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Bentonville Film Festival Awards Top Honors to ‘If I Go They Will Miss Me’ and ‘Jane Elliott Against The World’
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Culture/The Apex Times/Jun 21, 2:15 PM EDT

Bentonville Film Festival Awards Top Honors to ‘If I Go They Will Miss Me’ and ‘Jane Elliott Against The World’

The 12th annual Bentonville Film Festival concluded Saturday night after honoring films across narrative and other categories, with Northwest Arkansas leads and festival headlining ties.

2 min readEditor-approved Apex article

The 12th annual Bentonville Film Festival wrapped up on June 21 after awarding prizes in multiple categories during Saturday night’s ceremony in Northwest Arkansas, according to Deadline. The festival presented top honors to Walter Thompson-Hernández’s If I Go They Will Miss Me and to Jane Elliott Against The World, both of which were singled out among the night’s featured winners.

If I Go They Will Miss Me, directed by Thompson-Hernández, won the Best Narrative Award, Deadline reported. The drama stars Danielle Brooks, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Bodhi Dell, and centers on a story highlighted in the film festival’s promotional materials as a character-driven drama.

Deadline described the festival as being led by actress and producer Geena Davis, placing Davis at the center of the event’s public-facing identity. Davis’s involvement ties the festival’s branding and leadership to her broader presence in film and television, while the weekend’s awards process followed the festival’s annual format.

The other top honor cited by Deadline went to Jane Elliott Against The World. The film’s recognition came as part of the awards slate presented during the festival’s conclusion, marking another high-profile addition to the event’s archive of featured works.

The Bentonville Film Festival’s June run concluded the 2026 cycle on the same day the awards list was published by Deadline. Deadline’s report indicates that the ceremony took place Saturday night, meaning the weekend’s schedule culminated immediately before the June 21 wrap-up.

While the Deadline headline refers to a “full list” of winners, the excerpt available for this report confirms the two named top awards and key figures, including the Best Narrative winner, the directors and starring cast for If I Go They Will Miss Me, and the festival’s leadership connection to Davis. Any additional category winners beyond those identified here were not included in the provided material.

With the festival concluded, the next steps for participating filmmakers generally involve post-festival publicity and follow-on distribution talks, though specific next-release plans for the winning titles were not detailed in the Deadline material provided for this report.

Why It Matters

  • Film festival awards can affect visibility for participating projects, particularly for narrative films highlighted through Best Narrative and other top honors.
  • The timing of the awards, delivered at the festival’s closing ceremony on Saturday night and reported the next day, gives winners a defined window for press and industry outreach.
  • The Bentonville Film Festival’s Northwest Arkansas location continues to function as a recurring platform for film promotion tied to regional events and festival leadership.
  • Public recognition for films and performers, such as the cast of If I Go They Will Miss Me, can influence how audiences and industry professionals track new releases after the festival cycle ends.

Sources

Key Facts

  • The 12th annual Bentonville Film Festival wrapped on June 21, 2026, after an awards ceremony Saturday night in Northwest Arkansas, according to Deadline.
  • If I Go They Will Miss Me, directed by Walter Thompson-Hernández, won the Best Narrative Award at the festival.
  • If I Go They Will Miss Me stars Danielle Brooks, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Bodhi Dell, Deadline reported.
  • The festival’s 12th annual event was led by Geena Davis, as described by Deadline.
  • Deadline also reported that Jane Elliott Against The World won a top award at the festival.
Bentonville Film Festival Awards Top Honors to ‘If I Go They Will Miss Me’ and ‘Jane Elliott Against The World’ | The Apex Times