The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF), taking place June 16-22, is highlighting several disability-inclusive films. Chaired by Academy Award winner Geena Davis, BFF champions women and diverse voices.
According to festival programmers, 12% of the films in the competition categories have a director who identifies as disabled. In addition, 17% of these films include a lead character with a disability. These numbers are less than in 2023, when “over 30% of the (competition) program is comprised of creators with disabilities” and “25% (of onscreen leads) represent talent with disabilities.” However, the 2025 numbers are 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 and/or talent with disabilities.
Feature Films
Beyond the Ashes: An Adaptive Trail Story (Homegrown Competition)
Screening in-person June 19
The groundbreaking, untold story in mountain biking—how Northwest Arkansas is leading the charge in adaptive trail design. Centered on Trailblazers, the team behind OZ Trails, the film features hometown heroes and pro athletes like Brian Carlson, Jeremy McGhee, and Annijke Wade, alongside a dedicated network of riders, builders, and advocates. With raw stories and cinematic force, it captures a movement in motion—challenging industry norms, inspiring change, and proving the future of mountain biking belongs to everyone.
Color Book (Narrative Competition)
Screening in-person June 19
Following his wife’s recent passing, single father Lucky finds himself navigating the challenges of raising his exuberant 11-year-old son Mason, who has Down syndrome. Seeking solace, Lucky and Mason embark on a journey across Metro Atlanta to attend their first baseball game together. From car breakdowns to missed trains, the duo faces a series of obstacles that test their relationship with each other. Despite the setbacks, they persevere, determined to reach the game. Together, Lucky and Mason learn that healing does not await them at the mountaintop but can be found with every step along the path.
Espina (Narrative Competition)
Screening in-person June 20 and online June 20-22
Bitter after losing his job, Jonathan, plans a holiday to Panama City before his spinal surgery. Paraplegic and unable to travel far on his own, he recruits a down-on-her-luck actress and a cynical playboy as makeshift aides for the journey from Mexico City. Lavishly funded by donations meant for his “surgery,” this unlikely trio ventures into Panama’s wild side, and it’s no longer clear if Jonathan chose his destination for diversion — or, to avenge a long-held grudge.
In Waves and War (Documentary Competition)
Screening in-person June 18
Highly decorated Navy SEAL Marcus Capone returns from Afghanistan and attempts to readjust to civilian life. But years of unprecedented warfare have left Marcus with treatment-defiant PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and severe depression beyond what current government treatment options can effectively address. Fearing for Marcus’ life, his wife, Amber, finds hope in a groundbreaking therapy combining two powerful psychedelics unapproved for use in the U.S., but with seemingly limitless applications. Inspired by Marcus’ remarkable recovery but still confronted with the alarming rate of veteran suicide in their community, Marcus and Amber embark on a new mission: providing access to this lifeline.
Rosemead (Narrative Competition)
Screening in-person June 21
In a race against time, an ailing woman is stricken by the discovery of her teenage son’s violent obsessions and must go to great lengths to protect him, and possibly others, in this portrait of a Chinese American family. Inspired by true events.
Speak. (Documentary Competition)
Screening in-person June 20
Following five of the nation’s top teenage speech competitors, SPEAK. captures the euphoria of victory and the devastation of defeat as they craft and perform original orations over the course of a 9-month season. Their dream is simple: To win the Super Bowl of public speaking, the NSDA Nationals. Read a review written by Entertainment & Media Fellow Gina DeRyke: What It Sounds Like When Young People SPEAK.
West of Greatness (Homegrown Competition)
Screening in-person June 20 and online June 20-27
Amid rusted gyms and fading streets in a Louisiana town, Jerome dreams of Hollywood while Terry fights to escape a troubled home. United by desperation, they train for a bodybuilding competition that’s their one shot at something more. Filmed over eighteen months, West of Greatness blazes a bold new trail in cinematic storytelling, blending raw documentary with scripted drama. It’s a haunting, human story of ambition, survival, and the quiet bonds formed when there’s nothing left to lose. Of note, Gordy Cassel portrays Jessica Priscilla Bridgeway, Terry’s sister, a woman living with the long-term effects of a traumatic brain injury that has impacted how her body moves and functions.
Short Films and Episodic
A Stupid Man (Short Film Competition)
Screening in-person June 20 and online June 20-27
Owen wants his ex-girlfriend back, but he needs his best friend Milly’s help. Will she come through or does she have other ideas? Producer and Cast Shannon DeVido (plays Milly) is an actress and writer with spinal muscular atrophy.
Chasers (Episodics Competition)
Screening in person June 18 and online June 18-25
Sophia, a young musician, arrives at an LA house party full of struggling twenty-somethings. Eager to ask her crush, Jacob, to be her date to her sister’s wedding, his hot-and-cold behavior leaves her confused. As she confides in her distracted friends—each wrapped up in their own dramas—a deeper truth begins to surface. Writer/Director/Producer Erin Brown Thomas is a diplopic, neurodivergent filmmaker who wrote her first screenplay while hooked up to an IV battling bedrest and Lyme disease.
In The Jungle (Short Film Competition)
Screening in-person June 18 and online June 18-25
The year is 1973 and it’s a typical school day for twelve-year-old Eric, but Eric is not a typical boy. With hearing aids, glasses and the status of ‘outcast’, he’s a perpetual loner at the back of the class at a school for the hearing. His escape: drawing Tarzan and Jane cartoons – inspired by his crush, Lizzie.
Pow! (Short Film Competition)
Screening in-person June 18 and online June 18-25
A Native American kid scrambles to charge his dying video game console at a bustling intertribal powwow.
Tiger (Short Film Competition)
Screening in-person June 19 and online June 19-26
A look at an Indigenous award-winning, internationally acclaimed artist and elder, Dana Tiger, her family, and the resurgence of the iconic Tiger t-shirt company. The lead subject, Dana Tiger, has Parkinson’s.
View from the Floor (Short Film Competition)
Screening in-person June 19 and online June 19-26
In pursuit of a life on stage, a singer without legs confronts exploitation and imposter syndrome as she chases her dreams. Read a review written by Entertainment & Media Fellow Gina DeRyke: A Different Perspective: “View From the Floor” Challenges Disability Narratives.
Witness (Short Film Competition)
Screening in-person June 20 and online June 20-27
A revered small-town imam faces a crisis of faith when he must choose between upholding the values of his mosque or protecting the safety and spiritual belonging of a trans man congregant. Director/Producer Radha Mehta is Hard of Hearing and an alumna of the Disability Belongs Entertainment Lab. Read a review written by Entertainment & Media Fellow Gina DeRyke: Radha Mehta and Her Team Explore Identity and Acceptance in New Short Film “Witness.”
