The seventh Bentonville Film Festival kicks off this week and a group of students in the Department of Communication are ready with their latest mini-documentary and installation, Blank Spaces: Breaking Barriers and Celebrating Authenticity in Queer Films.

This is the third documentary project produced by university students, partnering with the BFFoundation and the 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville.

The BFF normally takes place in early May but was delayed this year because of the COVID pandemic. Work began in January before the group even knew if the 2021 festival would be held, and participants met weekly to plan the documentary and to screen international films to choose the best for the minidocumentary.

The BFF champions inclusion in all forms, and this year the group chose to highlight the barrier-breaking films of the LGBTQ+ community, creating an international timeline of important events and films that helped to bring themes and issues of the LGBTQ+ community to the general populace.

The 2021 installation will include a new component this year. Augmented Reality (AR) features are added to give those who want to delve more deeply into the topic will be able to view information about the events that helped shape the movement through a smartphone app triggered by images on the timeline.  

The student filmmakers strive to explore issues and films and topics that affect people across the globe. The 2021 team embodied the inclusion mission of the BFF. Filmmakers include Melanie Teoh, Sydney Mulvenon, Toby Klein and Lane Kendall from the U.S.; ChenWei Wu from China; Paulina Sobczak from Poland; and Muzala Shimukowa from Zambia.

Advisers to the students include communication faculty Ringo Jones, Frank Scheide and Margaret Miller Butcher; university staff Rachelle Prince; and community adviser Thomas Hoehn.  

The team reviewed more than four dozen possible films for inclusion, from 1924 to present day, looking for films that highlighted not only the recognition of the LGBTQ+ community but of what is often not said or shown in film, the blank spaces, where membership in the community might be veiled.

This work acknowledges the contributions of barrier-breaking individuals and films that advanced LGBTQ+ voices in the industry.

The film and AR installation will be available from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. daily, through August 15, at the 21c Museum and Hotel in downtown Bentonville. This is a free event.