Ozark Foothills FilmFest Receives NEA Challenge America Grant Award (Posted by Ginger Smith)
Ozark Foothills FilmFest, Inc. to Receive $10,000 Grant
from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $30 million in grants as part of the NEA’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is a Challenge America grant of $10,000 to Ozark Foothills FilmFest, Inc. for the 16th Annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest in Batesville, Arkansas. The Challenge America category supports primarily small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.
“The arts are for all of us, and by supporting projects such as the Ozark Foothills FilmFest, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer.”
The 16th Annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest will take place April 14-15 and April 21-22 at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. Highlights include “Reel Rural: Rural America in Independent Film,” a series of screenings and filmmaker panel discussion exploring depictions of small town and rural communities in independently-produced narrative films. The festival will also continue its tradition of incorporating a live performance element into the festival line-up. The 2017 event will be a screening of Yakona, a SXSW Visions Audience Award winning film, with live music accompaniment by Justin Sherburn, composer of the original film score, and members of the classical ensemble Montopolis.
“With nary a word of narration and only one explanatory onscreen title at the very end, the hybrid documentary Yakona tells a captivating story through a rich blend of sound and image. As the story of the San Marcos River in Central Texas, it’s one of extraordinary beauty, ancient culture, rare species and endangered ecosystems . . . The outstanding camerawork, both aboveground and underwater, showcases an astounding array of turtles, lizards and insects, and reveals an assortment of plumed inhabitants that would be any birdwatcher’s delight . . . The strong visuals are enhanced by Justin Hennard’s artfully layered sound design and Justin Sherburn’s impressively varied score.” –Sheri Linden, hollywoodreporter.com
The complete line-up for the 16th Annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest will be available at www.ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org on or before March 1. Announcements leading up to the festival will be posted at www.facebook.org/OzarkFoothillsFilmFest
