Little Rock Festivals

Sad news for film fans: The Little Rock Film Festival is over after nine years.

This announcement appeared today on the festival's website:

After 9 great years, each one bigger and arguably better than the last, The Little Rock Film Festival is retiring.

We are proud of the Arkansas filmmaking community that we have helped to inspire and promote, and pleased to have brought hundreds of the top independent filmmakers from around the World to Central Arkansas each year to share their work directly with audiences.

Along the way, we were able to show off our beautiful city and state, and provide the kind of cultural entertainment we believe is essential for a city like Little Rock, to attract and retain the young people it needs to prosper and compete.

Thank you to the sponsors, festivalgoers, filmmakers and volunteers who have been a part of this fantastic ride. We love you all.

Fund-raising had long been a challenge to creating a permanent organization. Gabe Gentry resigned as the festival's director earlier this year. The founders, filmmakers Brent and Craig Renaud, have increasingly turned their attention to major national projects. The last festival was in May.

The LRFF was long run largely, sometimes entirely, by volunteer staff. By contrast, the Arkansas Literary Festival has a full-time paid director and Riverfest has a permanent staff to plan that event (and it's announced a restructuring this year to right finances.)