Peter Frampton to Attend Opening Night; Lineup Includes Anton Corbijn’s Drama A Talent for Murder starring Helen Mirren and Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care, the Grand Ole Opry Centennial Film and 24 World Premieres
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Aug. 12, 2026 — The Nashville Film Festival today announced the initial lineup of feature films, shorts, episodic selections and music videos for its 57th edition, taking place September 24–30. This year’s festival will present over 150 films from more than 25 countries, including 24 World Premieres. Films will screen at beloved Nashville venues including the Belcourt Theatre, National Museum of African American Music, Regal Green Hills Theater and Hooky Entertainment.
Opening the festival is Frampton, an intimate portrait of rock legend Peter Frampton as he confronts the physical limits of a degenerative disease and prepares for his final tour. The film features appearances by Ringo Starr, Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Sheryl Crow, Kate Hudson, Cameron Crowe and Tom Morello. Shot in part in Nashville, the film was created by a team that is primarily Nashville-based. Peter Frampton is scheduled to attend the Opening Night screening.
Making its North American Premiere, Songs from the Circle follows the Grand Ole Opry as it crosses the Atlantic for the first time in its century-long history, bringing Luke Combs, Mumford & Sons, Darius Rucker, Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde and Marty Stuart from the rehearsal rooms of Abbey Road to a centennial concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Fall’s highly anticipated narrative feature selections include Bleecker Street titles: A Talent for Murder, Anton Corbijn’s drama starring Helen Mirren as novelist Patricia Highsmith, alongside Alden Ehrenreich and Olivia Cooke; Tender Loving Care, the latest film from Palme d’Or winner and Academy Award nominee Mike Leigh, starring Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Kate O’Flynn and Alice Bailey Johnson.
The lineup also includes Sumerian Pictures’ The Incomer, Louis Paxton’s award-winning Sundance comedy starring Domhnall Gleeson and Gayle Rankin; and Lady, Samuel Abrahams’ comedy starring Fleabag‘s Sian Clifford.
“We’re excited to bring such a multifaceted lineup of films to Nashville,” said Programming Director Lauren Thelen. “Our programming for 2026 reflects a wide range of genres, themes and perspectives, giving our audiences a global and local view of independent filmmaking. This year’s program reflects the music, creativity and character that sets Nashville apart.”
The music documentary program includes Sara Bareilles: Good Grief, directed by Josh Alexander, following Sara’s return to the recording studio after seven years to record her most intimate album to date; The Man with the Big Hat, illuminating the life and influence of Texas singer-songwriter Steven Fromholz through long-buried archival material and appearances by Lyle Lovett and Ray Benson; Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story; Jail Time Records; and Bleeding Hearts. The music video program features the Southeast Premiere of Wet Leg’s “pokemon.”
Additional narrative highlights include the World Premiere of Louis L’Amour’s FLINT, starring Josh Holloway, alongside Sarah Gadon, Dianna Agron and Charles Esten, from Nashville-based writer-director Ryan Whitaker; The Leader, Michael Gallagher’s Heaven’s Gate drama starring Tim Blake Nelson, Vera Farmiga, Jim Parsons and Simon Rex; Crooks, Mickey Keating’s noir crime thriller starring Angela Trimbur and Melora Walters; Sparks, Fergus Campbell’s coming-of-age tale starring Golden Globe nominee Elsie Fisher and Madison Hu; the World Premiere of Brother Save Us, starring Deacon Phillippe, who will attend the festival, and Chandler Riggs; and Clean Hands, Jake Allyn’s drama starring Zach Braff and Esther McGregor.
Throughout the program, Nashville audiences will see films from premieres at Sundance, Venice, Toronto, Tribeca and SXSW.
Tennessee filmmaking is represented throughout the program, including all five World Premiere features: Louis L’Amour’s FLINT; Little Hollywood, Tennessee, shot at the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts in Murfreesboro; Where the Hell Is Anna?, made entirely by Nashville-based cast and crew; One Plant, from Chattanooga’s Sunflower Films; and Brother Save Us, led by Deacon Phillippe, who has deep Nashville ties. Additional Tennessee selections include Clean Hands, from Nashville-based director Jake Allyn; Sam Pollard’s The Lorraine, a reckoning with the history of Memphis’s storied Lorraine Motel; the Franklin-produced Wingfeather Saga; Stages, whose live concert scenes include a sold-out JOHNNYSWIM show at the Ryman Auditorium; and the World Premiere of The Last Daily Paper in Nashville.
Documentary and short-film highlights include Daylight, from Emmy-winning filmmaker Jon Kasbe, following a man serving a life sentence whose New Yorker essay about finding a lifeline in Taylor Swift’s music went viral. Among the festival’s 100 short films are APART, an animated short written by Spike Lee; Grief Room, starring Louisa Harland (Hamnet, Derry Girls); Henri’s Party, starring Esther Garrel (Call Me by Your Name), from Nashville-born director Alex O. Eaton; The Sisters of Scott County, starring Kaitlyn Dever and Ava Phillippe; and Following, a dark comedy starring Nashville native Melissa Joan Hart as herself.
57TH NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Frampton (dir. Rob Arthur) · A Talent for Murder (dir. Anton Corbijn) · Tender Loving Care (dir. Mike Leigh) · Lady (dir. Samuel Abrahams) · Breeder (dir. Alex Goyette) · The Incomer (dir. Louis Paxton) · The Wingfeather Saga: Season 4, Episodes 1 & 2 (dirs. Ron Smith, Bill Breneisen)
SPOTLIGHT: U.S. INDIES
Brother Save Us (dir. Jesse Behrenwald) · Jackrabbit (dir. Ballard C. Boyd) · The Leader (dir. Michael Gallagher) · Stages (dir. Ryan Booth) · The Isolate Thief (dir. John Suits)
NARRATIVE FEATURES
Crooks (dir. Mickey Keating) · Take Me Home (dir. Liz Sargent) · Hot Water (dir. Ramzi Bashour) · Strange River (dir. Jaume Claret Muxart)
NEW DIRECTORS
Mallory’s Ghost (dir. Arabella Oz, co-dir. Nick Canellakis) · Sparks (dir. Fergus Campbell) · Compliance (dir. Kyle Mangione-Smith) · Crystal Cross (dir. Richie James Follin) · Seahorse (dir. Aisha Evelyna)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Time Warp (dir. Allison Berg) · Jaripeo (dirs. Efraín Mojica, Rebecca Zweig) · Scarlet Girls (dir. Paula Cury Melo) · The Haunting of Pennhurst (dirs. Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, Kat Poljak) · A City In The Forest (dirs. Lev Omelchenko, Nolan Huber) · 4000 Days (dir. Daniel Catullo) · Stray Embers (dir. Erin Brethauer and Tim Hussin)
MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES
The Man with the Big Hat (dir. Austin Sayre) · Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story (dir. Ayden Mayeri) · Songs from the Circle (dir. David Freid) · Sara Bareilles: Good Grief (dir. Josh Alexander) · Jail Time Records (dirs. Dione Roach, Steve Happi) · Bleeding Hearts (dir. Andrew Morgan)
TENNESSEE FEATURES
Little Hollywood, Tennessee (dir. Christian Whittemore) · The Lorraine (dir. Sam Pollard) · Clean Hands (dir. Jake Allyn) · SHED (dir. Mila Vilaplana) · Where the Hell Is Anna? (dir. Taylor Dupuis) · One Plant (dir. Jordan Berger) · Louis L’Amour’s FLINT (dir. Ryan Whitaker)
The festival also presents 100 short films, six episodic selections and four music videos. Additional feature titles, including the closing night feature, screening schedules and guest appearances, will be revealed in the coming weeks. See the current lineup at https://nashvillefilmfestival.org/.
Festival passes and individual tickets are available HERE.
About the Nashville Film Festival
The Nashville Film Festival is a globally recognized nonprofit organization and cultural event presenting the best in world cinema, American independent films and documentaries by veteran masters, up-and-coming directors, and first-time filmmakers. With Academy Award® qualifying status, the Nashville Film Festival celebrates innovation, music and the many voices of the human spirit through the art of film. Originally founded in 1969, the Nashville Film Festival is one of the first film festivals in the United States and will host its 57th festival from September 24-30, 2026. For more information, visit www.nashfilm.org.
Media Contact
Kirsten Grenier Burnett
pr@nashfilm.org