Photos From the 28th Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Including Unofficial 'Festival Dog'

The festival runs until October 26 in the Arkansas spa town in the Ouachita Mountains

Filmmaker Paul Szynol with a stray dog he found wandering the streets of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The dog quickly adopted him. Saturday, October 19, 2019. Photo by Matt Carey

Filmmakers from around the world have descended on the spa town of Hot Springs, Arkansas for the 28th annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. 

Weekend highlights included a fireside chat with Waad Al-Khateab, the Syrian-born director of For Sama, and Nanfu Wang, the native of China who directed One Child Nation. They sat down for a conversation with Jessie Fairbanks, the festival's director of programming.

An unexpected guest at the festival has been a stray dog who took a shine to filmmaker and attorney Paul Szynol, who I'm told came across the dog wandering the streets of Hot Springs. They became fast friends and the dog contentedly made himself part of the festivities.

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