The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (HSDFF) would have to eliminate one of its signature programs and cut back other parts of the longstanding event if the federal Rescissions Act of 2025 is passed in the U.S. Senate this month, according to festival organizers.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 214–212 on June 12 to approve the act, which would slash $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in 2026 and 2027. The CPB is the sole source of federal funding provided to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), public television and National Public Radio (NPR) stations.
But the CPB also provides funding to a number of documentary film-related programs that seek to engage with the public media system, including the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
If the Rescissions Act is approved, the event will lose $160,000 in funding from the CPB and another $20,000 in funding from PBS, Ken Jacobson, the festival’s executive director, told Arkansas Business. The CPB, which accounts for 30% of the festival’s budget, is the festival’s largest single source of funding.
“It is important to note that Congress had already appropriated the $1.1 billion in funding,” Jacobson said. “The Rescissions Act would undo funding support that Congress had already reviewed once and deemed worthy.”
All four of Arkansas’ House representatives voted for the bill, which has moved to the Senate with a vote expected shortly after July 4.
According to Jacobson, the CPB funds the festival primarily because of the existence of its Filmmaker Forum, an event that supports the professional development of documentary filmmakers in the Mid-South and the South and facilitates partnerships between documentary filmmakers and public television stations.
As a result of the loss in funding, the festival would have to “drastically reduce or cancel the Filmmaker Forum,” Jacobson said. The Forum is normally held across three days of the nine-day festival. At least 125 filmmakers and 50 industry leaders are expected to attend this October.
Organizers would continue to produce the annual documentary film festival, but would not be able to continue certain programs and would no longer have the funds to host high-profile guests and filmmakers.
Jacobson said losing the benefits of “everything that the Forum brings with it, from the high quality of the programming to the industry leaders who attend the Forum” from across the U.S., would be devastating.
“Out of all the possible film festivals in the U.S. that CPB could have chosen to support, they picked HSDFF precisely because they believe in the goals and programs of the Filmmaker Forum and the festival as a whole,” an email from HSDFF stated.
-
Academy Award-winning actress and Arkansas native Mary Steenburgen was the Honorary Chair of the 32nd HSDFF. (Provided) -
A student screening at the HSDFF (Provided) -
A panel during the Filmmaker Forum at the HSDFF (Provided) -
HSDFF student participants on the stairs of the Arlington Hotel in 2023 (Provided)
The nonprofit’s student outreach programs, including the Emerging Filmmakers Program, a longstanding partnership with Arkansas PBS, would also be negatively impacted or possibly eliminated. The free, full-day event is designed for middle and high school students from around to take part in film screenings, informative talk-back presentations and hands-on workshops.
According to the festival’s website, more than 30 schools and hundreds of students have participated.
Statewide Impact
Jacobson said the cuts could not have come at a worse time. The festival, established in 1991, has been specifically working on raising its profile and attracting move visitors each year. He said those visitors stay in Hot Springs for the duration of the festival and support local businesses during that time.
“We would lose all of this hard-earned momentum and be forced to spend more time and energy on fundraising and protecting what remains rather than on fulfilling our vision for what we can become: the premiere documentary film festival in North America,” he said.
The festival is an in-person event that benefits from filmmaker guests and “much-needed” educational programs, Jacobson said.
“If the festival is forced, due to funding cutbacks, to reduce our programming and bring in fewer filmmaker guests, this will disappoint festival attendees and cause a drop in attendance, which will further diminish the excitement and quality of the event,” Jacobson said.
Arkansas filmmakers are also battling for the future of Arkansas’ growing TV and filmmaking industry as a state tax credit and longstanding film rebate are under scrutiny.
Arkansas Broadcasting
In addition to the film festival, Arkansas PBS and NPR stations throughout the state would lose large portions of their already tight budgets.
“This decision carries deep and disproportionate consequences,” an email sent to Little Rock Public Radio (LRPR) supporters stated. CPB funding makes up about 10% of LRPR’s annual budget. The funding helps sustain local news reporting, regional collaborations like the Arkansas Newsroom and infrastructure needed for broadcasting emergency information during tornadoes, floods and other disasters. The CPB distributes the funds using a formula based on factors such as station size, location and audience reach.
“This funding represents less than 0.01% of the federal budget, but its impact is profound, especially in times when trustworthy news and public safety communication are more essential than ever,” the email stated.
Arkansas PBS would lose 51% of its operational funding for 2026 if the act is passed, interim executive director Sajni Kumpuris said in a PBS Commission meeting on Monday.
That includes a little more than $2.5 million in community service grants from the CPB. The organization does have around $1 million in carryover CPB grants from last year.
And the carryover for 2026 is actually less than normal, according to Angela Cook, fiscal division manager for Arkansas PBS. She said in the meeting that normally around $2 million is carried over, but some “much needed” capital expenditures were budgeted for this year.
“We could get through this year,” Kumpuris said in the meeting. “I can’t predict which way this will go. I just know the vote will happen.”
Sign up for Daily E-news
