The always exquisitely curated Nashville Film Festival opens on Thursday, September 24 and runs through September 30 with a diverse menu of cinema. The Nashville Film Festival is the oldest running film festival in the South (this is the 57th!) and is an Academy Award qualifying festival. The program includes a mix of indies, docs and international cinema, including world and North American premieres.
The most high profile events at NashFilm will be:
- Frampton: The festival opens with this profile of the iconic rock guitarist readying his final tour. Peter Frampton himself will appear personally.
- A Talent for Murder: Anton Corbijn’s latest thriller, starring Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich and Olivia Cooke.
- Tender Loving Care: On the fest’s final night, the latest from venerated auteur Mike Leigh.
- The Incomer: This comedy starring Domhnall Gleeson was a hit at this year’s Sundance.
- world premieres of Jackrabbit, Brother, Save Us and 23 other films.
- Not high profile, but really intriguing – there’s even a program of Kurdish shorts.
The Nashville Film Festival embraces its home in Music City with a strong program of music films. This year, NashFilm will present Songs from the Circle, a Grand Old Opry concert in London, and the singer-songwriter profile Sara Bareilles: Good Grief.
My favorite element of most NashFilm fests is the discovery of new auteurs with their ballyhooed first films. This year’s slate includes these first films:
- Compliance: Kyle Mangione-Smith wrote, directed, produced and edited his first narrative feature.
- Crystal Cross: Director Richie James Follin costars and already has a few wins on the filmfest circuit.
- Mallory’s Ghost: Arabella Oz also stars in her directorial debut, nominated for a jury prize at SXSW.
- Seahorse: Canadian actress Aisha Evelyna’s fist feature as a director was in the narrative competition at SXSW.
- Sparks: Fegrus Campbell’s offbeat first feature has already racked up one festival win.
All in all, this year’s NashFilm presents 150 films from 25+ countries. Peruse the program and get tickets. I’ll be publishing my festival recommendations on September 22. Here’s the fest trailer.