkansas Accent Project
Director: Ben Corbett
Country: USA; Running Time: 27 min
The Bear Coast
Director: Andrew Ackerman
Country: USA; Running Time: 17 min
The Crawfish Trap
Director: Nathan Willis
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min
The Last Repair Shop
Directors: Ben Proudfoot, Kris Bowers
Country: USA; Running Time: 39 min
The Right to Joy
Directors: Jay Melena, Tim Kressin
Country: USA; Running Time: 20 min
Under G-D
Director: Paula Eiselt
Country: USA; Running Time: 24 min
Waking Up In Silence
Directors: Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi
Countries: Germany, Ukraine; Running Time: 18 min
Well Worn Life with Dani Reyes-Acosta
Director: Daniel Mitchell
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min
Will You Look at Me
Director: Shuli Huang
Country: China; Running Time: 20 min
You Can’t Shrink Love
Director: Veena Rao
Country: USA; Running Time: 6 min
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