Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival

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Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival

Welcome to the official fan page of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute! Donate or Volunteer now! Visit us at www.hsdfi.org.

The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (HSDFF) is the oldest non-fiction festival in North America and an Academy-qualifying festival in the category of Documentary Short Subject. Veteran actor James Whitmore lent his presence to festival's first year and the following year, actor James Earl Jones proclaimed, “I see the 1990's as holding the promise of an unparalleled era of popularity for nonf

iction film and video, with the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival as one of the genre’s most important venues.” In 1992, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute (HSDFI) incorporated as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and remains one of the few film institutes in the United States dedicated solely to the documentary film genre. Each year the Institute presents the annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival with the help of over 500 dedicated volunteers, the institute’s board, and staff members.

06/17/2026

The beauty and complexity of Q***r Black love is on stunning display in Hold Me Close, a documentary short we were proud to include in last fall.

The care Corinne and Tiana show for each other is intense, intricate, and deep, even as it's challenged by personal insecurities, family dynamics, or concerns about safety.

It's a special film that deserves all the praise. Congrats to directors Aurora Brachman and Latajh Simmons-Weaver.

***rdocumentary

06/15/2026

Today is the day! If you've been planning to submit your film for , you have until midnight tonight to do so. We want to see your films, so check the link in comments to submit.

06/12/2026

Ashley York is getting ready for the 4th Annual Filmmaker Forum at !

Come to this October 12-13 for two days of dynamic programming focused on the business, art, and craft of documentary filmmaking.

Registration has just opened and early bird rates are available through July 15. Check the link in comments and register today!

06/11/2026

Join us for the final stop on our screening series tour! After events in Pine Bluff, Little Rock and Fayetteville, our journey returns home to Hot Springs!

In celebration of our own 35-year history, as well as our nation's 250th, we are thrilled to present a fabulous short film program that provides select highlights from the last 35 years of HSDFF on the theme of these United States and our home state of Arkansas.

Be our guest on Tuesday, June 30th, for this special screening at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (ASMSA) in Hot Springs, AR.

ASMSA Center for Innovation Complex, 2nd Floor
200 Whittington Ave
Hot Springs National Park, AR 71901

Parking is available in the ASMSA lot behind the Center.

Free Admission + Popcorn and Sweet Tea
Doors Open @ 6:30 PM
Screening Starts @ 7:00 PM

Admission is free but registration is encouraged. Check link in comments to register.

06/08/2026

Join us in Fayetteville for the next film in our series! We're partnering with to screen Rebel with a Clause, the story of , who traveled all 50 states with her pop-up Grammar Table.

Ellen and her filmmaker husband Brandt Johnson will be IN PERSON starting at 11:30 AM at the Library Event Center lobby to answer your burning grammar questions. And after the screening, they're joined for a Q&A with host , followed by a book signing of Ellen's national bestseller!

🗓️ June 27 | Fayetteville Public Library, 401 W. Mountain St., Fayetteville, AR 72701
🕐 Screening starts at 1 PM
🎟️ Free, but registration is encouraged. See link in comments to register.

06/05/2026

The short film Love Birds tells a fascinating story of the 1972 discovery of female seagull couples on the Channel Islands and its impact on the early gay rights movement.

The media storm that followed changed the lives and relationship of George Hunt and Molly Warner, the married biologists who made the discovery.

With Love Birds, directors Elliott Kennerson and Angel Morris have given us a rich story of science, politics, and relationships. It's moved audiences in more than 30 festivals, including .

06/03/2026

is proud to share films that center the LGBTQ+ community, in all of its diversity, complexity, and humanity.

Throughout the month, we'll be highlighting q***r short and feature-length documentaries from that tell moving and fascinating stories. Films like--

Just Kids
Come See Me in the Good Light
Hold Me Close ()
Love Birds (.movie)

More to come. Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈

***rdocumentary 🌈

06/01/2026

We did it! 🎉

Thanks so much for all the generous donations in support of . Your support, your attendance, and your community spirit have kept us going for 35 years, and we can't wait to share another festival with you this fall!

Although our May matching challenge has ended, we are still raising money to meet our annual goals. If you would like to give, it's not too late! Check our link in the comments for more info.

05/29/2026

We're still soaring from Wednesday's screening of Give Me The Ball! at !

Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated tennis, Billie Jean King, and with us!

Photos:

1. supporter Stephen Raborn and Executive Director Ken Jacobson

2. Former HSDFI Board Chair Susan Altrui and Ken

3. HSDFF supporter Debra Fuller and Ken

4. Stephen, Ken and company gathering before the show

5. Managing Director Cade Bethea

6.Cade, Programming and Exhibitions Manager Gavin Hargrove, and Ken introducing the film

7. BJK!!

05/27/2026

HSDFF mourns the loss of Clarence B. Jones, lawyer, organizer, and speechwriter for Martin Luther King Jr.

We were honored last month to share the moving, funny, and inspiring short film about his life, The Baddest Speechwriter of All, at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

We're grateful for his profound contributions to the Civil Rights Movement and hope more people discover the story of this extraordinary American.

Address

PO Box 6450
Hot Springs, AR
71902

Telephone

+15015380452

Website

http://www.hsdfi.org/

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