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Arkansas cinema society: Cultivating Southern storytellers
A ripple effect in the film industry
Even a small initiative can create significant ripples in the film industry. This is precisely what Arkansas-born director Jeff Nichols and his Arkansas Cinema Society (ACS) co-founder Kathryn Tucker aim to achieve by spotlighting Southern storytellers in the state capital each year.
Filmland: A unique blend of festival and conference
The heart of ACS’s activities is the annual Filmland event, a hybrid between a festival and a conference. Nichols invites friends and former colleagues to showcase and discuss their work. However, ACS’s influence extends beyond this event, operating year-round to support the local film community, both amateur and professional. They host Arkansas screenings of movies that might not otherwise get adequate exposure in the state, such as Oscar best picture nominees The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall.
Building a film community from the ground up
Eight years ago, Nichols recognized the need for a centralized team to engage the local film community. “I’d taken Loving back to Little Rock because I wanted to show it to friends and family, and there wasn’t even a mailing list,” he recalls. This realization led him to reach out to Tucker, a high school acquaintance, to launch an initiative that could build film literacy and encourage young Arkansans to pursue careers in the industry.
Strategic connections and future goals
Tucker, a veteran of the Directors Guild Training Program and former marketing professional at Miramax, has deep roots in Little Rock. Her connections, including a brother who is a state senator, are strategic for ACS’s ultimate goal: improving film incentives in Arkansas. “What’s needed is a better film incentive so that bigger-budget movies can come to Arkansas, so that filmmakers can stay in Arkansas and get paid as much as they would in Oklahoma or Georgia,” Tucker explains.
Overcoming challenges and fostering local talent
Until these issues are resolved, Arkansas risks losing productions and talent to states with more aggressive tax incentives. However, Tucker and Nichols are committed to changing this. Last year, ACS hosted a screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary short The Barber of Little Rock at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, followed by a Q&A with Mayor Frank Scott Jr. and nonprofit community bank advocate Arlo Washington.
John Hoffman, who co-directed “Barber” with Christine Turner, highlights ACS’s support: “Our crews were always a blend of people that flew in and people from Little Rock. They were very helpful in pointing us to freelance crew members and equipment: sound, lighting, DPs, production assistants. We never felt that we were without good support.”
Mentorship and grants for aspiring filmmakers
Inspired by Richard Linklater’s Austin Film Society, ACS offers modest grants to support indie directors on the festival circuit, helps filmmakers connect with the local casting pool, and mentors aspiring young filmmakers. One notable initiative is the Filmmaking Lab for Teen Girls, hosted by Tucker in early summer. “We teach 10 to 15 girls, who come up with story ideas, then they pitch and decide collectively on which one to make,” Tucker explains. Participants write a script, learn about pre-production, then shoot, edit, and sound design a finished short. “Then they have a film they can use when they apply to college.”
Filmland: A social and fundraising event
To support its many initiatives, ACS treats its annual Filmland event as both a social gathering and a massive fundraising tool, with sponsors like Panavision and the Tyson Family Foundation. “The thing our one-off screenings don’t really provide is this networking opportunity for filmmakers, where they can connect with one another and make movies together,” Tucker says.
Filmland hosts four days of screenings, master classes, and social events, including the inaugural Southern Storytellers Panel. This year’s panel featured Michael Schwartz (Los Frikis), Christy Hall (Daddio), and Clint Bentley (Sing Sing), hosted by a prominent film industry publication.
The power of regional storytelling
Nichols emphasizes the importance of regional specificity in storytelling. ”Regional specificity is the most direct path to universality in storytelling. Who would have thought that stories that take place in rural southeast Arkansas would resonate in France, at the Cannes Film Festival? But it’s happened,” Nichols says. “I’m the proof, and I think it’s because we live in a time when specificity matters.”
By fostering a vibrant film community in Arkansas, ACS is not just nurturing local talent but also proving that compelling stories can emerge from any corner of the world.
