Gina Davis Bentonville Film Festival Jury Ensemble (Exclusive)

The Gina Davis Bentonville Film Festival has announced its jury for four film competitions this year: Best Narrative, Best Documentary, Best Short Film and Best Episode.

The eighth edition of Bentonville will feature former Sundance programmer and film and television producer Bird Runningwater, director and producer Shrihari Sathe and a stranger inside Actress Yolonda Ross is a candidate for a narrative film competition. On the documentary front, the jury is formed by independent producer Karin Chien, CUSP Film director Isabel Bettencourt and Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated actress Shore Aghdashlu.

“We are delighted to welcome this year’s distinguished jury to the BFF community. We look forward to sharing our diverse programming with them as they take the time to award each category with outstanding projects.” Gene Davis, president of the Bentonville Film Foundation, in a statement.

On the other hand, the episodic television competition will have a jury made up of independent producer Effie Brown, director Kitao Sakura and filmmaker Liz Cárdenas. When evaluating a short film contest Tolet Directed by Justin Bateman, Inspire Justice co-founder JLove Calderon and film producer Alex Schmider.

The Bentonville Hybrid Festival will take place in person this year June 22-26 in Bentonville, Arkansas and virtually June 22-July 3.

“When we select our employees, it is as important as choosing the schedule to accurately present our mission and core values. “We are very proud that this year’s outstanding panel of judges reflects the world we live in, and everyone is doing their part to ensure our screens do the same,” said Wendy Guerrero, president of the Bentonville Film Festival.