El Dorado Film Festival kicks off Thursday

The fourth annual El Dorado Film festival will kick off with a welcome party Thursday afternoon and continue through Saturday, showcasing more than 40 independent short films and four feature length films.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, the festival will kick off with the southeastern premiere of “Last Flag Flying,” a new film from Richard Linklater. The film stars Steve Carell, Laurence Fishburne and Bryan Cranston, and, according to IMDb.com, is set 30 years after the three main characters served together in Vietnam. The film follows the three as they reunite to help former Navy Corpsman Larry “Doc” Shepherd, played by Carell, bury his son, a young Marine killed in the Iraq War. It is adapted from a novel of the same name by Darryl Ponicsan.

A short film also will be shown during that time, before Arkansas native Barrett Baber from NBC’s “The Voice” performs at 9 p.m. at the Griffin Restaurant.

On Friday, films will be shown starting at 10 a.m. at the South Arkansas Arts Center and continuing until 8:30 p.m. At that time, The Legendary Pacers will perform at the Griffin Music Hall as part of the afterparty.

On Saturday, films again will be shown starting at 10 a.m. at SAAC and continuing until 8:45 p.m. At 9 p.m., Dennis Quaid & The Sharks will perform at the Griffin Music Hall.

The Film Festival is in partnership with the South Arkansas Arts Center, which will be one of the viewing locations along with the Griffin Music Hall in the Murphy Arts District. More than 300 films were submitted from 50 countries.

The festival also will include panel workshops, including a workshop with Australian producer Robbie Miles on how to pitch to investors and how to be a successful producer without living in Los Angeles. Another workshop will feature Martha Stephens, Arkansas based producer Kerri Elder and Kristin Mann on the current local/regional filmmaking landscape. Stephens has screened her films at many prestigious film festivals, including 2014’s Sundance Film Festival.

The Film Festival is both a showcase of short independent films and a competition. The entries are judged, with first place winning $1,000. Other cash prizes include $250 for Best Southern Made Film, Best Dramatic Short Film, Best Comedic Short Film, and Best Made in Arkansas Film. At 11 a.m. Sunday, the awards brunch will be held at the Griffin Music Hall.

Tickets are available for both the Film Festival and the performances at the Murphy Arts District. Packages with tickets for both are available. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit eldomad.com and eldofilmfest.com.