Geena Davis and ARC Entertainment’s inaugural event has secured the network as part of a guaranteed jigsaw of distribution for prize-winners.

The Bentonville Film Festival, set to run in Arkansas from May 5-9, guarantees theatrical, television, digital and retail home entertainment distribution for winners of the best film, best family film and BFF audience award.

Davis on Tuesday (April 7) unveiled Lifetime as the TV distribution piece of the equation. Lifetime will also award a development deal for a winning script or treatment that will be revealed at the BFF award show.

“Lifetime and the Bentonville Film Festival create a perfect strategic alliance to complement our mutual goals toward advancing women and diversity in entertainment,” said Davis.

“Film-makers with movies in competition will undoubtedly be ecstatic to know that their work has a chance to reach a national audience on Lifetime.”

“As Bentonville Film Festival quickly grows into a national movement celebrating new voices in media, Lifetime is thrilled to be a partner in helping open entertainment’s points of entry,” said Danielle Carrig, svp of publicity and public affairs for Lifetime.

“It is our priority at Lifetime to support film-making opportunities for women and artists from diverse backgrounds, and we applaud the festival for bringing great films together to ensure wide audiences can enjoy authentic storytelling at its best.”

ARC Entertainment CEO Trevor Drinkwater added, “We continue to be amazed and honoured by the support we are receiving for this initiative. Adding Lifetime to the prize offering is an incredible step forward to enhancing the commercial platform the Bentonville Film Festival initiative is creating in support of women and diversity in media.”