Filmland 2026 Brings Matthew McConaughey, Reagan and a Messy Love Triangle to Arkansas

The stars are descending upon Little Rock.

Today, the Arkansas Cinema Society announced its anticipated lineup for Filmland, an annual film festival in Little Rock, Arkansas, running from August 12-16. Presented by the Tyson Family Foundation, Filmland will include “Chasing Summer,” the latest from acclaimed filmmaker Josephine Decker (“Madeline’s Madeline”) and starring comedian Iliza Schlesinger as a woman who returns home to Texas to confront her high school demons, as its Closing Night Selection; a special 40th anniversary presentation of the Zucker brothers’ celebrated comedy “Ruthless People,” starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler and Judge Reinhold; screenings of Michael Russell Gunn’s “The Brink of War,” a thriller featuring Jeff Daniels as Ronald Reagan squaring off against the Soviets and “The Sun Never Sets,” Joe Swanberg’s ensemble film about a messy Alaskan love triangle between Dakota Fanning, Jake Johnson and Cory Michael Smith.

Decker, Swanberg, Gunn and Reinhold will all be on hand to present their films and participate in post-screening Q&As, joining previously announced guest Matthew McConaughey, who will head down to Arkansas to receive the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker Award, as well as participate in a Q&A following a Premiere Presentation screening of Andrew Patterson’s “The Rivals of Amziah King,” a crime thriller starring McConaughey, Kurt Russell and talented newcomer Angelina LookingGlass, and also sit down for a conversation with his “Mud” collaborator (and Little Rock native/Arkansas Cinema Society co-founder) Jeff Nichols. All of Filmland’s screenings, workshops and panels will take place at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA).

Among those panels are “Composing for Cinema: A Deep Dive” with Josh Loeb (“In Spite of Ourselves”) and Jim Fairchild of Modest Mouse and “Film Incentive Roundtable” with Sen. Clarke Tucker, Sen. Jonathan Dismang and Rep. Tippi McCullough. Panavision will be back as a sponsor of Filmland: Arkansas, with winners of the Professional Shorts and Feature Film Audience Awards each receiving a Panavision New Filmmaker Program Equipment Grant ($60,000 for the feature winner and $15,000 for the shorts winner).

Filmland has hosted numerous award-winning actors and filmmakers since its 2018 inception, such as Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chloé Zhao and Richard Linklater, while offering screenings of films such as eventual Oscar winners “Nomadland” and “Free Solo,” local selections from Filmland: Arkansas and a short film created each year by their Filmmaking Lab for Teen Girls.

“As a proud partner of the Arkansas Cinema Society and Variety, we’re thrilled to welcome Filmland: Arkansas and Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey back to Little Rock, as well as introduce many others to our city,” said Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau President & CEO Gina Gemberling. “Hosting an event of this caliber each year is always an exciting opportunity to showcase Arkansas’ capital city on a national stage while highlighting the vibrant arts and culture scene that continues to grow here.”

Tickets for Filmland are on sale now. For more information on Filmland and the Arkansas Cinema Society, please go to: filmland.org.