Why come to the festival when there's Netflix?

I love Netflix. We have a Roku box and we stream movies as our main entertainment, and what's not available there, we rent as DVDs. So you might wonder why I love the festival so much.

Here are some reasons:

1) The energy of the audience is something I don't particularly like when I see a narrative film in the theater, but with documentaries, it's different. You are there with a group of people experiencing something together that's really special. And when the film is over, you hear a lot of discussion, whether or not the director and/or the subjects of the film are present. There's a palpable sense of community, of people who are passionate about documentaries.

2) You can hear a commentary from the director on a DVD, but you can't ask questions. The festival is the ultimate interactive experience.

3) I love the old Malco theater and Hot Springs. I love to stay at the Arlington or the Park or the Spring, soak up the ambience of the place. Have some drinks and maybe catch a band at Maxine's, dinner at Rolando's, maybe run into some filmmakers and buy them a drink and talk about the films of the day.

So Netflix is great to watch the movie again. Or watch it before if the film is already out, and make a list of questions for the director. But it doesn't replace the experience of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Not by a long shot.