Actress Kathleen Turner to appear at Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival as honorary chair

Longtime film and television actress Kathleen Turner will serve as honorary chair this year for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, scheduled for Oct. 6-15 at the Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa. Turner will help present the festival’s opening-night film, “LADDIE: The Man Behind the Movies,” according to festival organizers.

Turner won Best Actress Golden Globe awards for her roles in the films “Romancing the Stone” in 1984 and “Prizzi’s Honor” in 1985. She was also nominated for the films “Body Heat,” “War of the Roses” and “Peggy Sue Got Married,” according to a press release from the film festival. She also has received Tony Award nominations for her stage career and an Academy Award nomination for her role as Peggy Sue.

“LADDIE: The Man Behind the Movies” focuses on film studio head Alan Ladd, Jr., known for producing the films “Star Wars,” “Alien,” “Blade Runner,” “Chariots of Fire” and “Young Frankenstein.” Ladd produced the film “Body Heat,” which gave Turner her “first break,” according to a press release from the film festival.

The film features interviews with George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Morgan Freeman and Mel Brooks and is directed by Ladd’s daughter, Amanda Ladd-Jones. Ladd-Jones will present the film at the Hot Springs festival.

Alan Ladd, Sr., was born in Hot Springs, according to the press release.

The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is in its 26^th year and is, therefore, the oldest non-fiction festival in North America, according to the festival’s website. The Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute incorporated as a nonprofit in 1992.

Support for Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is provided in part by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts, according to the website.

The festival schedule has not been announced. A film line-up — though subject to change, according to the website — follows.

“Above the Drowning Sea” by Nicola Zavaglia & René Balcer
“Acorn and the Firestorm” by Reuben Atlas, Samuel D. Pollard
“All the Queen’s Horses” by Kelly Richmond Pope
“All The Wild Horses” by Ivo Marloh
“AlphaGo” by Greg Kohs
“Anatomy of a Male Ballet Dancer” by David Barba & James Pellerito
“Atomic Homefront” by Rebecca Cammisa
“Augie” by James Keach
“Benini – The Artist’s Journey” by Michael Mueller
“Bill Nye: Science Guy” by David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg
“Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story” by Alexandra Dean
“The Cinema Travellers” by Shirley Abraham & Amit Madheshiya
“City of Joy” by Madeleine Gavin
“Cradle of Champions” by Bartle Bull
“Dare to Be Different” by Ellen Goldfarb
“Davi’s Way” by Tom Donahue
“Dealt” by Luke Korem
“Dixie Land” by Roman Bondarchuk
“Dream Land: Little Rock’s West 9th Street” Gabe Mayhan
“The Fabulous Allan Carr” by Jeffrey Schwarz
“The Favored Strawberry” by Larry Foley & Dave Carpenter
“Frank Serpico” by Antonino D’Ambrosio
“Given” by Jess Bianchi
“A Gray State” by Erik Nelson
“The Groove Is Not Trivial” by Tommie Dell Smith
“Kim Swims” by Kate Webber
“LADDIE: The Man Behind the Movies” by Amanda Ladd
“The Last Animals” by Kate Brooks
“The Last Pig” by Allison Argo
“Liyana” by Aaron Kopp & Amanda Kopp
“Mighty Ground” by Delila Vallot
“A Modern Man” by Eva Mulvad
“The New Radical” by Adam Lough
“No Man’s Land” by David Byars
“Out of State” by Ciara Lacy
“Quest: The Fury and the Sound” by Jonathan Olshefski
“Rebels on Pointe” by Bobbi Jo Hart
“Resistance is Life” by Apo W. Bazidi
“Samantha’s Amazing Acro-Cats” by Jacob Feiring
“Saving Brinton” by Tommy Haines, Andrew Sherburne
“Score: A Film Music Documentary” by Matt Schrader
“Shiners” by Stacey Tenenbaum
“Shot in the Dark” by Chris Suchorsky
“Stranger in Paradise” by Guido Hendrikx
“Stumped” by Robin Berghaus
“Tell Them We Are Rising” by Stanley Nelson
“Tommy” by Gentry Kirby & Erin Leyden
“True Conviction” by Jamie Meltzer
“Waiting for the Sun” by Kaspar Astrup Schröder
“Wasted! The Story of Food Waste” by Anna Chia & Nari Kye
“What Lies Upstream” by Cullen Hoback
“The Workers Cup” by Adam Sobel
“42 Grams” by Jack Newell
“78/52” by Alexandre O. Philippe