So you’re a beginner filmmaker who isn’t sure what path to take. Do you focus on commercials, television, documentaries, or feature films? Well, who says you have to pick just one lane and stick to it?

What can we, as independent filmmakers, learn from movie franchises with big legacies? How is AI affecting the careers of writers and actors? What is the best way to properly insure film equipment in the event it gets stolen?

What are the similarities and differences when it comes to working in film versus working in podcasting? What lessons can we take from filmmaking into the audio space, and vice versa?

So you have written a tv show that you want to sell, but how do you do it? How do you get people to become intrigued and vested in your idea? How much should you practice your pitch, and can you use gimmicks in the pitch meeting to grab attention?

The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) was founded in 2015 by Academy Award–winning actress Geena Davis. The mission of the festival is to influence mainstream media to increase diversity and the presence of underrepresented groups in their content. We were honored to speak to two filmmakers who presented projects at the 2023 festival.

Sam Hargrave is an award winning stuntman and stunt coordinator, second unit director for films like Suicide Squad and Avengers:Endgame, and director of the film Extraction. His second feature film, Extraction 2, is available on Netflix, June 16.

Xavier Grobet is a cinematographer for movies and television shows. He is known for his work on films such as Focus and Nacho Libre and tv shows like The Watchmen and WeCrashed. Xavier is also the cinematographer for the Emmy-award winning show, The White Lotus, which is available for streaming on HBO Max.

Will artificial Intelligence end our jobs and the world as we know it, or is its “intelligence” limited? While many of us feel nervous for the impact it may have on our careers, A.I. is also opening up new opportunities to those who want to break into the industry.

Walé Oyéjidé is a director, writer, designer, photographer, musician, and lawyer who uses the power of storytelling to combat bias. His debut feature, Bravo, Burkina!, had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film is about a Burkinabé boy who flees his village and migrates to Italy. When later disillusioned by heartbreak, and haunted by memories of home, he travels through time in hope of regaining all he has lost.

If you have ever been treated like garbage by others with power positions, we can relate. How do you respond to that type of treatment? Do you “kill them with kindness” or do you yell right back at them? Is there a way that we can train those in the industry to start being more conscious and kind?

When it comes to following your dream of breaking into the entertainment industry, you have to hustle in order to make that dream a reality. The question is, when does all that hustling become toxic to your well-being?

With the WGA being on its third week of strike, we can’t help but start to think about all the ways the industry is changing and what that looks like for us filmmakers. Will Hollywood still seek out our creative ideas, or will we be pushed to only making IP projects in order to market an existing idea? And how does this all affect brand new filmmakers who are struggling just to get their short films accepted into labs?

Laurel Parmet is a director and writer who has been nominated and awarded for her shorts, Kira Burning and Spring. Kara Durrett is a producer who works in both independent film and television, producing films such as Save Yourselves! and Topside. We were honored to speak to both of them about their recent film, The Starling Girl, which made its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

The Writer’s Guild of America went on strike on May 2, 2023. The strike is more than just writers putting down their pens and picking up their picket signs, to fight for their rights. This strike also symbolizes “the beginning of a bigger conversation about morality and labor practices” throughout corporate America.

Traci Hays is a DGA Award-nominated director, a production designer, and art director who has received numerous awards for the various shorts she has directed. Her feature directorial debut, Tangled, was named a “must-see movie” by The Hollywood Reporter. She recently directed Blood, Sweat and Cheer, her second feature, which is a dark love letter to Heathers, Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, and Clueless.

Are the best movie stars only the older ones? What’s the difference between celebrities of the past compared to today’s stars? What are some effective strategies you can use to navigate a troubled production?

Kelly Fremon Craig is a writer and director who has earned awards and nominations for her first feature, The Edge of Seventeen. Her second feature, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, is based on the very famous Judy Blume novel of the same name. A main theme of this film is what it’s like to undergo the complicated process of puberty, which is ironically similar to Craig’s experience with the screenwriting process.

How can a truly independent film find success at the large film festivals? How does one manage to get well-known actors to star in your film? The answer is simple, yet takes effort. You need to get in the mix!

Stephen Williams is a producer, director, and writer who has worked on popular TV shows such as Lost, Undercovers, and Watchmen. He recently directed, Chevalier, a film based on the true story of one of France’s most important composers. Chevalier is about the journey of understanding oneself better, through the trials and tribulations that life sends one’s way.