Catch the Hogs game on the big screen Thursday night in Fort Smith

Robert Medley, Fort Smith Times Record
·3 min read

It will be basketball on the big screen this week at the Fort Smith International Film Festival's weekly film series in the Bakery District.

Instead of a movie, it will be a night for the Arkansas Razorbacks and NCAA basketball when filmmakers and lovers gather Thursday.

Brandon Chase Goldsmith, left, Adam Harbottle, and Rham Cunningham, holding the Hog hat, It will be all about the Hogs Thursday, March 23, 2023 in the Bakery District where a film series has been bumped back a week for the Sweet Sixteen game to be shown on the big screen in Fort Smith for a watch party. Arkansas takes on Connecticut at 6:15 p.m.
Brandon Chase Goldsmith, left, Adam Harbottle, and Rham Cunningham, holding the Hog hat, It will be all about the Hogs Thursday, March 23, 2023 in the Bakery District where a film series has been bumped back a week for the Sweet Sixteen game to be shown on the big screen in Fort Smith for a watch party. Arkansas takes on Connecticut at 6:15 p.m.

Brandon Chase Goldsmith, director of the film festival, announced a watch party to start at tipoff for the Arkansas men's basketball game against Connecticut.

Film will return on Thursdays next week. But it is all about the Hogs this week.

"Film Night is now Hog Night on March 23 at Fort Smith's Bakery District, when the Arkansas Razorbacks play in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament," said Brandon Chase Goldsmith, director of the Fort Smith International Film Festival.

"We know what everybody wants to see – so we're switching our program to the game," Goldsmith said.

The series of independent films on Thursdays would have premiered, but will bow to airing the game all of Arkansas will be watching, Goldsmith added.

The basketball game starts at 6:15 p.m. Thursday.

More:Hogs fans in Fort Smith cheer sweet win in March Madness

Other Fort Smith restaurants and bars will have the TVs on the Hogs in the downtown entertainment district and across the River Valley. Flights to Las Vegas Wednesday could cost more than $1,000 roundtrip. And there were still two flights to Dallas Thursday morning that could connect with flights to Vegas by tipoff. However, with the cost of the tickets, airfare and hotel stay, there had not been a notable uptick in travel at at least one Fort Smith travel agency this week.

A roundtrip flight from Fort Smith Regional Airport leaving at 10:28 a.m. Thursday arrives in Las Vegas by 2:01 p.m. with one stop in Dallas for just over $1,000 on American Airlines, according to the online website.

Food and beverages will be available at the Bakery District watch party, said Rham Cunningham, director of fun at the Bakery District.

Selections include food trucks, bar beverages and Fort Smith Coffee Co.'s offerings. Pickleball and cornhole games are also set up, Cunningham said. A $5 donation to the nonprofit film festival is requested for the watch party. The Bakery District is at 70 South 7th Street, Fort Smith.

Ready for more March Madness and the Sweet Sixteen with the Hogs, filmmakers, Brandon Chase Goldsmith, left, of the Fort Smith International Film Festival, and Adam Harbottle, right, holding the Hog hat, are hosting a watch party for the game with Arkansas and Connecticut at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 23, 2023 at the Bakery District in Fort Smith, instead of the weekly film series, the screen will show basketball.

The Bakery District and Film Festival will continue hosting “Movie Night at the Bakery,” a collaborative Thursday night screening of independent and foreign films from the 2021 and 2022 festivals.

“If you missed the festival or didn’t catch a movie you wanted to see, then Movie Night at the Bakery is your chance," Goldsmith said.  "The opportunity to see incredible independent films should not be limited to two festival days.”

The next film will screen March 30. “Jacks & Jills” is a documentary following a male and female athlete on their journey to the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward, WI. “Jacks & Jills” won Best Documentary Series at Vermont’s ITV Fest in 2018. In the same year, it was selected for the Sports Documentary Category at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Director Adam Harbottle is an Arkansas filmmaker/cinematographer.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Filmmakers and fans will watch Hogs basketball instead of a movie