Founded by Geena Davis in 2015, the Bentonville Film Festival launches its 2026 edition on Monday, leading to a week of events, screenings, and cultural resonance in the heartland of the country. Bentonville has quietly developed a reputation for quality, particularly in its in-person panels and other unique opportunities. Where else could you go to a Coffee Talk with Bobby Flay or attend panels like “The Interactive Era” and “Leading Through Uncertain Times”?
Of course, it’s still primarily about the films, a confidently curated selection of hits from fests like Sundance and SXSW alongside some local premieres. To give you a sampling of what to expect this year, we thought we’d highlight a few of the most interesting screenings. Get tickets here.
“Street Smart” (Centerpiece Film)
Arguably the biggest “get” of the Bentonville team this year is the world premiere of the latest drama from Catherine Hardwicke, the acclaimed director of “Thirteen,” “Lords of Dogtown,” and “Twilight.” After a few years of solid work on TV, Hardwicke has returned to her indie roots, telling a story about young people on the edge of society. In this case, it’s an ensemble piece that centers on a young woman (Isabelle Fuhrman) who arrives in Venice Beach with $20 in her pocket and a dream of becoming a musician. She stumbles into a found family of unhoused young people that includes characters played by Yara Shahidi, Michael Cimino, Kaitlyn Kemp, Skeet Ulrich, MVP Miles McKenna, and promising breakthrough Isiah Hilt.
Hardwicke peppers the supporting cast with familiar faces like Sally Struthers, Marcia Gay Harden, and Harvey Guillen, but her greatest asset remains her deep empathy for young people, something that has been there from her Oscar-nominated debut. The script that she co-wrote with Nic Sheff works better in its quiet, character-based moments than in its plotting, but there are enough of those to make the movie’s arguable manipulations tolerable. Hardwicke and Sheff clearly like these characters, and that compassion is contagious.
“Moonglow”
Isabel Sandoval’s “Lingua Franca” was a breakthrough indie drama, a truly great film that promised a career to watch. Sandoval went to TV, helming episodes of “Under the Banner of Heaven,” “Tell Me Lies,” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” She returns to Bentonville, where “Lingua Franca” won Best Narrative in 2020, with her first film since then, a movie with echoes of “Double Indemnity” and “In the Mood for Love.” Sandoval stars as Dahlia, who we see sneak into a house in Manila in 1979 in the film’s opening sequence, learning shortly thereafter that she’s a police officer who happened to be robbing her corrupt boss. Of course, she’s assigned to investigate the crime, alongside her former partner Charlie (Arjo Atayde), and Sandoval delivers a film that alternates between a moody character piece and something closer to a slow-burning procedural.
The two films don’t always coalesce in a script that sometimes slides from moody to slow, but she has such a confident eye that her framing and use of color alone make this worth a look.
The great Dawn Porter is back with an incredible new documentary, a film that just so happens to have won the Audience Award for Best Documentary last month at the Chicago Critics Film Festival. The director of “John Lewis: Good Trouble” collaborates here with Ta-Nehisi Coates to adapt a New Yorker article by Jennifer Gonnerman about the convictions of Andrew Stewart, Ransom Watkins, and Alfred Chestnut for a 1983 murder that they didn’t commit. The men have been released, and Porter’s film culminates in an astonishing scene in which they meet with the man whose coerced testimony put them in jail. It’s as unforgettable as anything you’ll see this year.
Other Sundance repeats include the other CCFF Audience Award Winner, “If I Go Will They Miss Me,” along with “Hot Water,” “The Musical,” “American Pachuco,” “Cookie Queens,” “Jane Elliott Against the World,” “The Brittney Griner Story,” “Give Me the Ball!,” and “Seized.”
Just before its limited release next week, before it expands across the country, Bentonville audiences will get to see one of the most unique directorial debuts of 2026. Since its premiere at TIFF in 2025, John Early’s comedy has steadily built buzz with a robust festival tour (which also included a sold-out show at CCFF).
Early directed, wrote, and stars as Maddie Ralph in a film that’s basically a spoof of TV movies about eating disorders, but it works because of how earnestly Early plays the bit. He’s not mocking eating disorders or even cheesy TV movies. It’s not a parody. It’s a loving ode to outsiders that may not always work, but the degree of difficulty of it is remarkable to consider. That he even gets as close as he does makes Early a filmmaker to watch.
“The Dads”
The documentary program at Bentonville is incredibly strong, but I wanted to highlight this insightful film, given the continued battle for trans rights in this country, especially during Pride Month. “The Dads” started life as an expansion of a short film about a discussion group for dads of trans kids, but the production took place during 2024, which included an election that forever changed the people profiled. As some parents consider leaving the United States in the wake of Trump 2.0, “The Dads” becomes an unforgettably emotional and fraught personal journey. It will almost certainly feature one of the most interesting and powerful post-film Q&As.
“Little House on the Prairie” (Closing Event)
A film festival that includes TV episodes is nothing new; Sundance and SXSW have made that kind of programming an essential part of their events, but I’m not sure it’s as common to see one given the framing of closing night. Of course, viewers of a certain age remember the ‘70s adaptation of the hit books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and they can now introduce their kids to this world a half-century later with the Netflix version. It premieres on July 9, 2026, and has already been renewed for a second season. Get a sneak peek at Bentonville.
Note: If you’re thinking about bringing the kids out to more than just closing night, there are free screenings of hits scattered through the fest, including “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” 2025’s version of “Superman,” and “KPop Demon Hunters.”