The Idle Class Film Issue 2025 by The Idle Class

THE IDLE CLASS

The Film Issue

WRITING - 8

The Swiftie Syllabus: Dear Reader takes a deep dive into the literary world of Taylor Swift

ART - 10-11

Keys to the Kingdom: Unlocking the world of Daniel Mark Cassity

FILM - 16-17

Telling Lives: Ethics, Art & Authenticity in True Crime Storytelling.

FILM - 20-21

Natural State of Cinema: Joe Bob Briggs Reflects on His Favorite Arkansas Films

FILM - 22-23

How the West Was Redone: Gazing into Tony Tost’s America

FILM - 28-30

Scenes from a Life on Screen: Actress Raeden Greer redefines her role as a filmmaker

FILM - 31-38

Filmmakers We Love: Brief Conversations with Arkansas’ Rising Stars

THE TEAM Publisher

+ Editor

Kody Ford

Assistant Editor

Rachel Farhat

Contributors

Cade Bethea

Whit Bishop

Sarah Coleman

Kelsey Ferguson

Alexander King

Will Newton

Shannon Padilla

Brandon Payton

Mike Poe

Kasten Searles

Al Topich

The Film Issue

Kat Wilson

Isabella Wisinger

Cover

“Best Not to Think About It” by Daniel Mark Cassity

Layout

Kody Ford

From unforgettable live music to handcrafted cocktails with friends looking over the Bentonville skyline, the Momentary is the perfect place to get away this season—or get inspired.

PINE BLUFF

Strange Awakening by Brian Wolf Through Nov. 15, 2025

The ARTSpace on Main, 623 S. Main St., Pine Bluff Gallery hours: By appointment artx3.org/exhibitions/brian-wolf-strange-awakening

Strange Awakening, Brian Wolf’s latest body of work, is the culmination of self-discovery, acceptance and artistic transformation that began in 2023. Wolf is an artist and graphic designer who lives in North Little Rock. Since 2021, Wolf has been exploring symbolic imagery and abstraction using a variety of media. His primary media has recently shifted from acrylic painting to drawing, printmaking, and sculpture. Sponsored by the Kline Family Foundation.

LITTLE ROCK

Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina

Oct. 3, 2025 - Jan. 11, 2026 Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) arkmfa.org

AMFA presents Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina in the Harriet and Warren Stephens Galleries. The result of more than five years of development, it marks the first-ever pairing of these pioneering mid-20th-century female artists. The exhibition brings together nearly 80 pieces, including sculptures, paintings, collages, jewelry, and rarely exhibited personal artifacts such as clothing and accessories that illuminate both artists’ practices.

This landmark pairing illuminates how these pioneering artists revolutionized American modernism through their innovative approaches to sculpture, design, and personal identity. As Eastern European Jewish immigrants who rose to prominence in the male-dominated art world of mid-century New York, both Nevelson and Slobodkina challenged artistic conventions while creating distinctly personal visual languages that continue to influence contemporary art and design. The exhibition presents Nevelson’s monumental sculptures, built from architectural fragments and found materials, alongside both artists’ iconic wardrobes—marking the first time in exhibition history that either artist’s clothing and accessories will be displayed with their artwork—in dialogue with Slobodkina’s groundbreaking abstract paintings and mixed media works. This unprecedented pairing demonstrates how both artists transformed their artistic visions into powerful statements of identity.

EVENTS STATE around the

FAYETTEVILLE

Fayetteville Film Fest

Sept. 18-21, 2025 Fayetteville Public Library fayettevillefilmfest.org

The Fayetteville Film Festival will ignite your passion this September! Jump into a vibrant three-day showcase of local, national, and global films from diverse genres. Elevate your craft through dynamic workshops, engaging panel discussions, intimate Q&A sessions with filmmakers, special performances and exclusive networking events. Expand your film literacy, unleash your creative capacity, forge lasting industry connections and join a community dedicated to transforming dreams into cinematic reality!

BENTONVILLE

Artistic Triumphs of Survivors (Show Us Your Story)

Oct. 17, 2025 - 6:30 pm

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art - Great Hall crystalbridges.org

Join the NWA Center for Sexual Assault and Crystal Bridges as they amplify the voices and stories of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.Experience profound and meaningful artworks created by survivors in collaboration with My-T-By Design and the Creative Community Center. The evening will feature powerful performances, moving music, and celebrations, including the presentation of the Beacon of Hope Award to Nate Walls Jr. Enjoy beautiful artwork, stirring performances and plenty of drinks and light refreshments throughout this impactful evening. Free, but registration required.

Illuminated Reach by Brian Wolf

Nevelson

LITTLE ROCK + NORTH LITTLE ROCK

10th Annual ACANSA Arts Festival of the South Sept. 4-20, 2025

acansa.org

The ACANSA Arts Festival of the South is returning to Central Arkansas for its decennial celebration. For three consecutive weekends from Thursday, September 4th to Saturday, September 20th, the visual and performing arts festival will expose the community to compelling and cultural art and encourage conversations around the enriching impact of artistic access within the region.

Showcases will feature world-class music, dance and theater performances from across the country at beloved venues in Little Rock and North Little Rock, including Acansa Gallery, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Morgan Hall, Argenta Contemporary Theatre, Birdies, CALS Ron Robinson Theater, The Hall, UA-PTC CHARTS Theater and the Venue at the Westwind. Among the festival’s ticketed events are several free occasions in the Argenta Arts District such as the Family Arts Day on September 13th and the Hispanic Heritage Festival on September 20th.

Additionally, the 2nd Friday Art Night in Little Rock on September 12th and the Argenta Arts District 3rd Friday Art Walk on September 19th will coincide with the festival. Both visual arts events are free to the public. The Acansa Gallery, in partnership with Potluck and Poison, will also feature a solo exhibition of original art by former UALR faculty member Delita Martin, who founded Black Box Press Studio in Houston, Texas. The free gallery will remain open until October 11th.

In addition to a stellar lineup of performances and events, each ACANSA Festival commissions a visual artist to create the festival’s signature art. This year’s commissioned artist is narrative artist Robert Bean of RB Fine Arts who will be auctioning his original work throughout the festival. Bean, currently a fellow and facilitator of the Mid-America Arts Alliance Artist INC program, is a former fine arts faculty member at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a former department chair of painting and drawing at the

Windgate Art School of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

Individual tickets range from $10 to $50. Festival Gold Passes, which include exclusive perks and provide access to all ticketed events, are priced at $250. Students aged 18 and under receive free entry to the festival’s ticketed events.

The festival, whose inaugural celebration commenced in 2014, is hosted by ACANSA of North Little Rock, an organization committed to sponsoring and hosting events, galleries and shows to support the arts in Central Arkansas. The organization’s moniker is derived from the Quapaw term for “southern place,” according to the organization’s website. The nonprofit was founded by Little Rock-based art enthusiast Charlotte Gadberry after visiting an art festival in South Carolina, which inspired her to start the ACANSA Arts Festival of the South. — Will Newton

DELITA MARTIN

THE FUNKANITES

hispanic heritage ballet

The Swiftie Syllabus

Dear Reader takes a deep dive into the literary world of Taylor Swift.

WORDS / KODY FORD + CADE BETHEA

No artist in the 21st century has dominated the cultural zeitgeist like Taylor Swift. She tops the charts, she fills the tabloids, she commands an army of millions of fans. Her staying power goes beyond just an infectious pop melody or a catchy hook. Swift’s ascendance into a cultural icon has been driven by her multi-layered songwriting more so than her very public love life, although they certainly inform each other. She’s lasted beyond pop trends and has shaped eras.

Little Rock resident Viktoria Capek has turned obsessive fandom into a class on Swift’s literary allusions, which is now making its way to the world in book form. Dear Reader: An Immersive Literary Journey Through Taylor Swift’s Lyrics turns Capek’s popular ten-week class on the songwriter’s vast catalog into a deep dive on each song’s literary theme through creative prompts, thoughtful questions, and space to doodle, write or reflect—transforming it into a personal diary. Set for release in September 2025 by Watkins Publishing, Dear Reader is a must-have for any true fan.

Capek’s is a self-confessed Swiftie, who’s bona fides can be found in a studio recording of “You Belong to Me” she made at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania when she was just 11 years old. She held onto the CD, but keeps it close to the chest. “Thank God Tay is the singer and not me. I’m definitely more of a words person,” she said. She really connected with Swift’s music during the Speak Now era, an album which found it’s inspiration from Capek’s favorite band, Paramore.

Over the years, Capek spent hours listening to Swift’s music, picking apart lyrics and melodies in songs like “Champagne Problems” and “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus.” Around the time Midnights dropped, Capek and her now wife, Whitney, would spend time discussing their theories about Swift’s music. Capek decided to devote one of her final grad school paper’s on an analysis of Midnights through a queer and historic lens.

This sent her on a deep dive where she noticed the theme of duality in the video for “Anti-Hero”—Taylor the Person vs. Taylor the Brand. As a long-time theater kid, Capek cites The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde as her favorite play. In this work, the main character invents a fake companion named Mr. Bunbury and he uses this person as a way to avoid social obligations, claiming he must take care of Mr. Bunbury, but in turn, goes out for an evening of debauchery. She saw parallels to Wilde’s play in Swift’s song.

“It led me down this path of ‘Well, I know Taylor is a huge literary nerd’ because we are seeing like her blatant references to Romeo & Juliet, The Great Gatsby and The Crucible—all of these classic stories she’s talked about before. So, I started going down a rabbit hole of: Are there maybe other literary references? Am I seeing other parallels between Taylor’s work and the themes that I saw in some of the books I read growing up? And the short answer is yes—I saw a lot of it.” she said.

For a year and a half, Capek obsessively elaborated on her literary theories,

chronicling them in a spreadsheet and discussing them with her partner. Eventually, she approached Beth Quarles, owner of Paper Hearts Bookstore in Little Rock, about teaching a class on literary theory and the music of Taylor Swift aptly called “Dear Reader.” Word got out and Swifties began enrolling in the ten-week course, both in-person and remotely.

Before the class began, the Arkansas Times ran an article that was picked up by Publisher’s Weekly newsletter. Suddenly, Capek received a message from literary agent Amy Collins, of Miller Bowers Griffen, asking if Capek had considered writing a book on the subject. She hadn’t, but they quickly drafted a book proposal, which found its way to the desk of Ella Chapell, an editor at Watkins Publishing in the UK. The publishing house was smitten with the idea and convinced Capek to sign on. Watkins recruited illustrator Holly Farndell to bring the work to life visually. Meanwhile, the course had been a smashing success. Now, Capek moved on to the next phase—taking it worldwide.

She said, “Fast forward to May 2025, I got to hold an advance physical copy of the book, Dear Reader: A Immersive Journey through Taylor Swift’s Lyrics, that came from a crazy idea in my head—a grad school project, an obsession, a passion to talk about with my partner, a class where I reached hundreds. And now, a book that is going to reach Taylor Swift fans everywhere around the world.”

Author Viktoria Capek attending the Eras Tour.

Forward: Politics, Social Conflict, and the Racial Divide in the Art of Kevin Cole THROUGH SEPT. 6

Keys To The KINGDOM

Unlocking the world of Daniel Mark Cassity.

WORDS / SARAH COLEMAN

Photo by Whit Bishop

Photo by DMC

Creating is a means of storytelling, or in the case of Hot Springs-based fine artist Daniel Mark Cassity, it has become a form of story-suggesting. As a free thinker and fierce individualist, Cassity doesn’t just create visual stories, but entire worlds through his work.

“I seldom concern myself with popular trends and have no interest in following others. I have a singular vision and clarity,” Cassity said. “If my work is appreciated as fresh or original, I suspect it’s for that very reason.”

Inspired by who he was as an 8-year-old with an irrepressible maker’s spirit, Cassity has unintentionally become a still life specialist, with a unique style spawning from his commitment to not just fine art, but also to writing fiction, dabbling in songwriting and recording. Classically trained, Cassity committed himself to self-educating in many aspects. He said he would not be the visual story-suggester that he is today if not for the time he took to develop as a writer.

“For me, still life was not about the typical fruit bowl, but rather an arena to explore artistic ideas. I hope to demonstrate that still life can be exciting and vibrant. It’s about symbolism and metaphor, of course, but I specifically responded to the storytelling element,” Cassity said, likening the process of producing a painting to that of playing with objects as a kid.

With a lack of brush strokes, Cassity’s works in their final forms have become unique and wildly recognizable. “The Kingdom,” his most identifiable series, was inspired by his wife’s son, who folded an origami dragon from a hamburger wrapper. The origami dragon was eventually placed on a pine board along with two matchsticks and a wine bottle, leading to the creation of “Torches, Tower, and Dragon,”

the first painting created for “The Kingdom.”

He said, “We find origami represented in still life paintings, sure, usually in a predictable way, but Origami Dragons are mine. Generally speaking, I am presenting a representation of physical reality sprinkled with implied fantasy.”

Cassity refers to “The Kingdom” as his imaginary world, with each painting becoming its own world, accompanied by a brief passage of fiction, “Tales from The Kingdom,” which gives viewers insight into the artist’s perspective of each painting.

“As a visual storyteller, but one who has also written short fiction and produced recordings, I have a real kinship with filmmakers, and suspect cinematographers might appreciate my compositions, and use of light and shadow,” Cassity said. “I motivate myself with the reality that I am competing with filmmakers - and every other creative - for viewer attention, so I better bring the thunder, right? I take that very seriously. I intend to present artwork that is satisfying to the viewer, rewarding them for their time.”

Over the next decade, Cassity intends to squeeze everything he can from the still life genre as he “...might even turn it upside down and shake it.” Specifically, Cassity will continue with his stipple glazing techniques, dynamic treatment of edges, origami dragons, “luminous” shadows, created props, alternative lighting and his imagination. Cassity, along with his wife Diana, has cultivated and enjoyed the creative environment of Hot Springs. The couple welcomes visitors to their studios.

DANIELMARKCASSITY.COM IG @DANIELMARKCASSITY

PG 10: (Clockwise) “The Silent Service,” “Brawl of the Century,” “One Night in Arkansas: The Kingdom Reinvaded,” “One Night in Arkansas: The Kingdom Reinvaded” Studio Setup, and Daniel Mark Cassity at his studio in Hot Springs BELOW: “Keeper of the Flame” + “I’ll Do ANYTHING for Your Attention!”

WILD LENS

The Rise of Outdoor Adventure Filmmaking in Arkansas

WORDS / KELSEY FERGUSON

There’s something sacred about making outdoor films in Arkansas. Maybe it’s the way the light shifts through the trees after a rain. Maybe it’s the stillness of a gravel road before a race begins. Or maybe it’s just that out here, stories feel a little more grounded - and a little more alive.

In the past few years, I’ve noticed more filmmakers in our state turning their cameras toward wild places to tell stories rooted in the outdoors and rich with humanity. These aren’t just adrenaline-fueled action reels. They’re portraits of people pushing limits, reclaiming joy, and forging connections with the landscape, with their community, and with themselves. Let’s get to know a few budding outdoor adventurists and filmmakers here in the Natural State.

Shifting the Culture

In Fayetteville, filmmaker Daniel Mitchell of BLK ELK is giving a voice to those who haven’t traditionally felt heard in the outdoor industry. “As a Black filmmaker, I’m especially drawn to stories about Black, Brown, and Indigenous people exploring the modern outdoor world while deepening their cultural roots,” Mitchell says. “Documentary projects feed that inherent craving to learn more about other people and their life experiences. It’s the ultimate form of people watching.”

His newest short film “Jaunt” blends mountain biking with

motor sports and original music, creating a “shreddit” with a new perspective that celebrates rhythm, movement, and identity. “Jaunt” showcases the talent of local riding legend Justice “Jax” Berry, safari-style Porsche builder 944 Safari, and local musical artist A Dark Skinned Ghost. Mitchell’s filmmaking process, like his stories, runs deep. He builds ideas in long-form pre-production, with equal attention to creative vision and logistical execution.

“I think most people are genuinely shocked when they discover how much time we spend in pre-production,” he says. “We spend days or even weeks forming an idea. For us, major milestones include completing the deck, acquiring funding, locking in logistics, production, editing, and then executing a well thought out release campaign - or taking the film on tour for a year with festivals.”

Plus, like so many of us, he’s found that sometimes the most powerful moments aren’t planned. While reviewing drone footage from the Rockies, he discovered an eagle swooping down to catch a fish - a shot so perfect it stunned the crew. “My drone pilot didn’t even know he’d captured it,” Mitchell laughs. “Those surprises in the edit… that’s the magic.”

His next film, “Thundah,” tells the story of his father’s running journey out of the Jim Crow South. It’s a love letter, a legacy, and a film that, like so much of Mitchell’s work,

“Doom

invites audiences to reconsider whose stories are told - and how.

Archiving the Offbeat

Then there’s Jonathan Childs, a Little Rock filmmaker who’s been crafting outdoor stories with a quirky, human lens for years. After editing over 100 short docs for The Oxford American’s SoLost series and NPR, Childs pivoted toward stories rooted in endurance, community, and bucking conventionality.

Childs thrives in the offbeat. He’s drawn to the oddballs, the overlooked, and the edge-of-the-map types. His latest short, “Doom & Despair,” is about the Ozark Gravel Doom. This ultra-endurance bike race spans 390 miles of brutal backcountry. The film is currently finding success on the film festival circuit for its wit, grit, and the characters who attempt to complete a seemingly impossible mission.

“I’m really interested in stories that aren’t just off the beaten path, but have characters that are off the beaten path, too,” Childs reflects.

To produce a backcountry film like “Doom,” Childs leveraged the support and feedback of family and friends. “I’m always grateful to finish a project because of the friends I get to make along the way,” he remarks. For Childs, the hardest part is actually starting. “Once I get moving, I’m along for the ride,” he says. “It’s like a river - once you’re in, you’ve got to go with the current. Oh, and cortados. Cortados help a lot.”

Up next for Childs: going back to his roots with the Arkansas Climbers Coalition and possibly trying his hand at narratives. “It’s kind of funny,” he says. “I’ve got the most experience personally with rock climbing. We’re in the initial stages of pre-production. I’ve also got a short narrative fiction piece I’d like to shoot this summer. Is that bad? Am I bad?”

A River Runs Through It

Dr. Benjamin Garner, a marketing professor and filmmaker based in Conway, recently completed Arkansas Wild: The Story of Trout Tourism on the Little Red River, a feature documentary that aired nationally on PBS. The film blends fly fishing, local tourism, and river conservation, all told through the lens of someone who grew up fishing the Little Red and wanted to explore its story in full.

“For me, documentary film is a more creative way to tell stories, explore culture, and then share that with the public,” Garner says. “It’s a way to have a strong community impact.”

That impact comes hard-won. Garner self-funded the film after economic downturns and PBS’s strict funding guidelines limited his options. And because he filmed much of it solo, he had to rig camera gear to a fishing boat himself, navigating oars, exposure settings, sound levels, and sunrise light changes, all while casting for brown trout over his non-dominant shoulder to avoid knocking gear into the river. Somehow, it worked. “That’s one of the audience’s favorite sequences,” he says. “And yes, we caught a brown trout on camera.”

The resulting authenticity—misty river sunrises, the grins of guides netting a catch—is what makes outdoor documentaries so compelling. Despite working solo in remote places, Garner produced a film polished enough for a national television audience. “One of the cool things is that I’ve learned how to distribute these documentaries at the national level,” he says, after successfully partnering with the National Educational Television Association to send his film to PBS stations across the country.

In fact, his previous doc aired over 380 times in more than 30 states, and Arkansas Wild is on track for a similar reach. It’s proof that an independent Arkansas filmmaker with a dream (and a sturdy pair of waders) can achieve far more than just a pretty fishing video.

ABOVE:

& Despair”

BELOW: Arkansas Wild / LEFT: BLK ELK shooting “Jaunt” All photos submitted.

Returning to her Roots

Bentonville-based Allyson de la Houssaye spent years behind the camera for giants like National Geographic, A&E, and The History Channel. Her recent work marks a salient return to her roots.

“Outdoor recreation, the State of Arkansas, and storytelling sit at the intersection of what I’m most passionate about,” she says, “so it felt natural to bring those elements together.” Her debut feature documentary, Ridge to River, follows nine cyclists on a 472-mile ride from the rugged Ozarks to the Delta flatlands. It’s an epic, grueling adventure and a quiet reckoning.

“Along the way, riders learn of Arkansas’s layered history: tracing the Trail of Tears in four different locations, visiting the historic Arkansas Post, the Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Center, and Arkansas City — a Delta town where a few remarkable individuals are fighting to preserve their community against the backdrop of a familiar Southern narrative,” de la Houssaye remarks.

Surprisingly, during the research process for Ridge to River, de la Houssaye

unearthed her own family’s layered history. “One of the riders, my husband, had deeper Arkansas roots than we ever knew,” she recalls. “We’d always believed his family was from Louisiana, but as I worked with historians, I found out that his ancestors had originally settled near Arkansas Post. We waited until he arrived at the post to share with him that one of his descendants had been a Commandant there, and that his family cemetery was just around the corner.”

What unfolded on-screen was a moment more powerful than a script: the realization that the story he thought he was witnessing was one he’d been part of all along.

The hardest part of filmmaking for de la Houssaye? Just saying yes. “We’re so quick to find the reasons why not, instead of the reasons why.”

The Path Ahead

Arkansas filmmakers are carving space for those who don’t always see themselves reflected in mainstream adventure films. They’re inviting new voices into the wild. They’re reminding us that good stories don’t have to come from faraway destinations. Sometimes, they come from a backcountry gravel road, a bend in the river, or that conversation we finally had with our dad. They’re sparking action to preserve the future of our state.

“For legislators and representatives, this might mean taking steps to protect all of Arkansas’ natural resources,” says Garner.

Outdoor documentary filmmaking is still an emerging genre here, and it’s laying the foundation for a lasting practice. We don’t yet have a booming industry. We have storytellers in it for the long haul: people who believe that this place, layered and resilient, deserves to be seen in full light. As de la Houssaye puts it, “We’re entrusted with people’s greatest possessions: their stories. We have a responsibility to honor and share them.”

Behind the scenes of filming Ridge to River.

Pop-up Screenings Are

Transforming Arkansas into a Year-round Cinema Hub

CINEMA I/O

Little Rock IG: @cinema_io cinemaio.org

Cinema I/O is a nomadic, nonprofit microcinema currently housed at Good Weather in Little Rock’s East End (420 Byrd St.). Its name is short for “input/output,” reflecting its mission: to foster community engagement through diverse film programming that inspires creative action and dialogue. It focuses on underrepresented and underseen films, screening independent, international, arthouse, and occasionally classic titles you won’t find at the local multiplex.

Cinema I/O grew out of the monthly Arkansas Times Film Series and has quickly become a gathering point for cinephiles, students, and new residents hungry for a vibrant film scene. “We’re trying to fill a niche for an audience of enthusiasts that we think is currently underserved,” says programmer Omaya Jones. Jones is one of a passionate team that upholds the nonprofit through volunteer work and impeccable taste.

WORDS / RACHEL FARHAT

It’s a common misconception that film only thrives in Los Angeles, but in Arkansas, a film renaissance has been unfolding across parks, libraries, universities, galleries and pop-up spaces. From microcinemas in Little Rock to outdoor screenings in Fayetteville, these ongoing film series reflect a community-driven passion for cinema that goes far beyond Hollywood.

These aren’t just summer blockbusters under the stars. They’re year-round programs curated by artists, educators and film lovers dedicated to expanding what’s possible for local audiences.

NWA FILM CLUB

Northwest Arkansas

IG: @nwafilmclub nwafilm.club

The Northwest Arkansas Film Club collaborates with local businesses, venues, and artists to host pop-up movie events from Fayetteville to Bentonville. Founded by David Hamernick, the club has carved out a space for “beautifully weird little oddities, under-seen hidden gems, and movies made with a lot of heart—but not always a lot of budget.” Anything from sleazy ‘70s Italian crime flicks to campy B-horror, Hong Kong cult cinema, and beyond.

One of the club’s biggest draws is the crowd it attracts: “You can expect everyone from college-aged movie enthusiasts to cinema lovers in their golden years,” Hamernick says. “It’s a great way to meet new people.” Events often feature interactive elements, such as film-themed bingo or live performances before the screening.

Despite juggling a full-time job and other life responsibilities, Hamernick says the club has grown into something people genuinely look forward to. “I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

TELLING LIVES

Ethics, Art & Authencity in True Crime Storytelling.

WORDS / RACHEL FARHAT

True crime is an avenue through which viewers seek thrills, justice, mystery, and paradoxically, comfort. But the stories we consume so casually are built with painstaking care. Behind every episode or film is a team deciding what to reveal, what to hold back, and how to tell someone else’s tragedy without turning it into spectacle.

In projects like Peacock’s Southern Fried Lies and Investigation Discovery’s The Murder Tapes, Arkansas isn’t just the backdrop - it’s part of the story. For Arkansas-native filmmakers Gabe Mayhan and Jonathan Bryant Crawford, and researcher Paige Murphy, telling true crime with care means honoring place, resisting cliché, and grappling with the ethical weight of real lives and losses.

One story, Southern Fried Lies, is an Arkansas-based true crime documentary that’s gained national recognition. The idea was conceived by Mayhan whose cinematography credits span several acclaimed projects. The inspiration for Southern Fried Lies came through an unlikely source: a friend who worked as a lawyer and knew of the bizarre twists embedded in an old Arkansas case. “With all the twists and turns and wild plot points, it was clear from the beginning it would be an amazing story,” Mayhan recalls.

The project’s team was assembled through a patchwork of professional friendships including fellow Arkansas native and director Rachel Reid Holbrook and his producing partner Crawford, who recognized the story’s potential early on. “When Gabe and Rachel showed me the tape of Donna [Herring], it was clear they had a main character,” Crawford says.

From the beginning, the creators were adamant that Arkansas wouldn’t just be a backdrop—it would be a character in its own right. Too often, places like the American South are flattened into cliché, something the team was determined to avoid. “I can’t stand it when Southern culture becomes a

trope, because I’m Southern and I take offense to it,” Mayhan says.

Mayhan’s Arkansas roots and academic history lent themselves to a deep familiarity with Camden, Arkansas, the setting of the story. This familiarity became a visual compass for the project. “One of the driving visual forces was the isolation,” he said. “How tall the pine trees are can be overbearing. The blue-green shadows have an inherent darkness. That’s how we wanted to frame that world — the overgrown, thick, wooded, secret vibe of south Arkansas. It’s a forgotten part of the country, because there’s not much out there besides lumber and oil. It has a feeling of lawlessness to it. We wanted to find a way to convey that.”

Mayhan credits his aesthetic sensibilities to a diverse set of works, including Amélie, The Great Gatsby and HBO’s Carnivàle, which blend stylized visuals with grounded storytelling. The team allowed Donna, the story’s magnetic center, to shape the emotional texture of the piece. “We wanted it to feel kind of dark and scary,” Mayhan explained, “and she brought the humor and pastoral queen vibe to it. People watch SFL because of the way Donna is and how she talks,” Mayhan adds. “That character really sets the scene way more.”

Still, the Southern Fried team walked a careful line between artistic license and ethical boundaries. Creating compelling true crime content means grappling with the real consequences of retelling tragedy for anyone working in this line of storytelling. For Murphy, whose research producer credits include true crime shows like The Murder Tapes, that responsibility remains at the forefront of her mind.

While most think of research as wholly objective and void of emotion, Murphy must balance objectivity with sensitivity to those she encounters. Equally important to her role as a researcher is to preserve the dignity of the bereaved. She acknowledges the moral gray area

in using real-world tragedy for storytelling: “Some family members jump at the chance to speak about their loved one, and it feels good to give them that opportunity. Because I’m in Research, I have no creative control over the final episode, so the best I can do is be as transparent as possible with the law enforcement and family members I speak with, and be available to address their questions or concerns,” she says. She believes that, although the subject matter is undeniably sensitive, the work can serve a greater purpose. To her, the most compelling true crime stories are “ones that center the victim(s), their loved ones, and/or shed light on people or issues that don’t get a lot of attention.”

The tension between captivating storytelling and honest representation is something Mayhan wrestles with too. “I honestly feel like Southern Fried Lies is sensationalism… But we were truthful, we told what was there.”

Crawford echoed this ethos, describing the documentary’s storytelling approach as one rooted in shared memory and blurred lines. “It’s almost like a collective history where the truth in fiction is nearly as interesting as the fact,” he explains. In small Southern towns, gossip and myth take on the weight of folklore. They become vessels of shared grief.

Rather than relying on overly dramatized sequences, Southern Fried Lies leans into the everyday spaces that hold meaning: pawn shops, kitchen tables and beauty salons. These familiar settings reinforce the documentary’s grounded perspective and reflect the lived-in texture of Camden itself.

In the end, these creators invest not just in retelling the story, but also in honoring the culture and people that shaped it.

Crawford sums up their approach best: “At the end of the day, we just love listening to people tell their story and are hopeful folks enjoy hearing them as much as we do.”

“I can’t stand it when Southern culture becomes a trope, because I’m Southern and I take offense to it.” — Gabe Mayhan, Executive Producer & Director of Photography for Southern Fried Lies

TOP: A highway marker where Camden native Matt Jacobs passed away tragically in a carwreck. Jacobs’ will is at the center of Southern Fried Lies.

BOTTOM: Southern Fried Lies director of photography + executive producer Gabe Mayhan interviews the show’s subject Donna Herring.

SCENE STEALERS

Cinematographers break down the one shot that lives rent-free in their minds.

CALEB WALL

I Am a Wrestler - Directed by Paul Walter Hauser

Great movies don’t just tell stories—they show them. Through lighting, framing, and camera movement, cinematographers use visuals to guide emotion and shape how we experience each scene.

From the golden age of film to today’s digital era, the tools may have changed, but the heart of the craft remains the same. Whether it’s Roger Deakins capturing vast, quiet landscapes or Rachel Morrison lighting a tense conversation with subtle shadows, these artists use their cameras to speak without words.

In this section, we asked working cinematographers to share their favorite shot in a film and explain what makes it unforgettable.

A sports documentary following actor Paul Walter Hauser’s journey into the world of professional wrestling. This globe-trotting film showcases the rich and eclectic culture of pro wrestling as Paul taste-tests the entire "buffet" the wrestling world has to offer. Can he win over the wrestling community the same way he's won over Hollywood?

Shot on the Sony FX3 with the Sony 24-70mm G Master II lens, paired with a Tiffen Black Pro Mist 1/8 filter.

The reason I love this shot is because it solidifies why I love making documentaries. Nonfiction filmmaking demands you be emotionally present with your subject to anticipate, not orchestrate. As soon as Paul hit the three-count and won his first title, I knew the moments that followed would be pivotal. I sprinted from ringside to backstage and found Paul surrounded by friends and supporters, his adrenaline still pumping, but his eyes somewhere else in a quiet, reflective space of disbelief and fulfillment. I dropped to his eye level and hit record.

The shot that came from that moment isn’t beautiful because of its composition or lighting. It’s beautiful because it’s honest. Documentary cinematography at its best is instinctive, intimate, and invisible.

CHRIS CHURCHILL

“JJ” - Directed by Mark Thiedeman

In “JJ,” releasing in late 2025, Strapped for cash in a declining industrial town, two young men perform in an amateur adult video, bringing up repressed feelings that may jeopardize their lifelong friendship. The camera used is a Blackmagic URSA 12k Pro with vintage Tokina and Nikon lenses

Mark Thiedeman (writer and director of “JJ”) and I began discussing this shot really early in preproduction, before the script was locked. Usually, when I hear “overhead of characters lying on bed,” I kind of roll my eyes. It’s a shot that I’ve done a dozen times and it’s always a bugger. It’s an awkward camera angle, it can be challenging to light, and it rarely yields anything particularly interesting. There are also significant safety concerns when you’re hanging a 30-pound camera above your actors. But, I think, in this instance, we did a great job. The shot is a flashback from the main character, Trevor’s, memory of his best friend as their friendship was coming to an end. Mark wanted it to convey the warmth and comfort of their friendship, but layered with an element of sadness and longing. I knew as soon as we started rolling that we had something special.

To accomplish the shot, my gaffer and key grip designed a supped-up “menace arm” rig so we could safely boom our camera out over the bed. We used a special mounting platform to provide complete control over the camera's angle, regardless of where we had to place the stands. The production designer and set dresser really nailed the design, all of the fabrics and set pieces tell the story of these young men so simply yet elegantly. The lighting setup was simple: two 1200-watt HMIs outside the window, pushed through a 6x6 silk, and supplemented with some negative fill for added contrast. I think it’s one of the most memorable images of the film.

NIKOLETT KOVÁCS

“Show Pub Queen”

Directed by Ren Tsukamoto

“Show Pub Queen” follows the story of an underground Japanese performer who works at a Gentleman’s Club and aspires to be recognized for her talent, but only receives unpleasant attention from the public.

I shot this on a Blackmagic URSA 12Kwith Xeen Cine Lenses and a Pro-Mist filter.

I love this shot specifically due to its ability to show my style in one shot. It has a lot of the elements I realized I enjoy for my own work. For example, it is

JEREMY ENIS

“The Stage” - Directed by Jeremy Enis

This still is from “The Stage,” a short film I shot in 2024. The film follows an aging magician on the night of his final performance as he confronts his mortality and wrestles with the growing sense that his craft may no longer have a place in the modern world.

This moment occurs just after the reveal that he has only a few months left to live. The concept I was exploring was that the little time he has remaining is now colored by the awareness of his imminent death — symbolized by his being visually trapped on the far side of this veil of light. It’s a challenge we all face at some point: how to be fully present and live meaningfully, even in the shadow of limited time.

HALEY HILL

high in contrast, and yet a little dark, while also still maintaining those bright colors. The lighting here is unique and slightly pictorial but still believable in the space of the movie. I also like the depth created with both lighting and elements within the space itself.

This short was shot on a DSMC2 RED Dragon 6K camera with ARRI Master Anamorphic lenses — 35mm and 75mm. The only filtration used was a Tiffen Black Pro-Mist 1/8. This reference frame was captured with the 35mm lens. The lighting setup was simple: a compact package of Aputure LED lights and a small hazer (fog machine) to define the shape of the light as it passed between the curtains. I chose this wide shot not for any particularly novel or technically challenging achievement, but because it represents what I believe good cinematography should always aim to do — serve the story.

“Transpookual” - Directed by Eudora Albertson

My most recent DP project was a short film called Transpookual (2025), directed by Eudora Albertson. We shot primarily on the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro, apart from a drone shot, and a couple of other shots that we got with a Blackmagic Pocket 6k. Logline: When a trans woman, Lily, and her best friend embark on a road trip to come out to her parents, they find themselves in the middle of a madcap ghost hunting drag show on magic mushrooms.

A wacky film like this requires a lot of wacky shots, and we got plenty of those, but my favorite shot that we got for this film is when all of the craziness is stripped away at the very end, and it just becomes a story about two friends. In this scene, the protagonist is about to come out to her parents, so I wanted their house to loom behind her in the shot and make her feel small in the frame to convey her lingering nervousness. In the reverse shot, I wanted her friend to have a larger and warmer presence in frame to show that she isn’t alone. I also really love this warm, glowy lighting we were able to achieve. It feels nostalgic and heartwarming, which is what I wanted the audience to feel in that moment.

Joe Bob Brigg s’ Natural State of Cinema

From Texarkana slashers to Fort Smith grit, the famed cowboy critic of cult classics pays homage to the Arkansas films that stuck with him.

WORDS / AL TOPICH ILLUSTRATION / KASTEN SEARLES

If you grew up in the ’90s, flipping through late-night cable, chances are you stumbled across the show Monstervision. Sandwiched between infomercials and 1-900 ads, there was Joe Bob Briggs — the cowboy hat-wearing, bolo-tie-sporting redneck who introduced horror movies on TNT with a mix of wisecracks, trivia, and genuine love for B-movie mayhem. From slashers to zombie flicks to creature features, he guided viewers through the midnight muck with charm, sass, and a Lone Star Beer in hand. These days, he’s still raising hell as the host of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder, where a new generation of horror hounds is getting baptized in blood, schlock, and Southern-fried commentary.

Briggs was born in Texas, but he spent the majority of his formative years living in Arkansas. He still considers himself an Arkansan at heart and Little Rock his hometown. “The two main places that influenced my love of movies were the Heights Theatre on Kavanaugh and the Razorback Twin

Drive-In on Cantrell, where I watched dozens of movies from all genres. When I was 15 years old, the UA Cinema 150 opened on University [Avenue] with that 70-millimeter curved-screen Cinerama experience, and when they played 2001: A Space Odyssey, I remember feeling like I was truly floating in space myself.”

By the age of 13, he became a copy boy and sports writer at the Arkansas Democrat. He would go on to become an investigative reporter, a host of exploitation and horror flicks on The Movie Channel, and even a Pulitzer Prize nominee for his eyewitness coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Briggs is also a walking encyclopedia when it comes to films. His long-running, one-man show, How Rednecks Saved Hollywood, examines the history of rednecks and their contributions to Southern cinema. The show starts with the formation of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland and ends with Burt Reynolds running illegal beer in Smokey and the Bandit

Given that pedigree — part historian, part showman, part Southern-fried philosopher — it’s no surprise that Briggs has strong opinions about the films tied to his home state. “Arkansas films are about outsiders and underdogs,” he says. And when asked to name his favorites, he didn’t just give a top three. He gave eight. Below are four that stood out the most — movies that capture the weirdness, grit, and soul of Arkansas in a way only Joe Bob could appreciate.

SLING BLADE (1996) – Benton

“Whenever I watch Sling Blade, I remember attending the Arkansas Travelers games at Ray Winder Field in the sixties. Anyone from my generation probably remembers the gate in left field that opened onto the grounds of the Arkansas State Lunatic Asylum. About a half hour before every game, they’d open that gate and all the mental patients would pour into the stadium and take their seats in the left field bleachers, which were set aside for them.

“And when they came through those gates, they were always led by a patient named Willie — he had no last name as far as I knew — and Willie would run at top speed into the stadium wearing an Arkansas Travelers uniform. We were the farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals, so it looked like a Cardinals uniform. He’d take the mound and throw ten fastballs to the delight of the crowd, hitting the dead center of the catcher’s mitt almost every time. Apparently, he’d been a professional baseball player before going crazy. They didn’t do stuff like that in the North. That was a quintessential Arkansas experience, and Sling Blade captured that spirit of acceptance and understanding and love. It’s one of the greatest films to come out of Arkansas, the South, or America.”

TRUE GRIT (1969/2010) – Fort Smith

“True Grit, which I watched at the Heights in 1969, was a great film. John Wayne chewing tobacco and blasting varmints — what’s not to love? But I have to say, the Coen Brothers remake in 2010 was greater. The original is a classic Western rooted in Arkansas soil — with much of the story taking place in Fort Smith and the Indian Territory. But the Coens’ version leaned deeper into the grit, violence, and Biblical language of the source material. The remake was darker, funnier, and truer to the spirit of the South.”

A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957) – Piggott

“Filmed in Piggott and based on Budd Schulberg’s “Your Arkansas Traveler”, this might be Andy Griffith’s greatest acting achievement. It could be the best movie ever made about the dark side of American charm. Griffith, who most folks know as Sheriff Taylor, plays a washed-up drifter who becomes a national sensation — and a total monster. It’s also one of Elia Kazan’s most underrated films. Kazan spent half his career in the South and made some of the greatest movies about the region. His Southern films are almost always about the weird tension between folksy kindness and simmering danger. This is not your grandma’s Mayberry.”

THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK (1972) – Fouke THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (1976) – Texarkana

“Both were made by the great Texarkana filmmaker Charles B. Pierce, and they’re still watched and talked about today. Though both films are technically docudramas, these are Arkansas horror at its finest — and they scared the pants off kids and teens at local drive-ins. Pierce basically invented the localcreepy-legends-as-low-budgethorror formula. Boggy Creek is about the Fouke Monster — our very own Bigfoot — and it’s got this eerie, slow-burn vibe that just sticks with you. Then The Town That Dreaded Sundown took the real-life Moonlight Murders and turned them into a slasher film before slasher films were even a thing. He shot these things cheap, used locals as actors, and still managed to creep people out.”

Briggs’ honorable mentions include Boxcar Bertha — the first feature film directed by Martin Scorsese — one of several Roger Corman-produced movies filmed in Arkansas, with great performances by Barbara Hershey and David Carradine. He also name-checks White Lightning, Burt Reynolds’ first redneck role, with Ned Beatty as the evil sheriff.

There’s a rawness to Arkansas movies. They don’t sand off the rough edges. They’re proud of the weird. As Briggs likes to put it, “In the South, we talk funny, we walk funny, and we drive too fast.” But in that mess of contradictions — grit and grace, violence and heart — you find something real and honest. And that’s what keeps pulling Joe Bob back to the screen — Arkansas, in all its strange and scrappy glory.

HOW THE WEST WAS REDONE

Gazing into Tony Tost’s America.

WORDS / KODY FORD PORTRAIT / KAT WILSON

For decades, Hollywood polished a veneer over the legacy of Western expansion, churning out morality tales with archetypes like the Hero in White, the Villain in Black, the Noble Savage and the Wandering Stranger. New adventures each week where the bad guy gets his comeuppance and the cowboy rides away.

Cue: Marshall Dillon. Cue: The Lone Ranger.

Over time, those paradigms shifted and the formula evolved, embracing moral ambiguity of characters and spotlighting previously maligned Indigenous groups. The Western dominated the box office for decades and defined the cultural id of the United States in ways that still haven’t been fully unpacked. Even though Taylor Sheridan’s Saddled Up Soap Operas print money like the Federal Reserve, studios have been uneasy about funding Westerns in the modern era. Given the fickle nature of audiences, it’s a real crapshoot if you’ll end up with Django Unchained or Horizon: An American Saga at the box office. So, in an age of uncertainty, can a Western overcome the doomscrolling and streaming fatigue to touch audiences in a way they once did?

Tony Tost thinks so.

“The Western is a pretty eternal storytelling form,” he said. “Entertainment industry people in my experience come from mostly upper class, urbane backgrounds, so I think they constantly underestimate how popular the Western re-

mains. My suspicion is that it’s less a recent resurgence than just Taylor Sheridan being stubborn and powerful enough to get things like Yellowstone on the air to serve an audience that had been under-served for a while.”

The filmmaker and part-time Fayetteville resident has worked off-and-on in the genre since his first job as a writer on A&E’s Longmire, a show that redefined the genre through the lens of a modern day Wyoming Sheriff out to get his man. Tost’s own show Damnation, which ran for one season on the USA Network, showcased the struggles of the American Labor Movement during the 1930s. Needless to say, he’s been building up to something big and Western.

His debut feature film Americana stars Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Zahn McClarnon, Simon Rex and more. In Americana, the lives of local outsiders and outcasts violently intertwine when a rare Lakota Ghost shirt falls onto the black market in a small South Dakota town. This ensemble feature also blends genres by tucking the Western themes in a crime thriller structure with comedic undertones. It’s a film Tost has long wanted to make.

“I wanted to do a modern day Western in flyover territory, Tost said. “The first thing I came up with was this white kid, who’s growing up in the middle of nowhere in a trailer watching westerns. He is inspired by the Native Americans in the movie to kill his abusive stepfather. That was the seed for the whole thing.”

Growing up, Tost found himself much like the young character he envisioned - a lost, lonely kid at home watching Westerns in a rural, low-income area in Washington. He longed for a good, strong father figure, finding surrogates in Clint Eastwood and John Wayne on screen and George Strait and Johnny Cash on the radio. Western stories posed stark moral and ethical questions through the lens of weathered faces, Paint horses and arid landscapes. They pushed against his prior assumptions of what it meant to be a man.

“Westerns are a very American version of epic storytelling, folk storytelling, Greek myths,” he said. “The American West is traditionally a place outside norms of law and custom, so it’s a place to have bigger-than-life stories and characters in a setting where human nature and fate rule, as opposed to city ordinances and the logic of commerce. So much of what I both love and fear about America itself can be found in the Western: freedom, lawlessness, violence, self-reliance. I like that most characters in Westerns don’t talk about their feelings, but rather act on them. Many Westerns have huge operatic backstories involved that are just juicy and fascinating.”

Westerns sparked a broad love of cinema for Tost that continued as he attended the University of Arkansas’ Creative Writing MFA program to study poetry and later when he moved to Los Angeles to begin his career as a screenwriter. While he carried his love of films by directors like Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone, he embraced ensemble stories by the likes of Robert Altman and Paul Thomas Anderson, all of which influenced Americana in their own way.

The film’s journey to a nationwide release was not without its travails. Tost and producer Alex Saks worked diligently to get it off the ground for a few years by recruiting stars like Sweeney, Hauser, Halsey, Rex and Tost’s old Longmire pal McClarnon before pitching to studios for financing. Once the film was greenlit, Tost found production to be the easiest time in the process. He said, “I loved every second of it, and it was a lot of work. But I got lucky because of the uniformly cool cast. No assholes, no divas. Ditto on the crew. I was a first-time director, but everybody else on set was an expert in their role so that was good.”

Having served as showrunner for Damnation and most recently Peacock’s Poker Face, Tost prefers directing. He said, “It was kind of easier than showrunning because working in TV when you’re giving notes on set as a writer, producer or a showrunner, you’re almost directing the director to how you want things to go. So, when you’re directing a film, you’re cutting out the middle man.”

When Americana premiered at SXSW in 2023, Deadline declared, “Tony Tost turns the Western genre upside down.” After a solid debut, the film remained in limbo for a few years after the independent financier declared bankruptcy, delaying it until the Lionsgate release in mid-August of this year.

Breaking into the industry is a tough go for anyone, especially someone from a working class background. Tost hopes a film like Americana can bring a new perspective to the big screen. He said, “I’m hoping it’s a little bit of counter-programming because there’s not a lot of people with my small town, blue collar background who get to make films and TV shows and who unironically love Burt Reynolds movies.”

While the Smokey & The Bandit era may be long gone, Tost has managed to leave his mark on the silver screen with his directorial debut. And he did it for that kid he used to be, the one sitting at home alone gazing into the fuzzy screen of an old box television as Gary Cooper rode off into the sunset. For Tost, Westerns aren’t just a cheap cinematic rush, but remain an eternal form of storytelling.

“The great thing about Westerns is that they’re so pliable,” he said. “You can just tell a good story. Or you can use the mythic structure of the Western to handle contemporary anxieties in an exciting form. A modern day Western like Hell or High Water — one of my favorite movies — works because it not only dramatizes the modern West in an interesting way, but it also pulls the history of the West along with it in its telling. But I don’t think movies have to reflect the state of our culture, generally. I’d prefer it if more movies just focused on trying to tell an interesting story instead.”

IG: @TONYTOST

Above: Tony Tost at his home in Fayetteville. Photo by Kat Wilson. Pg. 22 - Paul Walter Hauser and Sydney Sweeney in Americana, written + directed by Tony Tost. Photo by Ursula Coyote. Courtesy of Lionsgate Films.

FEATURE LENGTH

Making a short film is tough. Making a feature film can feel impossible. We spoke with six filmmakers about their experience making the leap.

INTERVIEWS / KODY FORD

JOHN MICHAEL POWELL Violent Ends

Violent Ends is a Southern revenge thriller about starcrossed lovers set against the backdrop of the Ozark Mountains. It chronicles the life of Lucas Frost, an honest man raised in a crime family whose only legacy is violence. IFC will release the film in theaters later this year.

This was my first time working with name actors—people who’ve worked with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Greta Gerwig, Sam Mendes…and then there’s me, some guy with a little story set in Arkansas. I worried they wouldn’t respect me, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I had what it took to collaborate with such a talented cast. But I quickly learned that wasn’t the case. Not only was I up for the challenge, they were the most collaborative, supportive, and generous group of artists. They brought their wealth of experience to set and helped guide the story. They reminded me we’re all just storytellers—and that a good story is a good story.

Growing up in Arkansas, I was always inspired by the people and textures of the state. I knew that when the time came, I wanted to make a film set there. In film school, I saw David Gordon Green’s George Washington, which had premiered at Sundance a year or two prior. That film had a profound impact on me. It was the first time I became aware of a Southern filmmaker telling deeply human, distinctly Southern stories. Then, right after I finished school, Jeff Nichols released Shotgun Stories. Those two films—and David’s All the Real Girls—ignited my desire to embrace my Southern roots and tell Arkansas stories.

Abigail Before Beatrice is about an isolated woman is confronted by her past when a fellow former cult member reaches out with news that their leader has been released from prison early.

I wanted to work with one of my friends Shayn Herndon on a scene in acting class. I thought it would be fun to write something that would be challenging for both of us, and I’d had an idea floating around in my head about two women who had been in a cult. Woman A thinks she was the favorite; Woman B knows she was. So I wrote two reunion scenes: the first between the two cult women, and the second between the not-favorite and the cult leader. Both of those scenes are in the movie, almost word-for-word as they were written for us to perform in acting class.

As a writer/director/producer, I’m a very hands-on person with my films. Even if I’m not wearing the hat, I’m standing next to the hat-wearer. Every decision goes through me, so I feel comfortable taking responsibility for the good and the bad that goes into it. It’s a beautiful illusion of control in a world full of chaos. I think I’m addicted to it.

I was so lucky to have Mindy Van Kuren as a producer! She introduced me to my entire local crew. I would work with the guys from FGR and so many others again! We filmed in June, in the countryside. 100-degree weather, 100 percent humidity, 100,000 mosquitos. Looking back, I don’t know how we all stayed sane. Thank god for cold water and bug spray.

CASSIE KEET Abigail Before Beatrice

IG @kissmycassiek

IG @violentendsfilm

SeJames humphrey

Nice Guys Finish Last

Nice Guys Finish Last is about a successful financial officer finds that making money comes easy—but navigating the complexities of love and relationships proves far more challenging. Can he find “the one” in a sea of beautiful distractions? It’s currently streaming on Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Google Play, and it’s also listed on IMDb.

I’ve always wanted to write, produce, and star in my own film. I was inspired by the classics I grew up loving—films like The Best Man, Boomerang and Two Can Play That Game. I used those as blueprints and saw a gap in the current market for smart, fun Black rom-coms. I knew the audience, I knew the tone, and I believed I could step into that leading role while wearing multiple hats behind the scenes.

I was the writer, producer, lead actor, and even took on roles like line producer and location scout. I also oversaw poster artwork and wardrobe decisions. Wearing so many hats was intense, but it gave me full creative control and a deeper appreciation for every part of the filmmaking process.

One of the biggest challenges was unexpected changes to locations. For example, we lost a key set the night before a shoot due to a last-minute cleaning closure. I had to pivot quickly and secure a new location. We also had cast and crew members drop out unexpectedly—but I had backup options and a strong network that helped me fill those gaps quickly.

The entire journey was rewarding—seeing a simple idea grow into a completed film. But the most surreal moment was knowing the film made it to the desks at BET and eventually to global platforms like Tubi and Prime Video. That’s when it hit me: we really did this.

Good Time Charley follows astronomer Charley Codwell, who exposes a comet conspiracy and must redeem himself, uncover the truth and stop mass hysteria before it’s too late.

There wasn’t a single lightning-bolt moment that sparked Good Time Charley. The story revealed itself as I wrote it. I was 17 at the time — juggling school, college applications, and raising money for a movie I wasn’t sure anyone would take seriously. If I had to name one core inspiration, it’d probably be the growing cultural comfort with cruelty — especially online. The way people pile on, say the worst things imaginable, and justify it because it’s happening at scale. There’s something eerie and surreal about that kind of collective behavior. It became the emotional undercurrent of the film — people doing things they know are wrong but convincing themselves it’s normal because everyone else is doing it too.

It was the ultimate crash course — my own personal film school. I wore just about every hat: executive producer, writer, director, DP, editor, colorist and sound designer. It was by far the most intense creative undertaking I’ve ever attempted. I was working 18-hour days for weeks straight, completely immersed. That level of commitment — exhaustion, obsession, all of it — made me deeply connected to the film on an emotional level. There wasn’t a single frame I didn’t sweat over.

The goal of Good Time Charley was never to lecture, but to hold up a mirror–to spark dialogue around certain issues we’re facing right now, especially in America. When people tell me the film made them reflect or start a conversation they hadn’t had before, that’s when it feels worth it. That’s been the most rewarding part by far.

IG @sejamessr

EMILY RAILSBACK

Road Trip to Totality

Road Trip to Totality is about a woman who is convinced she’s going to die during the solar eclipse, a woman steals her husband’s fortune to film her legacy— embarking on a dog-costumed odyssey through Arkansas with a disillusioned filmmaker, a bedazzled poodle, and an alligator man who may or may not hold the answers. The film is in post production and the filmmakers are actively applying for grants for finishing funds. Because we filmed around the actual total eclipse, we had an impending deadline that we had to keep despite not having the full budget secured when entering production.

We filmed in eight days with a tiny crew. This was intentional, so we could capture impromptu improvisational moments, but at times it was incredibly challenging. Because so much was hinging on improvisation, I’d come home after filming and revise the script for the next day. Tara [Sheffer], our producer, was backing up the footage and also making the crew sandwiches for the next day’s journey. The whole experience was like a summer camp. We’d sit around dinner at night and share our highs and lows, and just keep pushing forward. We had no room for weather delays and just prayed it would be good weather—and it was.

I’ve directed many short films and a feature documentary (Our Blood Is Wine) and a feature narrative that was almost entirely improvised (American Parent). Road Trip to Totality was the first time I directed a feature film that was scripted, yet a hybrid narrative/documentary. I found how much I enjoy this form. It requires adaptability—to be open to the story that is right in front of me. I like the sense of openness from this style of working, but it’s challenging to plan for. Being able to rely on strong actors to lead this project was a huge asset, as they were helping shape the story as we went.

I think the best part of the process is realizing you have a team of people that truly supports you throughout. When you go through these crazy experiences you have the chance to realize who really has your back and true friendships can form. This is definitely how I feel towards my producer, Tara.

JASON PITTS The Forest Through the Trees

The Forest Through The Trees is a demon cult horror film. Synopsis: Chloe and her step dad, Ken are dealing with the disappearance of Kathy, Chloe’s mother and Ken’s wife. After a painful year, and with the help of Chloe’s friend Ava, they investigate a clue that leads them to a terrifying demon cult.

I have always been fascinated with Heterochromia, where a person’s eyes are different colors. One morning when I was driving to work, I started thinking about a story that centered around heterochromia. By the time I got to work, I had a rough draft of the story in my head.

I was the writer, producer, location person, etc. It was definitely tough, but I had an amazing team, and some great people in key positions so I was able to give as much focus on the performances as possible. There was a great sense of camaraderie. Everyone stepped up when needed, and supported each other when things got tough. My cast and crew has been built and hand picked from doing several short films over the past five years, working on other projects and finding people who mesh with me well. The best advice I have is to look for people who are positive and passionate. Those are the people who you can rely on, and who won’t bring a toxic atmosphere to set.

A few of the scenes turned out differently than I expected. Having access to VFX allowed us to do some things that we had not planned going in, and they made the movie better. I wanted the movie to have a look similar to Hereditary — lots of greens and browns — the colors of nature, but also kinda sinister. This look is what I wanted from the beginning, and didn’t evolve during production.

The biggest challenge was losing the contact for the main actress that gave her heterochromia. We overcame it by asking a VFX friend if he could color one of her eyes through the whole movie in post production. He said he could. Incredible work.

The most rewarding part is watching my friends and team members grow in their craft, have fun, and be proud of what we made together.

CULTURE MOTION

Micheaux Award & Film Labs

Give Creatives of Color a Space in Arkansas.

WORDS / SHANNON PADILLA

PHOTO / ALEXANDER KING

Expression in the voices of creatives of color is sweeping its way through Arkansas, notably due to the Micheaux Award & Film Labs (MAFL), which were created to give artists of color an opportunity to explore and sustain creative liberties in Arkansas. The Micheaux Award, named after Oscar Micheaux, a pioneer of American Black cinema, is awarded annually to filmmakers of color. The Micheaux Labs facilitate educational labs and workshops, while the Micheaux Socials provide a space for creative communities to diverge ideas and build sustainable growth.

The program is run by The Visionairi Foundation, which focuses on Black cultural preservation through film and media, education, and social justice programs. They specialize in event documentation, historical interpretation, and educational and artistic programming.

“Micheaux Awards & Film Labs is showing the power of storytelling and taking ownership of the narrative through compelling visuals and films,” said Osyrus Bolly, Micheaux Socials Coordinator. “We emphasize uplifting creatives of color to spread awareness of their vision and the importance of documenting the untold stories. MAFL is a literal resource hub for funding, mentorship, technical training, and providing career strategies to ensure long-term equity, cultural impact and success. One of the most important aspects of MAFL is the focus of dismantling barriers in the industry. We provide the critical support and opportunities needed for creatives, the programming is aimed at giving free game.”

The Micheaux Award was conceptualized in 2020 as an initiative to support creatives of color by Dr. Airic Hughes, who served as a board

member on Fayetteville Film Fest and is an assistant professor in the Department of History at the University of Arkansas. The Micheaux Award grants up to $10,000 annually to creatives of color in an initiative to build upon their creative ideas and productions throughout Arkansas. Over $40,000 has been awarded since it began. One crucial factor Dr. Hughes wanted to acknowledge was the need to put substance behind the grants, not just “cut a check,” but also to open avenues for education and community-building events across the state.

The Micheaux Labs are educational initiatives designed to bring experts to parts of the community that lack access to the arts. “What we do is we go into regions in the state where there are not a lot of services, and people of color who haven’t been exposed to the creative arts, and we try to show them things that may be of interest,” says Dr. Hughes. Its intention is to implement easier pathways to those who may have the drive for creative expression but lack the skills or resources. “We help to engage and inspire them to take on different types of storytelling,” he says.

With Micheaux’s social events, Dr. Hughes sought to adopt a different approach than what had been seen in the creative space in Arkansas. In research with Visionairi, it was found that creative communities are often distinct from one another. “People in fashion don’t tend to bring together people in film.” Says Dr. Hughes. “In reality, they are intersected. When you talk about music, or any aspect of our cultural experience, they are all interconnected, but in Arkansas, they are siloed. One of the goals that we have is to provide social events and community spaces that intersect these different creative communities.”

Scenes from a Life on Screen

Actress Raeden Greer redefines her role as a filmmaker.

WORDS / ISABELLA WISINGER

PHOTOS / BRANDON PAYTON + MIKE POE

It’s a Wednesday night in Little Rock. Raeden Greer is showing clips from De Niro movies and leading a discussion among the students, all of whom are actors from central Arkansas looking to level up their acting performances. They’re enrolled in the Arkansas Cinema Society’s Night School: Acting for Film + TV course at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. After taking the class through an exercise in which they may only speak in gibberish while doing scenes selected from a hat full of prompts, Raeden invites her students to workshop audition tapes. One man eagerly recruits a few of his fellow students to enact the scene he’ll be submitting to a casting director in another state. He’s auditioning for the role of an overburdened police officer, addressing the concerns of a few unruly teenagers.

There are three takes. In the first, it’s clear the group is just warming up. Raeden sits in the audience, a few rows back from the camera, and quietly evaluates his performance. When the scene ends, she gives him pointers about body language and calls for take two. The next attempt flows more smoothly. After a rousing discussion among the class on how they would approach the role, Raeden offers some words of constructive criticism and asks the students to do the scene again.

During the third take, something different happens. The actors are sitting comfortably in the pauses between lines, drawing out suspense. There’s a silence that descends upon the room as the man workshopping his audition tape settles into the role of police officer. The entire class is rapt, watching the delivery of lines of dialogue like they are ensconced in movie theater recliners before the big screen. Once the scene has concluded, Raeden declares it finished and ready to submit. Her technical expertise and teaching style have transformed the scene from wobbly to rock-solid. To someone who has never seen how movies and television shows are made, the process looks like magic.

Raeden’s teaching venture is the latest chapter in a long-running and far-reaching career in the entertainment industry. From roles in critically acclaimed series to more recent directing credits, she has steadiLy carved out a space of her own. Better-known characters Raeden has played include Lily from The Host, Pauline LaLaurie on the prolific American Horror Story, Charlotte in Magic Mike

XXL, and Diane on NCIS: New Orleans. She has also starred in self-directed shorts “The Hollow” and the upcoming “I Love You This Much.” This year, two films she directed received awards. “Little Bit” won Best Documentary at Rock City Film Festival, and “The Hill We Climb” earned Best Documentary at Fort Smith International Film Festival. Her most recent accolade was bestowed by the Mid-America Arts Alliance — she won their “Catalyze” grant for ten thousand dollars. Raeden entered the film industry after graduating from Arkansas Tech University on a full-ride scholarship, but she said she would have started sooner if not for her parents’ urging to

pursue a four-year degree. Her time as a college student ultimately broadened her creativity through courses in photography and film. She landed a job on campus editing a short documentary about a World War II veteran, learned how to manipulate footage, and found supplemental photos and videos that made it into the final cut.

Her interest in making movies continued to evolve post-graduation. Raeden spent time living in Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, where each city shaped and refined her creativity. In Atlanta, she connected with a group of creatives who taught her how to use more advanced cameras and started writing her own scripts for the first time.

The first film she wrote and produced was for a contest that challenged contestants to create a 60-second film. Raeden and her friends got together and made the movie in one night, with no budget. She refers to this as the kick-off of her writing; the first time she brought a creative vision into the material world. “Being in control of the story you’re telling is more cathartic,” she said of the differences between scriptwriting and acting.

While living in New York City, Raeden cultivated her storytelling skills. “I had so many new ideas in New York all the time,” she said. The city distinguished itself as intensely competitive due to the volume of highly trained actors. Still, it was also rife with opportunities for education and development. Los Angeles was where she branched out into livestreaming, further diversifying her acting portfolio. “Each market has a different appeal,” she said while explaining the differences in each city’s film industry.

Raeden completed a shorter but significant stint in New Orleans. “New Orleans is full of character and ingrained culture you don’t find anywhere else. It adds another layer of interest. When I was working on American Horror Story, we would shoot in people’s historic homes across the city and in the French Quarter.” She appeared on the show for five episodes, spending up to four hours each workday being plastered in zombie prosthetics and makeup, and then shooting all night. “In that role I got killed twice — first I was hung in the street, and then they cut off my head with a chainsaw.”

(Using CGI, of course.)

Arkansas called Raeden home in 2020 after ten years of traveling. When she returned, an entirely new group of filmmakers had taken the scene. “After I made ‘The Hill We Climb,’ I started getting to know people from square one again. I’m happy to have been welcomed back and brought into the fold,” she said. In her opinion, what sets Arkansas apart from other locales is that filmmakers are dedicated to making their projects the very best they can be, regardless of the outcome. “There’s not a lot of pretentiousness in our community here that is present elsewhere. We have scrappy filmmakers who are willing to jump in, regardless of budget or other obstacles, and get shit done.”

Shortly after coming back, Raeden began taking courses in drone piloting so that she could shoot aerial footage for her own films. It was during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was determined to use the time spent in lockdown to expand her repertoire by learning about traditional flight patterns. After passing a test at the airport, Raeden became a Federal Aviation Administration-certified drone pilot! She has gone on to use her piloting license to take footage for her own films, as seen in “The Hollow.” Raeden said that her motivation to get certified arose from a need to self-create as much of her work as possible. “I only do this for my own projects. Each project I’ve worked on has been a building block upon the previous one. I learn something new, and the next thing inevitably gets scaled up, the crew and budget get bigger, the final product is more polished.”

Much of Raeden’s work since moving back to Arkansas has been multi-credited. She balances multiple roles in the making of several recent films, moving seamlessly from screenwriter to actress to director to editor, all with a finesse that is only cultivated through years of experience. Her desire to be involved at all levels of a project stems from inspiration from Orson Welles.

“I feel drawn to him because his personality is similar to mine. He poured everything he had into his own projects. If he couldn’t find the money for his movies, he put his own money in.” Raeden said she is most interested in Wells, as well as David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick, because they share similar filmmaking processes and worldviews. “They did all the jobs that needed to be done.”

Below: Quinn Gasaway and Raeden Greer in “The Hollow” — Raeden’s first narrative short she wrote and directed, which premiered at Filmland in August 2025.

Raeden’s integration into the Arkansas filmmaking community led her to cross paths with the Arkansas Cinema Society (ACS) in 2023. She was attracted by the organization’s impressive Filmland event. “It’s unlike anything else in the state of Arkansas,” she said of ACS support for filmmakers and actors. Her continued involvement in the organization’s events evolved into her current role as the teacher of ACS Night School: Acting for Film + Television. Raeden brings an industry-savvy approach to Arkansas locals, providing her students with insight into how they can navigate both the technical and emotional aspects of acting. “There are no recipes or ‘right’ way to do it…. Each person’s instrument is different and has to be tended to differently. I emphasize that as actors, we never want to perform a recitation. There’s so much more to being a good actor who’s interesting to watch.”

Her tactics have been paying off for ACS Night School students. Several of them booked new gigs while enrolled in the most recent session of the class, including Taylor Holbert, who was selected for a role in a recent production called “The Mirror” shot in Northwest Arkansas. Raeden herself was tapped for the role of a survival-oriented journalist in the short film and acted alongside Taylor, who played a conniving serial killer bent on adding Raeden’s character to his list of victims. “I knew he was great before we walked on set,” Raeden said of her student’s performance. “I see the work he does in class, and he always surprises me.”

Taylor said that Raeden’s class opened many doors for him. “I’m getting gigs! I’ve done a commercial and a handful of short films with more planned! Raeden’s an excellent teacher who really pushes her students and gets people out of their comfort zones. I’ve learned about how to study a script and immerse yourself in a character, and technical industry stuff… I recommend the class.”

Registration for the fifth term of ACS Night School, which will take place in September, is open now on the ACS website (ArkansasCinemaSociety.org).

Raeden’s purposeful approach to teaching and filmmaking is evident through the successes of her students and her own endeavors. She said that movies are the medium through which she can fully express herself. “I have images in my head that I want to frame up in a camera… I feel this is my purpose. For me, there is nothing else to do. With my students, I tell them that our job is to expand the empathy of the viewer and show them a new perspective. There’s a great need for that.”

Raeden plans to continue building up Arkansas’ filmmaking community and enriching the region’s creative culture through her work. Attend an Arkansas film festival near you, and you may see one of her movies on screen.

“There’s not a lot of pretentiousness in our community here that is present elsewhere. We have scrappy filmmakers who are willing to jump in, regardless of budget or other obstacles, and get shit done.”

— RAEDEN GREER

Raeden on the set of “The Hollow” in Hot Springs. Photo by Mike Poe.

FILM MAKERS We Love

Stanley Kubrick once remarked, “If

it can be written, or thought, it can be

filmed.” But these stories don’t appear out of the ether. We chatted with some of Arkansas most tatlented rising stars about their craft and what it takes to go from script to screen.

INTERVIEWS / KODY FORD

Leaping Dog Films

Northwest Arkansas / 9 years active leapingdogproductions.net IG + YT: @leapingdogfilms

Members: Bret Helms (Founder), Levi Smith, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Blake Dean Allen, Levi Hudson, Heymi Roman Roman, Dewey Farmer, Andy Freeman, Ahmad Jordan, Avy Garnett, Marlow Ryan, Via Gahi, Bret Kagebein, Eudora Albertson & Tiff Hobbs

What made you want to launch Leaping Dog Films?

When I was in high school, I wanted to distinguish my films from other students’ work—not just label them “A film by Brett Helms.” So I created Leaping Dog Films. The name is a tribute to my dog Ellie, who would leap off the porch to chase squirrels. This way, she’ll be forever immortalized—even after she’s gone, she’ll still be leaping on the big screen for everyone to see. Leaping Dog Films has become more than just a company logo to me—it’s a standard for the quality of work we put into our films. I’ve always taken pride in how intentional we are with storytelling, making our films resonate emotionally and always carry a unique voice.

What has surprised you about your time making films under the Leaping Dog banner?

The snowball effect of seeing other Leaping Dog crew members get inspired to make their own films every time we collaborate on someone else’s. Filmmaking is contagious—when you see someone create something, it makes you want to go tell your own story. That’s why it’s so important to support your local film festivals and network with filmmakers. Every year, we seem to make more films and discover more passionate creators in Arkansas. Leaping Dog Films is an ever-growing family, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

How can people connect with you guys?

If you want to see more Leaping Dog productions and become part of our community, consider attending Leapfest—a film festival I created to premiere our latest work alongside other incredible films, all shown on the biggest screen possible in a real movie theater. Leapfest takes place January 24, 2026, at the Malco Razorback Cinema & Grill.

What has surprised you about your time working in the industry?

That you never really “arrive” in the industry, you just keep working (or trying to) and hopefully growing and pushing yourself to do better work, until eventually you look

R.J. DANIEL HANNA

Writer, Director, Editor / 20+ years active Los Angeles (Bentonville) / IG: @rjdanielhanna

back and realize how far you’ve come.

You were selected for a Nicholl Fellowship a few years ago. What was that experience like?

It was a great honor to receive The Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting from The Academy. It had been a benchmark dream of mine from when I first started my graduate degree at USC.

It has helped me feel like there is value in my writing based on its own merit, even before anyone else is attached or working on a project.

Do you have a particular project you’d like to discuss that challenged you or was rewarding? My last two features were particularly challenging and rewarding, for

very different reasons. Hard Miles was shot on the road, with actors on bikes, in the natural elements, and we had to adapt to the circumstances wherever we were. Succubus required us to create psychedelic, supernatural worlds on a tiny budget, including building sets in an old warehouse.

If a movie’s ambition doesn’t exceed your grasp, you’re not aiming high enough (unfortunately, your cortisol levels will match those heights).

Any other advice?

Prioritize your creative work by writing in the morning, or shotlisting or whatever that work is, before all the other junk and distractions of the day start to clog up your brain and schedule.

SPADE ROBINSON

Writer, Director, Producer / 15 years active Bentonville / IG: @spadeinkmedia

What made you want to become a filmmaker?

Film School. I had no experience in filmmaking before that. I started out as an actor and always assumed I would direct at some point, later in my career. But when I was applying to graduate school, [University of Southern Califronia] didn’t take theater students every year, but the film school did — so I applied there. I didn’t know I would fall in love with behind the camera as much as I did, but I did.

Do you see a broader role for yourself as a filmmaker?

Yes! I teach my students all the time that they need to know and be honest about the priorities they have for each project and what order they’re in.

Whether it’s the commercial success of a project, or the critical acclaim they hope for, or the social change they want to see — whatever it is, if the filmmaker is honest with themselves and their core team on the film, what the main purpose of creating the film is for, all creative decisions flow from that, and everyone is on the same page.

Given that film is such a collaborative process, what are some necessary ingredients to make a film come together?

Trust is the foundation. Every film is a leap of faith, and you need collaborators who believe in each other and are deeply commit-

TARA SHEFFER

Producer / 15 years active Brooklyn (Little Rock) / IG: @tarasheffer / tarasheffer.com

ted to the story. Clear communication, mutual respect, and a shared sense of purpose are essential. As a producer, I’ve found that building strong teams and keeping people aligned creatively and practically is what allows a film to really take shape. And I’ve come to genuinely love the numbers side of things (budgets, schedules, and financing structures), because that’s what makes the creative possible. There’s something deeply satisfying about using those tools to help protect the vision and support the team.

How did it feel being nominated for an Oscar for the short “A LIEN” that you produced?

It was surreal, honestly. You put everything you have into these short films: your time, your belief, and your favors. You draw upon your community to bring these stories to life, so to have “A LIEN” connect

MINDY VAN KUREN

on that level and be recognized by the Academy was incredibly moving. It validated not just the film, but the relationships, collaboration, and trust that went into making it. That kind of recognition gave us real momentum. But what means the most to me is that we were able to tell a story about immigration on a deeply human level. It’s easy to depersonalize immigration as numbers and statistics on a broad level, but at the end of the day, immigration (and “A LIEN”) is about family. We want to remind people that immigration can be the horrors of paperwork and a complex maze, but ultimately it’s about people trying to spend time and be with their loved ones. Right now, in this country where immigration is front and center in the news cycle, it is an important moment to push for a system of immigration that is humane and people-centric. It is about keeping families together.

Producer, Actor / 11 years active North Little Rock / IG: @mindy.c.vankuren

What made you want to become a producer?

I love bringing my talented friends and the various pieces together and then cheering us all on to the finish line. I am also passionate about finding creative solutions to tricky challenges that will benefit the entire production the most. And honestly, to learn as much as I could so that my friends and family could make our own projects.

As a producer, what has been one of your most favorite moments?

My most memorable moment as a producer to date is being selected to have our world premiere of Ab-

igail Before Beatrice at the prestigious Bentonville Film Festival and watching it alongside a sold-out audience with my family and friends. Feeling the anticipation and hearing the audible gasps and giggles in all of the exact right moments. And afterward, listening as my youngest daughter, Andersyn, who plays Jillie in the film, answer the questions in the Q&A with such poise and looking out into the audience and seeing my husband and family, especially my older daughter, Avelyn, who worked on the crew with me throughout production beaming with pride over our accomplishment. I’ll never forget that feeling. It was surreal. I’m so so proud.

You guys have worked together a lot now. What has been the key to your successful collaboration?

Zach and I have known each other and have been good friends for over 11 years now. I think the thing that helps in our dynamic

JORDAN MEARS + ZACH KEAST

Writer, Director / 16 years active / Little Rock / IG: @jmearsberg

Writer, Actor / 15 years active / Little Rock / FB.com/zach.keast

is that we both have similar interests/tastes and sensibilities when it comes to the films we like to watch and want to make. Our brains are pretty much on the same wavelength. But also, we make up for each other’s weaknesses and then help turn them into strengths. I tend to overthink things when writing — or I’ll get stuck on specific things, and Zach is the one who can talk me out of it and explain why I don’t need to. He can call me out on things.

Also, neither of us have an ego when it comes to working together. The thing we always say is “Best idea wins.” And it’s really true. We want to make thought-provoking movies set through the lens of genre and satire. Before we start writing something, we both ask each other “What are we trying to

say with this movie? What is it REALLY about?” And then we go from there. It’s very much a Trey Parker/ Matt Stone dynamic. I try to find the heart in everything, and Zach is a little more ruthless. But there are also times that those roles are reversed. Just depends on the scene at hand when writing. — JM

What have been some of your most favorite moments?

Probably a cliché answer, but hearing a packed Ron Robinson Theater laugh their butts off after months of stressing over New West was unforgettable. We spent so long worrying this weird movie about a horsemasked musician and his cowboy sidekick was too esoteric for people other than us. Then the audience REALLY loved it. It was like using your own toilet after a long trip. It just felt... so good. — ZK

TAMRA CORLEY-DAVIS

Producer / 5 years active

Smackover / IG: @t_corley_davis

Given that film is such a collaborative process, what are some necessary ingredients to make a film come together?

Finding your people! I am a big believer in forming long standing relationships with cast and crew so that you can call on them for each new project. Most of the films I have been fortunate enough to work on, you will see the same names in the credits for all of them. It is so important to trust your cast and crew. This is the number one way to have a production run smoothly!

What do you think is necessary to build a strong film community in an area?

Community support is #1! You can have the best crew, a great script, and a fantastic cast, but if you don’t have the support of the community where you want to film then the whole production becomes an uphill battle. I have been very fortunate to have the support of the community in South Arkansas and Northern Louisiana. It really does make for a smoother experience!

What made you guys launch New Harvest Creative?

We had the opportunity to work together in 2021 on Russell Sharman’s short film Animal and found that our skillsets were complimentary and that our goals aligned - mainly

DAN

ROBINSON + KRIS KATROSH

Executive Producer, Producer / 20 years active + 30 years active Fayetteville / newharvestcreative.com

our passion for empowering up and coming Arkansas filmmakers.

What role does New Harvest play in the Arkansas filmmaking ecosystem?

We have a five-ton grip truck, full camera and audio package, and we make those resources available to Filmmakers working on short films, commercials, documentaries and feature films. Our projects provide opportunities for new and aspiring filmmakers to learn and grow their skillsets and resumes with our experience as their resource.

What do you think is necessary to build a strong film community in an area?

Open lines of communication with the entire ecosystem. The more we know what resources are or aren’t

(because they’re working) available, that would allow for the growth, increasing production opportunities in the state.

What would your advice be to someone who wants to work in film?

Find the ways you can serve the community. That organically provides you the opportunity to learn, be a part of productions, and to network with people for future opportunities.

As you are creating your own work, you should know that the creative part is the fun first inspiring step, but that there are many steps beyond that which are more easily navigated with the input of someone who has experience.

EMMANUEL RODRIGUEZ

Writer, Director, SFX, Creature Artist, Production Design, 3D Artist 13 years active / Fayetteville / IG: @emmanuelrodriguezart

What made you want to become a filmmaker?

I’ve always had a passion for stories and story telling. I’ve always loved monsters and creatures and art so I always look for a way to tell a story mixing the two.

Given that film is such a collaborative process, what are some necessary ingredients to make a film come together?

Comunication. Leadership. Dedication. Determination. And creatively and efficiently using any budget that you may have.

What has surprised you about your time working in film?

How much you can never overprepare, but also no matter how much you prepare, things will go wrong and knowing how to creatively solve problems.

As a filmmaker, what has been one of your most favorite moments?

I really enjoy when everyone is synced and everyone is putting the same energy for a shot or scene and when we all can see what we just captured is gold.

MARC CRANDALL

Writer, Director, Producer

3 years active Fayetteville greenflashproductions.studio

What made you want to become a filmmaker?

I’ve always loved film as a fan. But after my daughter went to film school and I got to observe film making in action, I found that I really enjoyed the entire process of filmmaking, at all stages, from writing, producing, and recently directing.

Given that film is such a collaborative process, what are some necessary ingredients to make a film come together?

As a Producer/Director, the most necessary ingredient for me is trust in the folks we’ve assembled to create the vision of the story. This is especially important for me because, although I’ve got a good idea of what I’m looking for on the screen, I don’t have the technical tools and knowhow to create it. I lean heavily on the “experts” to understand where we need to go and trust their “magic” to get us there.

MICHAEL DAY

Director, Writer, Producer

8 years active

Northwest Arkansas

YT: @dayvisionfilms

What made you want to become a filmmaker?

In 2014, at the height of the Mike Brown protest, I got into a verbal spat with a University of Arkansas faculty member about the portrayal of Black Americans in the media. I was studying journalism, heavy focus on video production, and African & African studies at the institution and rather that join news, as I originally intended, I decided to follow in the footsteps of Oscar Micheaux, Spike Lee, John Singleton and Ava DuVernay and write screenplays about the Black experience in America. It eventually led me to mentors Dan Robinson, Raymond House III and Tom McFetridge who have been crucial in myself and DAYVISION’s success.

Do you have a particular project you’d like to discuss?

Your favorite webseries is back... The Sextons Season Two will be available on the DAYVISION YouTube channel this fall.

janie gentry

Writer, Director, 1st AD

6 years active

Conway IG: @janie.gentry

What made you want to become a filmmaker?

When I was a junior in high school, I attended the Arkansas School for Math, Science, and the Arts. I decided to try something new and take the film capstone course taught by Jennifer Gerber. I went into it with a casual enjoyment of movies and left the first class completely enraptured with the medium. I loved writing scripts and creating characters and bringing them to life. I started making short films under her mentorship and haven’t stopped since.

What do you think is necessary to build a strong film community in an area?

I think it’s important to pull in people besides just filmmakers. We don’t typically make films just for the creators and most enthusiastic cinephiles, everyone should be encouraged to get involved.

ERICA MICHELLE

Actress, Producer, Director

15 years active

Los Angeles (El Dorado)

IG: @ericamichellesingleton

As a filmmaker, what has been one of your most favorite moments?

As a filmmaker, one of my favorite moments was definitely walking away from Louisiana Film Prize last year with the most awards. THEN to be able to have my project, screen in MY HOMETOWN, chef’s kiss.

What would your advice be to someone who wants to work in film?

Be sure. Film is a love letter — but you got to make sure you’re in love. What starts out as an idea has to have life breathed into it in order to make it come alive.

If you think you are someone who wants to tell stories, figure out what those stories are and why YOU feel they are necessary to be told. STICK TO YOUR GUNS. Don’t let anyone make you think your idea is silly or isn’t good enough. But most importantly — SEE IT THROUGH.

BEN HARRISON

Production Design, Director

6 years active Fayetteville

IG: @ben_harrison_iv

What advice do you have for someone wanting to work in film?

Find someone who is working on movies and bug the mother fuck out of them. If you do that there’s a good chance you’ll get on set. If you’re lucky and you get on set you’ll probably be a PA (production assistant). Learn everyone’s name and what they like from crafty...Bring people a drink they like. Don’t be overbearing. Be likeable in every exchange and out then bounce. After a week or two on set, start asking around about people’s jobs. If you don’t know what department you want to be in you’ll get an idea from those conversations. If you do know where you want to end up go talk to that department. In the last week of the show start to really let people know how much you want to work on the next movie and what you should do to get on it...If you have drive it will work out for you.

JAZMYNE BLACK

Writer, Director

3 years active

Los Angeles (Sherwood)

IG: @jazblack22

What made you want to become a filmmaker?

My original reason was to create representation for people like me. There was a certain audience I wanted to feel seen and in seen. In my journey as a filmmaker, I’ve come to find that creating what I’m passionate about and what brings me joy will bring the audience I originally wanted to cater to. As long as I’m doing what I love, sometimes that’s enough representation.

As a filmmaker, what has been one of your most favorite moments?

As significant as pre-production may be, my favorite moments are the “happy accidents” that happen during production. Maybe this isn’t the shot you initially planned for but sometimes what’s happening in the moment can be better than anything you could have planned for!

CLAYTON HENDERSON

Writer, Director / 8 years active Shreveport (Smackover) / IG: @claytonology

What has surprised you about your time working in film?

What has surprised me the most working in film is the time. Everything is knitted into being on time and that’s been a great learning curve for me in scheduling projects.

What would your advice be to someone who wants to work in film?

It’s the cliche’ thing to say nowadays, but you literally have a camera in your pocket so if you wanna make movies, go out there and make your damn movie! The resources available have gotten so much better, especially with social

MATTHEW ASH + bob WILCOX

Writer, Actor / 4 years active / Conway

Actor, Director, Editor, Composer / 5 years active / Little Rock

What made you want to become a filmmaker?

I saw Evil Dead when I was 5 or 6 years old, and something clicked in my head as I was watching it that I didn’t know how, and I didn’t know when, but I KNEW I wanted to make movies and tell stories. — M.A.

What has surprised you about your time working in film?

Not everyone is obsessed with this as you. — B.W.

As a filmmaker, what has been one of your most favorite moments? Honestly, making Grind [upcoming feature film]. We’ve been working on it for a couple years now, and filming as much as we could on our days off from work, making the time to schedule and commit to it.

One of my favorite memories is when we filmed a scene in my garage and I had a monologue where my character was being a little intense and screams,

media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. There are so many ways to get your voice out there. So do it!

What do you think is necessary to build a strong film community in an area?

I’m a very introverted person, so I know it’s hard, but it’s very important to get in with a community of artists who share the same dreams and desires of the craft.

Go to regional festivals as an attendee and meet people; this is a great gateway into the film world. It’s what I did, and I’m so happy that I did. Trust me, it’s worth it.

and in between takes my daughter, who was home from school that day, would walk into the garage, look at me, Bob and his wife who was operating the camera, then look back to me and say, “You’re cringe, dad,”and then walked back inside. — M.A.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Work on being a jack of all trades. It only makes you a better communicator and filmmaker. — B.W.

SEPTEMBER 4 - 20, 2025

Visit ACANSA.org for Little Rock and North Little Rock venues, times, free events and tickets.

9/4 THE FUNKANITES

9/5 FRISSON

9/7 KORESH DANCE CO.

9/11 JAZZ AT THE JOINT

9/12 BROADWAY’S NEXT HIT MUSICAL

9/13 FAMILY ARTS DAY

9/14 GOSPEL BRUNCH

9/18 THE WESTERLIES

9/18 DELITA MARTIN: VISUAL STORYTELLER

9/19 DELITA MARTIN SOLO EXHIBITION

9/19 SLOCAN RAMBLERS

9/20 LARRY & JOE/PURA COCO

Charlotte & Jim Gadberry

DIXIE FOUNDATION

ABOVE: Louise Nevelson, Tide Garden IV (detail), 1964, painted and assembled wood construction, 91 x 140 x 10 in., Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation Collection: Gift of Sidney Singer, Sr., Stephens Inc., Gerald Cramer, Martin Oppenheimer, Edward Rosenthal, and John Rosenthal.

The Idle Class Film Issue 2025

THE IDLE CLASS

The Film Issue

TABLE of CONTENTS

THE TEAM Publisher

The Film Issue

PINE BLUFF

LITTLE ROCK

Architects of Being: Louise Nevelson and Esphyr Slobodkina

EVENTS STATE around the

FAYETTEVILLE

BENTONVILLE

LITTLE ROCK + NORTH LITTLE ROCK

The Swiftie Syllabus

WORDS / KODY FORD + CADE BETHEA

Keys To The KINGDOM

WILD LENS

The Rise of Outdoor Adventure Filmmaking in Arkansas

WORDS / KELSEY FERGUSON

Shifting the Culture

Archiving the Offbeat

A River Runs Through It

Returning to her Roots

The Path Ahead

CINEMA I/O

WORDS / RACHEL FARHAT

NWA FILM CLUB

TELLING LIVES

Ethics, Art & Authencity in True Crime Storytelling.

WORDS / RACHEL FARHAT

SCENE STEALERS

CALEB WALL

CHRIS CHURCHILL

NIKOLETT KOVÁCS

JEREMY ENIS

HALEY HILL

Joe Bob Brigg s’ Natural State of Cinema

SLING BLADE (1996) – Benton

TRUE GRIT (1969/2010) – Fort Smith

A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957) – Piggott

THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK (1972) – Fouke THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (1976) – Texarkana

HOW THE WEST WAS REDONE

Gazing into Tony Tost’s America.

WORDS / KODY FORD PORTRAIT / KAT WILSON

FEATURE LENGTH

INTERVIEWS / KODY FORD

JOHN MICHAEL POWELL Violent Ends

SeJames humphrey

Nice Guys Finish Last

EMILY RAILSBACK

Road Trip to Totality

JASON PITTS The Forest Through the Trees

CULTURE MOTION

Scenes from a Life on Screen

Actress Raeden Greer redefines her role as a filmmaker.

WORDS / ISABELLA WISINGER

PHOTOS / BRANDON PAYTON + MIKE POE

FILM MAKERS We Love

Leaping Dog Films

R.J. DANIEL HANNA

SPADE ROBINSON

TARA SHEFFER

MINDY VAN KUREN

JORDAN MEARS + ZACH KEAST

TAMRA CORLEY-DAVIS

DAN

ROBINSON + KRIS KATROSH

EMMANUEL RODRIGUEZ

MARC CRANDALL

MICHAEL DAY

janie gentry

ERICA MICHELLE

BEN HARRISON

JAZMYNE BLACK

CLAYTON HENDERSON

MATTHEW ASH + bob WILCOX