What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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8 WHAT'S UP! SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 5, 2019 Big Movies, Intimate Event Fayetteville festival wants to welcome fans and filmmakers Official Selections Here's a quick look at this year's four official FFF selections: "To The Stars" Screening: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 Suggested rating: PG-13 Run time: 111 minutes The story: Under small town scrutiny, a withdrawn farmer's daughter forges an intimate friendship with a worldly but reckless new girl in 1960s Oklahoma. The filmmakers: Martha Stephens, director; Kristin Mann & Laura D. Smith, producers. The principal actors: Kara Hayward, Liana Liberato, Jordana Spiro, Tony Hale, Shea Whigham, Malin Akerman, Lucas Zumann. Awards it has won: Best Director Award at Cinetopia Film Festival. Next place it can be seen after FFF: Tacoma Film Festival. Courtesy Photo "To The Stars" Courtesy Photo Austin Dean Ashford's "(I)sland T(rap)" is the first winner of the Fayetteville Film Prize, which funded a film version of his world-renowned one- man show. In a reverse Odyssey, Black Ulysses sets off on a mythic voyage from his own island to discover his true artistic home. With the aid of a wise old lobster and a ukulele, his epic journey takes him through the straits of self- doubt and self-worth as he seeks, through poetry and song, to find and reveal his authentic self. The film will screen at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Global Campus Theatre as a free part of the Fayetteville Film Festival. FEATURE BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette I just want to watch some movies and eat some popcorn," says Morgan Hicks, executive director of the Fayetteville Film Festival. "A film festival like ours is this incredible opportunity to see some great feature films and documentaries, but what I personally love the most are the blocks of short films — perfect for those days when you have a short attention span!" While Hicks might be taking a lighter approach to the upcoming event — now in its 11th year — the mission of the film festival is deep and wide: "The Fayetteville Film Fest is a cultural leader in our region, 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 mission hasn't really changed since the inception of the festival, but I think the festival grows every year in its ability to truly make those connections," says Hicks, now in her fourth year on the FFF See FILM Page 41