BENTONVILLE (KFSM) -- The third annual Bentonville Film Festival kicks off Tuesday (May 2).
"I just arrived today for my film festival," an excited Geena Davis told 5NEWS.
"What!? You have a film festival?" she joked, "Yes, I co-founded the Bentonville Film Festival."
Davis is thrilled to be in Bentonville. She calls it the quintessential American town.
"It's the perfect town for a film festival despite not originally having any movie theaters."
The festival begins Tuesday with events opening for the public Wednesday (May 3).
It'll include celebrities like Terry Crews, Meg Ryan and members of the cast of 'A League of Their Own', gathering for the 25 year anniversary of the movie.
"We made so many improvements last year and you just learn every year. And our attendance more than doubled."
Last year, Davis said the festival sold 63,000 tickets. Meaning - to the delight of its co-founder - the message of the festival is getting out.
"Well, for about ten years, I've had a research institute that looks at gender depiction in what kids see. It turns out there are far fewer female characters than male characters (in media)."
Davis felt kids were being trained to have unconscious gender bias.
She hopes the festival can help change that.
She also said the Bentonville Film Festival is the only film festival that offers guaranteed distribution for the winners. Those winners could end up seeing their work in AMC Theaters and Walmart shelves.
To learn more about BFF and the schedule, click here.