Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Becomes Academy Award Qualifier
Editor's Note: This event took place in 2014.
Arkansas now has a connection to the Academy Awards. During a news conference in Little Rock yesterday at the Ron Robinson Theater, it was announced that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has chosen the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival as an Academy Award qualifier in the Documentary Short Subject category.
The news comes at a favorable time and days before the 86th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony, which takes place in Los Angeles this Sunday.
Leadership from the Arkansas Motion Picture Institute, Arkansas Film Commission and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival were on hand to make the announcement.
According to a news release, the selection, made from a field of thousands of festivals across the globe, makes the festival one of only 19 in the U.S., 32 worldwide, considered as official Academy qualifiers for documentary shorts. Short films will be eligible for Oscar consideration beginning next year.
This year’s festival is slated for October 10-19 in Hot Springs. Established in 1991, the festival is the oldest all-documentary film festival in North America. During its history, it has been host to famous names in the field such as Ken Burns and James Earl Jones. For more details, visit www.hsdfi.org.