The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) took to the screens – both live in Arkansas and virtual on computers and TV sets throughout the country – for its ninth year. Chaired by Academy Award winner Geena Davis, BFF champions women and diverse voices.
According to festival programmers, “over 30% of the (competition) program is comprised of creators with disabilities” and “25% (of onscreen leads) represent talent with disabilities.” This is an increase from 2021, when eight percent of the directors, four percent of the writers, and four percent of the leads identified as having a disability.
Below please find a guide to several of the films featuring disability in the plot or talent with disabilities. A majority of BFF offerings are available virtually through Sunday, June 25.
The Cab
Directed by Nicole Melillo, the fantasy short The Cab took home the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the 2023 Bentonville Film Festival. A narrative short exploring the mind of a woman with depression through a fantastical ride in a NYC taxicab, the short follows the passenger, Eva, as she discovers she is in no ordinary cab, rather a purgatory space to determine her final resting place after dying by suicide.
Entertainment Media Fellow Elizabeth Kim reviewed this short during BFF: “Whether you or someone you know is dealing with depression, The Cab is a must-watch. By watching films that show someone in your shoes, you know you’re not alone. By educating yourself on mental illness, you gain more power to support loved ones and help create a healthier future for generations to come.”
A Journey with My Dad
After being financed by the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund, Voyage avec mon pere, translated to A Journey with My Dad, follows a precocious 5-year-old girl named Tamar as she discovers a secret about her dad that explains his mechanical breathing: there’s a hole in his chest. As the story takes on the point of view of Tamar, the world dips its toes into surrealism as she travels into his psyche, ultimately returning to reality and encouraging her father not to hide his disability.
Entertainment Media Fellow Jeremy Hsing reviewed this short during BFF: “A Journey with My Dad is a beautifully hand-drawn 2D animated short that chooses not to use dialogue, instead completely relying on body language, gestures, sound effects, and soft colors to convey its narrative. The result is an emotionally poignant story that encourages us to embrace difference rather than shy away from it.”
My Eyes Are Up Here
When a high-profile model and disabled woman of color (Jillian Mercado) needs to travel to a pharmacy for the morning after pill, the number of obstacles and quick assumptions she must face parallels those of Odysseus. Her disability transforms people into arseholes, places into obstacles.
Entertainment Media Fellow Maddie Jones reviewed this short during BFF: “As a wheelchair user myself, this was an enjoyable and relatable film. Yes, there was a lot of unintentional ableism on display in the film’s story, but it was cool to see non-disabled people intentionally learn and correct themselves. But what stood out the most was Jillian Mercado’s excellent acting and subtle moments of comedy.”
Take Me Home
Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Take Me Home, which won the Julia S Gouw Film Challenge in partnership with Janet Yang Productions and the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, follows a cognitively disabled adult named Anna (Anna Sargent) who lives with her aging mother in Midland, Florida.
Entertainment Media Apprentice Jeremy Hsing reviewed this short when it premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January: “Whereas a lesser film would use ‘trauma porn’ in the pursuit of sympathy, Take Me Home shows the viewer humanity in the pursuit of empathy. The film doesn’t answer every question or solve every problem, but it lays the path to take that first step.”
Unidentified Objects
Dedicated to finding a way to get to a rural spot in Canada, where she is sure she will be again abducted by aliens, Winona J is a spirited and optimistic character who is sure she is not the one who is crazy. She is joined by Peter, a cynical neighbor who has given up on believing in the world around him – and perhaps with good reason as he has forever been objectified as a homosexual little person.
Entertainment Media Coordinator Isabella Vargas reviewed this film when it premiered at Outfest LA in July 2022: “Unidentified Objects boldly dives into what could have been considered taboo or unusual topics, for example mourning a friend who had severe depression. By finding honest and genuine moments in the offbeat and unusual, this film finds a beautiful sense of humanity that will pull any audience in.”
Well Wishes My Love, Your Love
Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Gabriel Gabriel Garble’s animated short film Well Wishes My Love, Your Love is a mesmerizing experience with a carefully crafted animated style that will take you into another world. An accomplished illustrator outside of being an animation director, Garble’s experimental film is breaking the barriers of animation as a whole and how we as an audience can experience a film.
Entertainment Media Coordinator Isabella Vargas reviewed this short when it premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January: “Garble creates a world where everything is one whole and where nothing is ‘other.’ This in itself feels touching in the sense that people with prosthetic limbs risk feeling ‘othered’ in their community. However, as the film depicts, their disability aids belong to the world around them just like anything else does.”
