Coleman Domingo stood solemn on stage under a spotlight, face contorted as he reached back into his memory. “When I was about twenty-five years old,” he recounted, “I was an actor in the San Francisco Bay area, this woman, Odessa Jones, who went around and worked with incarcerated women… teaching them theater, gave me this quote that stayed with me… ‘Politics doesn’t work. Religion is too eclectic. But art? Art might just be the parachute that saves us all.’”
Filmland, the film festival hosted by the Arkansas Cinema Society (ACS) was hosted at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts earlier this year, and included members from every aspect of the filmmaking process, including famed Arkansas native Jeff Nichols and Emmy winning, Tony and Oscar nominated actor Colman Domingo. Nichols has recently made waves in Hollywood with his film “The Bikeriders”, and Domingo has starred in last year’s “Sing Sing”, which came out last year to much critical acclaim. “Sing Sing” was a featured film at this year’s Filmland, and through panels and question and answer sessions, Domingo dove into his character John “Divine G” Whitfield and discussed the quality that makes “Sing Sing” so intriguing- the fact that almost all of the inmates are playing themselves. This causes the film to have a phenomenally raw and realistic quality of authenticity- without the fantastic performances, the script alone could have left a less genuine result. Lines are blurred between biography and fiction, and tangible emotion is felt in every scene because of it. Clean, 16mm film shot on location at the Downstate correctional facility immerses the viewer in a world of creativity birthed from isolation, as the Rehabilitation Through the Arts group creates something (an original play- Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code), from the nothingness and deprivation of imprisonment.
Filmland, along with screening feature and short films, hosts panels and competitions. These panels usually include members of all parts of the production process, including writers, actors, editors, producers, and directors- and allows local filmmakers to learn from successful projects and people.
“By bringing in filmmakers, we aim to educate and inspire up-and-coming filmmakers across the state,” Jeff Nichols, Founder and Chairman of ACS says. The film community, and the art community as a whole, thrives on the celebration of the works of local artists. This is fueled, in part, by the competitions that Filmland hosts that reward winners with filmmaking packages with a worth of thousands of dollars to further encourage filmmaking that takes place in Arkansas.
I attended the last day of the Filmland festival as a person curious about the state of local filmmaking, but aside from membership of the Young Filmmakers club at school and stories from friends in the industry, I was wholly unfamiliar with the scene in Arkansas. I was immediately immersed in the culture and love of film as an art, and could not help but reexamine my view of Arkansas as seldom the origin of art. Despite my limited time at the festival, I was fascinated by the details
At the Southern Storytellers panel, on the last day of the festival, the two awards for professional short films were announced. In the recently redone, darkened auditorium, Kathryn Tucker, Executive Director and Founder of ACS read out the awards under a spotlight. This was my first event at Filmland, and the air was electric. All around me, filmmakers were holding their breath. At the announcement of the runner up winner, Brett Helms and his team on their film “Tickle Monster”, the row behind me erupted. The group shot up- ecstatic and elated- at the opportunity to continue to make films, and to improve upon their craft with resources. This is what Filmland is, a celebration of art and the love of art. Filmland fosters a viable film scene in Arkansas, and the people that run and attend it do it for the love of film creation. Next year, I will be attending, and if you appreciate people devoted to their craft, you can attend as well.
