Fort Smith International Film Festival mixes Arkansas indies with world cinema
“The Mirror” wins again; “After the Beep” premiere and “My Italian Waiter” charm fans
By Mickey Mercier
Independent films from Arkansas and around the world landed at the Fort Smith International Film Festival from August 6 to 9 in the convention center in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
The festival included 160 films spread across several auditoriums. Screenings also spilled into Fort Smith’s hip Bakery District and community venues in the Arkansas River shipping port near the Oklahoma border.
Dr. Brandon Chase Goldsmith, executive director, said the festival, now in its fifth year, has found an ideal mix of films. It featured groups of movies made in Arkansas and Oklahoma, U.S. and international films, sections for Indigenous, People-of-Color and LGBTQ+. It also shows music videos, as well as selections from the festival’s sister-city arrangement with Cisterna di Latina, Italy.
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The prize for best overall film went to Surviving the Spectrum, a short documentary about by autism and suicide by Oklahoma director Carley Marissa Dummitt. It also won for best short doc.
Several films from Northwest Arkansas stood out in the large field of competitors.
Th festival screened the much-anticipated premiere of the new film by Arkansas director Marc Crandall (an early edit had a soft showing in spring).
DZ Rife wrote the 25-minute romantic comedy which spans several decades. Lauren McCullough and Warren McCullough star as would-be lovers. Amber Lindley produced the movie, along with and Zak Heald who also shot it in wide format.
Skilled production design by film veteran Carla Nemec lends pastel undertones which support an atmospheric effect of a slightly altered reality – something of a trademark for this director. It’s a good-looking movie with a standout comic performance by Ms. McCullough.
The Mirror by first-time director Benjamin Harrison won best Arkansas movie. It’s the second festival win for the low-budget action short which stars Jasper Mize, Raeden Greer and Taylor Holbert. It also took best amateur movie at the Rogers Short Film Festival in May. Andrew Jenner wrote the script and Hayden Morris shot the widescreen film in and around Fayetteville. The 30-year-old director alternates compressed storytelling with explosive action to deliver a 12-minute thrill ride.
“Savor Every Moment” is the subtitle of My Italian Waiter, a comedy short on the festival circuit this summer. It features a winsome performance by Cassie Haley as a neglected beauty whose boorish boyfriend (Johnny Bannon) isn’t meeting her needs. But before long, a hunky Italian waiter enters the picture, played by Warren McCullough
Northwest Arkansas filmmakers Katherine Forbes and Kate Siegenthaler co-wrote the movie and Forbes directed. While the title suggests some major silliness will be afoot, the dialog-driven, well-acted film sometimes seems more like a dramatic stage play.
Filmed at a residential location and Flora Jean’s restaurant in Little Rock, this movie succeeds on a small budget. “Our goal was to make an engaging, romantic movie that every woman could relate to, and every man could enjoy,” said Siegenthaler.
Trivia: Filmmakers offered the real-life Italian waiter who inspired the film, Sylas Sungenis, the lead role, but he demurred. He chose a supporting part instead
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The festival had an an especially large lineup of panels discussions and how-to sessions. Filmmakers brainstormed for future collaborations, exchanged contact information, and traded tips and tricks.
The event included the MidAmerica Film Market with special workshops and mentoring opportunities for filmmakers.
In a well-attended film-financing panel, producer Kate Siegenthaler spoke of how she broke a glass ceiling for Arkansas independent filmmakers. Her upcoming feature Inthralled managed to qualify for the state film office’s tax credit/rebate program.
In a filmmaking panel, Fayetteville director Jason Pitts discussed the elements that went into his 2025 horror feature The Forest Through The Trees. The movie, which stars Annie Sullivan and James Stokes, has been winning festival awards and is on streaming services.
This Fort Smith festival organizers deserved their own special award for hospitality done right — the filmmakers’ lounge had finger-food buffets and an open bar with top-shelf liquor.
Text and Pauline Angelina photo copyright 2025 by Mickey Mercier
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FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Best Overall Film Surviving the Spectrum
Best Overall Short Film The Pretty La Bonita
Fort Smith Proud Club Kinkeads
Best of the River Valley Dunklin
Best International Short Film Amplified
Best Feature Documentary Susan
Best LGBTQ Short Film The Ball
Best People of Color Film Colbert: All Students Can Learn
Best Indigenous Film Keepers of the Coastline
Best College Short Film Submerged
Best Animation In Half
Best Music Video Blood on Your Lips
Best Episodic Space Station Village
Best Narrative Feature Delta County
Best Short Documentary Surviving the Spectrum
Best Thriller Film Palate Cleanser
Best Arkansas Film The Mirror
Best MidAmerica Film Just the Janitor
Best Alumni Film Drowned Land
2025 Top Screener Ronald Nichols
2025 Top Screener Melissa Woodall
2025 Top Screener Rain Story
2025 Top Screener Marilyn Knapp
2025 Top Screener Patrick Conrad
2025 Top Screener Lisa Jan-Bohne’Clay
2025 Top Screener Crissie McBride
Great review for a great festival, one of my favorites!