BENTONVILLE, Ark.—Among Geena Davis’s goals for the Bentonville Film Festival is the inclusion of lesser-heard voices. The films at this year’s iteration of the festival here in northwest Arkansas certainly align with that dictum.

Among the films I watched l this week was “Waikiki,” a drama about a native Hawaiian woman’s struggles with employment, her boyfriend and family.

Amid the ongoing discussion about prison reform, something often lost [...]

This year's iteration of AFI DOCS showed once again that truth is more important than ever. Documentaries are enjoying a golden age, with not only major filmmakers but up-and-comers getting into the form to show us what is really real in our world. Many looked into the past, whether it was examining some truly courageous nuns or popping open the vault of a departed rock star. Some examined ongoing issues, such as gender pay gaps in sports

Director Matt Ogens grew up in Frederick, M.D., not far from the Maryland School for the Deaf. One of his best friends was hearing-impaired and Ogens became familiar with the deaf community thanks to him.

“It just so happened that years later, when I decided to become a filmmaker, I directed a commercial campaign about high-school football teams around the country, and one of

The same summer that a largely white, middle- and upper-class group of students descended upon Woodstock, N.Y. for a mammoth concert like no other the Harlem Cultural Festival was taking place in Mount Morris Park in Harlem. That little attention was paid to these equally splendid affairs is sadly understood given that it was a black audience and black artists. Thankfully, the lost footage of that summer has been found

“Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” Director: Morgan Neville

Anthony Bourdain was the most unlikely of celebrities: a recovering drug addict and chef who wrote frankly about his experiences in the galley, publishing them in a memoir called “Kitchen Confidential.” The book was a sensation, catapulting Bourdain to stardom. Soon he was able to stop cooking

In the seventies Ron and Russell Mael fast attracted a fan base thanks to their decidedly unorthodox musical act, the Sparks. Despite changing demographics, shifting musical tastes and their unending oddity, the brothers have managed to enthrall fans well into the 21st century. Director Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Baby Driver”) is just one among those many famous fans to wax nostalgic about the band, with a new documentary