FILM FESTIVAL NEWS: American Horror Story’s Jamie Brewer to be the 2019 Bentonville Film Festival’s See It Be It honoree
The Bentonville Film Festival announced it will honor actor Jamie Brewer with the “See It, Be It” Award which highlights a rising and influential voice in the landscape of diversity and inclusion in media.
The American Horror Story actor and Drama Desk Award winner will be honored for her unwavering commitment to representing and championing those with intellectual disabilities both on screen and off, ensuring media accurately reflects the world in which we live.
“We are thrilled to honor Jamie this year. She is the embodiment of fearless courage and the power of what representation can do to elevate a community of people around the world,” said Academy Award winner Geena Davis, BFF Co-Founder and Chair. “Championing the underrepresented is the sole reason I wanted to launch this festival.”
In a remarkably short time, Brewer has established herself as a talent to be noted as well as being a source of inspiration, making a significant mark with her varied and versatile performances on the horror anthology series, American Horror Story.
See It Be it Honoree Jamie Brewer breakthrough Role
Her breakthrough role on the series followed theatre roles and appearances on television series like Southland, Raymond & Lane, and Switched at Birth.
In 2015, Brewer became the first woman with Down Syndrome to walk the runway at New York Fashion Week and two years later was asked by Miley Cyrus to introduce the singer/actor at the Variety Power of Women event, underscoring the position she has already achieved as an influential figure.
See It Be it Honoree Jamie Brewer won the Drama Desk Award
Last year, Brewer won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress for her performance in Amy and the Orphans, and this year, the comedy TURNOVER will soon take her talents to the big screen.
BFF also announced the initial lineup of filmmaker and industry panels for the 2019 festival and, in partnership with founding sponsor Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola, will offer another ambitious slate of programming with an aim to elevate diverse voices in all facets entertainment and media. Conversations will focus on an array of topics surrounding the portrayal of diversity in media and feature actors, producers, directors and change-agents alongside some of the brightest minds from progressive companies with missions centered on equality.
BFF President of Programing Wendy Guerrero said, “This year’s programming features forward thinking talent, filmmakers and executives across the many facets of the entertainment industry. We are tackling the topics necessary for change, and highlighting the creatives who are making sure our stories reflect the world we live in, which is half female and very diverse.”
See It Be it Honoree Jamie Brewer at Bentonville Film Fest
The 2019 list of panel participants will include BFF Co-Founder and Chair Geena Davis as well as Jason George, Samantha Mathis, RJ Mitte, Jackie Cruz, Gabrielle Carteris, Miranda Bailey, Trudie Styler, Rachel Harris, Jeanine Mason, Frankie Grande, Kara Hayward, and Rita Ortiz, with more to be announced.
The panel programming comes on the heels of the previously announced competition film slate which boasts projects that are 81% female directed, with 68% of the selections having a person of color director and/or cast/subject.
Founded with the guiding mission of promoting underrepresented voices in the entertainment industry, each session will seek to ignite change and find solutions to create opportunities for women, people of color and other intersectional voices the media. See below for the current 5th Annual Bentonville Film Festival panel lineup with more to be announced soon. Taking place at the 21c Museum Hotel, the 2019 discussion events are officially sponsored by MARS. For additional information including programming, competition film and jury updates please visit www.bentonvillefilmfestival.com.
Wednesday May 8, 2019
- Geena and Friends: Academy Award winning actor Geena Davis along
with an all-star group of equally brilliant women actors will re-imagine
memorable dialogue from all-male movie scenes through an all-female lens. A fun
and poignant way to explore how refreshing and unstereotyped it can be to
expand our vision for casting roles originally written for men.
- This Changes Everything: Told first-hand by some of Hollywood’s
leading voices in front of and behind the camera, the powerful documentary THIS
CHANGES EVERYTHING, executive produced by Geena Davis, takes an incisive look
into the history, empirical evidence, and systemic forces that foster gender
discrimination and thus reinforce disparity in our culture. Most importantly,
the film seeks pathways and solutions from within and outside the industry, and
around the world.
- AspireTV – Looking Through a Brown Lens: This panel will
discuss the creative structure and thought that goes into telling a unique
story through Black culture. Panelists will discuss what their “why” is for the
films they’ve produced and what methods they utilized to create an emotional
connection to the audience. They will also discuss the avenues of
funding, casting and promoting their films and what their tactics were in
making the films a reality.
Thursday May 9, 2019
- Let’s Make a Deal: Although opportunities have improved in the
last 40 years, women and diverse filmmakers still struggle to secure funding
and distribution to bring their films to life and in front of audiences.
This panel will discuss how filmmakers can “make the argument” and leverage the
realities of emerging technology, including the ever evolving landscape of
release strategies, smart business, branding, and marketing models to solidify
that pitch to get their stories told and in front of an audience.
- Queer & Here to Stay: 3.4% of our American
population identify as LGBTQIA+. However, a recent study from the Geena Davis
Institute on Gender in Media revealed that over the past decade, less than 1%
of all lead characters were LGBTQIA+ in the 100 top grossing family films in
the U.S. This panel will look at the presence of LGBTQIA+ characters and
stories on screen, as well as what the future now looks like for gay, lesbian,
trans and intersectional filmmakers and their projects at our multiplexes,
art-houses, and on our TV screens.
Friday May 10, 2019
- Indigenous Voices: This panel will discuss and highlight the inclusion
of Indigenous stories in film, and the importance of having indigenous people
involved in the creative process. The panel will feature industry professionals
and film talent that work behind and in front of the camera.
- If She Can See It, She Can Be It!: As women represent 51%
of the population and 52% of movie goers, we have a social and business
imperative to create media that values the stories of intersectional women. The
Geena Benchmark report which analyzed the top 100 family films over a decade
showed that female led films generated 55% more at the box office than similar
male led films. This panel will showcase best practices from business leaders
who have successfully created female driven content.
- The New Mr. Mom: Re-defining Traditional Family
Roles: Seventy percent of moms with children under 18
participate in the labor force and moms are the primary or sole earners
for 40 percent of households with children under 18 today, compared
with 11 percent in 1960 (U.S Department of Labor). This
powerhouse panel will feature female talent from Vudu’s first series, “Mr.
Mom”. The series (a modern take on the beloved classic ‘80s film) follows a mom
who is re-entering the workforce and a dad who decides it’s his turn to stay at
home with the kids. The panel will discuss how conventional family roles are
continually being re-defined by both moms and dads, how families today must
band together as a team to make it all work, and the continued effort to
combat dated stereotypes in content and media. How have things changed for
families since the 1980s, and how is inclusive media like Vudu’s “Mr. Mom”
helping to shift societal expectations on what makes up today’s family?
- Able & Willing: 18.7% people in the U.S. have a disability,
making up one of our largest minorities. However, the Geena Benchmark study
which analyzed a decade of films from the Top 100 Largest Grossing Family
Films, found that less than 1% of all lead characters were shown having a
disability. How do we, as filmmakers, broaden our creative landscape when
conceiving characters or casting to more effectively add the differently abled
to that mix – going beyond gender and race to those with disabilities as well?
How do we force ourselves out of what may be a comfort zone to consider someone
we hadn’t initially envisioned in the role? And what are the rewards of doing
so?
American Horror Story’s Jamie Brewer to be the 2019 Bentonville Film Festival’s See It Be It honoree