What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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8 WHAT'S UP! APRIL 29-MAY 5, 2018 FAQ Bentonville Film Festival WHEN — May 1-6 WHERE — The AMC Theatre at 21c; Record North; Skylight Cinema; Theatre Village presented by Synchrony in two Cine- transformer theaters; Walmart Museum World Room; Mockingbird Theatre at Arvest Commu- nity Room; Sony and Orville Redenbacher's Outdoor Theatre at Lawrence Plaza, all in Bentonville COST — $15 single ticket; passes range from $65 to $1,575 INFO — bentonvillefilmfestival. com; Festival Box Office at 21c Museum Hotel; or the app COVER STORY Superheroes star at Bentonville Film Fest BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette M eg Ryan will be the Bentonville Film Festival's first Legacy Award honoree. Geena Davis, BFF co-founder, will be back in town. The festival will offer 42 competition films. Los Lobos will perform. And a Family Trail Ride will give a nod to Northwest Arkansas' burgeoning bicycle culture. There's no doubt, however, that the biggest names in film will be converging on Skylight Cinema, starting May 2. After all, who is bigger than the Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man and the Avengers, shown on screens that are almost three stories tall? Open Nov. 9, 2017 — between years three and four of the film festival — the Skylight is the first movie theater in Bentonville since The Plaza closed on Central Avenue in 1985. Unusual even among its contemporaries, the Skylight has four intimate theaters that seat 47 patrons each and two large theaters that seat 83 and 84, respectively, with screens that are 27 feet high and 48 feet wide. The two largest theaters show their films in sync, explains Jared Addison, the Skylight's manager, so the experience is even bigger. Then take "Avengers: Infinity War," the new Marvel movie opening this weekend, put it on those two almost- IMAX-size screens, decorate the lobby with Marvel paraphernalia, create a unique menu just for the Bentonville Film Festival and fill each of the smaller theaters with Marvel's finest films — shown at no cost to patrons — and the "Marvel Experience" promises to be one of the biggest parts of the BFF in 2018. Marvel Studios is celebrating its first 10 years of making superhero movies, which started in 2008 with "Iron Man," says Liz Nunn, director of business development for the BFF. And it seemed like a perfect opportunity to partner with Skylight Cinema, the long-awaited theater that gave the film festival a permanent home in its home town — and to let everyone's "nerdy side come out," she adds. "For many years, Bentonville community leaders have recognized that because of the large number of professionals employed by Walmart, as well as the presence of those who frequently spend time in Bentonville on visits to Walmart's home office, demand has been growing for Bentonville to offer a variety of entertainment and dining options that appeal to prospective residents, current locals and visitors to the Northwest Arkansas region," says Nadia Clevenger, a spokeswoman for Skylight's owners, whom she declined to name. "So, beginning about a decade ago, initiatives began to redevelop downtown Bentonville — including first-class restaurants and bars, a world-class museum and a best-in-class dine-in movie theater." Skylight Cinema opened Nov. 9, 2017, in downtown Bentonville. This year, it's one of the homes of the Bentonville Film Festival. Courtesy Photo