The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (HSDFF) is, dollar to doughnuts, the single best film festival in the state of Arkansas. This year marks the 31st consecutive year for the event. For nine days, Hot Springs is crawling with tourists and filmmakers, as the festival hosts more than 75 events including screenings of short and feature-length documentaries, filmmaking workshops, and late night after-parties. And believe me, the folks who run the festival sure know how to put on one hell of a party. That's why I decided to sneak away to the resort city for a few days to check out as many flicks as possible.
I arrived in Hot Springs around 8 o'clock Tuesday morning. Tagging along side of me was my friend and fellow documentary lover, Dustin Kilburn. He's also a former resident of Hot Springs, which gave him the authority to act as tour guide as we walked the city streets at dawn. He was wearing a bright red polo and blue shorts, sporting a leather "European carry-all," so he definitely looked the part of a tour guide. Before we could go into the historic Arlington Hotel, my personal guide demanded we stop for breakfast at the world renowned Pancake Shop. But as we neared our destination, I noticed that the streets were oddly packed, people walking shoulder to shoulder and taking up what little space there is. The line at The Pancake Shop was ridiculous, as there was an hour wait to get a table. We opted for the Colonial Pancake & Waffle House, which had an open seat ready for us. The staff was nice and asked us what we were doing in town. We told them we were here for the movies, and our waitress perked up and informed us that the HSDFF was the longest-running documentary film festival in the country.
After a sizable breakfast, we scurried -- late -- to our first movie, "Deconstructing Karen," a fun little social commentary that focuses on an outfit that organizes dinner parties for self-proclaimed "Karens." The parties are hosted by two women of color who try to have an honest conversation about race. There's this awkward tension surrounding the table as these Karens have to come face to face with the fact that they have some inherently racist traits. The movie becomes slightly comedic as some of the Karens opt to dig themselves into a deeper hole as they attempt to justify their actions. For example, they try promoting the idea of "colorblindness," a problematic concept when it comes to race and racism. The theater was about half full for this early-morning documentary. It always surprises me just how easily the HSDFF can draw an audience, especially in the middle of the week.
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
When I think of the crowds for this festival, I always imagine an older, more liberal crowd. For some reason, I never associate documentaries with younger audiences and their short attention spans. So I was shocked as Dustin and I exited the theater to see the white and gold hallways of the Arlington riddled with high school students. Arkansas PBS was hosting an "emerging filmmakers" panel in the next room over. Students from Hot Springs and even Fayetteville were treated with filmmaking lessons from the staff at ARPBS and other documentarians, including The New Yorker's Daniel Lomborso.
As the kids were getting an education, my tour guide and I walked the streets of historic downtown Hot Springs. We stopped by the Ohio Club and had a drink. Dustin was sure to mention all the Al Capone stories associated with the bar. While serving us our drinks, the bartender made sure that I once again knew that the HSDFF was the longest-running documentary film festival in the country. In fact, I kept hearing this at every place in which we stopped. The city and its people seem to wear this fact on their sleeves like a badge of pride.
Even while we were having lunch at Steinhaus Keller, our waitress, Cassie, who was dressed as a knock-off Eva Braun, claimed that "every year when the festival starts up, it's like an injection of pure energy to downtown." And I could see what she meant, as people would congregate and talk about the movies they had seen over the past few days, discussing the political and social aspects of each feature.
STRUCK WITH FLASHBACKS
As we continued trekking downtown, we passed the old Malco Theatre. I was suddenly struck with flashbacks to my film school days, back to when the HSDFF would screen movies at the Malco. I recalled the one year the festival flew in Albert Maysles, one of the greatest cinema verite filmmakers of all time. They held a special screening of his film "Salesman."
My film school buddies and I stuck around after the screening to get our Criterion DVDs of "Grey Gardens" and "Gimme Shelter" autographed. I remembered the special opening night champagne parties the festival would hold before the opening night movie, and how my chums and I would try to sneak as many glasses of champagne as possible to get a buzz before watching a documentary about Sly and the Family Stone. Those are good memories, and I get drawn back to the festival almost every year to make new memories, like last year, seeing my fellow film school graduates Paige Murphy and Michael Schwarz screen their documentaries, "Just Benjamin" and "Forever Majestic."
My companion and I returned to the Arlington and saw no trace of the high schoolers. We spent the rest of the evening watching documentaries, some good, some not so good, some important, some more lighthearted. We saw residents of trailer parks trying to fight rich land investors who were trying to evict them from their homes ("A Decent Home"). We saw the history and the heartbreak of the people from the Gullah Geechee community in South Carolina as they navigate their way through their complex cultural heritage and racial trauma ("After Sherman").
THAT NIGHT'S PARTY
And after the lights were turned off and the projectors cooled down, it was time for that night's party at the Superior Bathhouse Brewery. Natural healing spring water, fresh from the ground, was handed out to the crowd as they murmured among themselves; pass holders were fumbling with their festival programs like racing forums, circling which films to see the next day. Filmmakers were hobnobbing with one another, exchanging business cards and tales of future projects.The crowd whittled down as it was time for sleep, so they could get up and repeat things all over again the next day, creating the memories they'll be nostalgic for next year.
The festival is an important aspect to the state and the city. For the past 31 years, it has helped keep the film scene in Arkansas afloat by bringing in artists and showcasing the local talent. The festival also has been designated an Oscar-qualifier in the category of Documentary Short Subject, meaning that you might see this year's winners at the Academy Awards.
And if you didn't know already, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is the longest-running documentary film festival in the country.
I know I won't forget that fact.