Calendar – Past Event

The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (HSDFF) began in 1992, launched by a small group of arts activists in Hot Springs. The Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute (renamed in 1996) remains the only film institute in the United States dedicated solely to the documentary film genre. Each year with the help of over 600 dedicated volunteers, board and staff members, the Institute presents the annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, a multicultural and intergenerational event. The Festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors making it one of the largest tourist attractions in Arkansas providing significant economic benefits, as well as helping to shape the identity of Arkansas nationally and internationally. The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival provides the Institute with a catalyst for further development, digitization, distribution of documentaries and film education initiatives for training film industry professionals.

The HSDFI screening committee views nearly 1,000 films submitted from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, and selects 100 to be viewed each year. The 2011 Film Festival will be held October 14 through 23, at our Historic Malco Theatre, 819 Central Avenue, downtown Hot Springs.