Standing Up, Falling Down | Directed by Matt Ratner
By the Grace of God | Directed by François Ozon
The Trouble With You | Directed by Pierre Salvadori
Long Day's Journey Into Night 3D | Directed by Bi Gan
Bacurau | Directed by Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho
Jojo Rabbit | Directed by Taika Waititi
A Hidden Life | Directed by Terrence Malick
Coin Coin and the Extra Humans | Directed by Bruno Dumont
Marriage Story | Directed by Noah Baumbach
37 Seconds | Directed by Hikari
Portrait of a Lady on Fire | Directed by Céline Sciamma
Clemency | Directed by Chinonye Chukwu
US Independents
International Falls | Directed by Amber McGinnis
Tuscaloosa | Directed by Philip Harder
Babysplitters | Directed by Sam Friedlander
Working Man | Directed by Robert Jury
Speed of Life | Directed by Liz Manashil
Barbie's Kenny | Directed by Zachary Ray Sherman
Inside the Rain | Directed by Aaron Fisher
Hudson | Directed by Sean Cunningham
Women in Focus
Witz | Directed by Martine Doyen
Pause | Directed by Tonia Mishiali
De Lo Mio | Directed by Diana Peralta
The Short History of the Long Road | Directed by Ani Simon-Kennedy
Clementine | Directed by Lara Jean Gallagher
Lost Transmissions | Directed by Katherine O'Brien
Twisted Lense
The Wall of Mexico | Directed by Zachary Cotler, Magdalena Zyzak
Only | Directed by Takashi Doscher
Greener Grass | Directed by Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe
Swallow | Directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis
Reckoning | Directed by Ruckus Skye, Lane Skye
Range Runners | Directed by Philip S. Plowden
Documentary Competition
Ernie & Joe | Directed by Jenifer McShane
Bedlam | Directed by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg
Rewind | Directed by Sasha Joseph Neulinger
Dark Suns | Directed by Julien Elie
Seahorse | Directed by Jeanie Finlay
Gay Chorus: Deep South | Directed by David Charles Rodrigues
Changing the Game | Directed by Michael Barnett
Baracoa | Directed by Pablo Briones, The Moving Picture Boys
17 Blocks | Directed by Davy Rothbart
Red Dog | Directed by Luke Dick, Casey Pinkston
What We Left Unfinished | Directed by Mariam Ghani
Stuffed | Directed by Erin Derham
The Hottest August | Directed by Brett Story
I, Pastafari: A Flying Spaghetti Monster Story | Directed by Mike Arthur
Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story | Directed by Don Metz
What's Eating Ralphie May | Directed by Cat Rhinehart
Music Films/Music City
Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl | Directed by Amy Goldstein
Born Into the Gig | Directed by Kate Davis, David Heilbroner
Mr. Jimmy | Directed by Peter Michael Dowd
Bluebird | Directed by Brian Loschiavo
Chuck Berry | Directed by Jon Brewer
Cool Daddio: The Second Youth of R. Stevie Moore | Directed by Imogen Putler, Monika Baran
The Sheriff of Mars | Directed by Jason Ressler
The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash | Directed by Thom Zimny
Strange Negotiations | Directed by Brandon Vedder
Tommy Emmanuel: The Endless Road | Directed by Jeremy Dylan
Studio 17: The Lost Reggae Tapes | Directed by Mark James
Other Music | Directed by Puloma Basu, Rob Hatch-Miller
You Gave Me a Song: The Life and Music of Alice Gerrard | Directed by Kenny Dalsheimer
My View: Clem Burke | Directed by Philip Sansom
Enormous the Gorge | Directed by Nic Davis
Narrative Competition
Alice | Directed by Josephine Mackerras
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open | Directed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kathleen Hepburn
Saint Frances | Directed by Alex Thompson
Dirty God | Directed by Sacha Polak
Watch List | Directed by Ben Rekhi
Retrospekt | Directed by Esther Rots
This World Won't Break | Directed by Josh David Jordan
Eternal Winter | Directed by Attila Szász
Burning Cane | Directed by Phillip Youmans
The Best of Dorien B. | Directed by Anke Blondé
New Directors
Sequin in a Blue Room | Directed by Samuel Van Grinsven
Hormigas | Directed by Antonella Sudasassi
Lost Bayou | Directed by Hunter Burke
The Planters | Directed by Alexandra Kotcheff, Hannah Leder
Mickey and the Bear | Directed by Annabelle Attanassio
The Garden Left Behind | Directed by Flavio Alves
Jezebel | Directed by Numa Perrier
Lament | Directed by Diego Lopes, Claudio Bitencourt
Feral | Directed by Andrew Wonder
Once Upon a River | Directed by Haroula Rose
Manuel | Directed by Josh Harrell, Yuri Figueroa
Shorts Programming
Documentary Shorts
All Inclusive | Directed by Corina Schwingruber Ilić
Take Me To Prom | Directed by Andrew Moir
The Clinic | Directed by Elivia Shaw
All On A Mardi Gras Day | Directed by Michal Pietryzk
Betty Feeds The Animals | Directed by James P. Gannon
Double Exposed | Directed by Julie Buck
Edgecombe | Directed by Crystal Kayiza
A Love Song For Latasha | Directed by Sophia Nahli Allison
Everything You Wanted to Know About Sudden Birth* (*but were afraid to ask) | Directed by Scott Colonico
Dani | Directed by Lizzy Hogensen
Inferno | Directed by Patrick Fileti
Reality Baby | Directed by Nodlag Houlihan
Ài Bàba (Love Dad) | Directed by Connie Huang
Exit 12 | Directed by Malcolm Pullinger
Narrative Shorts
Washed Away | Directed by Ben Kallam
You Are The Captain | Directed by Dan Samiljan
Adam | Directed by Shoki Lin
Driving Lessons | Directed by Marziah Riahi
Peggy | Directed by Justin Miller
Make No Utopia | Directed by John MacDonald
The Neighbors' Window | Directed by Marshall Curry
Heroines | Directed by Katia Badalian
sometimes, i think about dying | Directed by Stefanie Abel Horowitz
Evelyn x Evelyn | Directed by Eric Pumphrey
The Devil's Harmony | Directed by Dylan Holmes Williams
Nobody Likes You As Much As I Do | Directed by Jerzy Rose
Rehearsal | Directed by Courtney Hope Therond
Maja | Directed by Marijana Jankovic
Green | Directed by Suzanne Andrews Correa
Woman in Stall | Directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli
40 Minutes Over Maui | Directed by Josh Covitt, Michael Feld
Grace | Directed by Alexia Oldini, Steven Gray
Coda | Directed by Zoe Jarman
Beds | Directed by Matt Cascella
Hieu | Directed by Richard Van
Father Figurine | Directed by Matt Mazman
King Wah (I Love You) | Directed by Horatio Baltz
The Role | Directed by Farnoosh Samadi
Adalamadrina | Directed by Carlota Oms
Stay Awake, Be Ready | Directed by Pham Thien An
Miller & Son | Directed by Asher Jelinsky
Where I End And You Begin | Directed by Julius Metoyer, Will Hoffman
Will "The Machine" | Directed by Kent Lamm
Pozole | Directed by Jessica Mendez Siquieros
Ajo | Directed by More Raca
Frontier | Directed by Chuck Kleven
The Jog | Directed by Joseph Lee Anderson
The 8th Year of the Emergency | Directed by Maureen Towey Brotherhood Pierre Brouillette-Hamelin
Experimental Shorts
Gun Shop | Directed by Patrick Smith
Crude Oil | Directed by Christopher Good
Winners Bitch | Directed by Sam Gurry
Violeta + Guillermo | Directed by Óscar Vincentelli
Fainting Spells | Directed by Sky Hopinka
Mom's Clothes | Directed by Jordan Wong
Elder Abuse | Directed by Drew Durepos
We Were Hardly More Than Children | Directed by Cecelia Condit
My Generation | Directed by Ludovic Houplain
Parsi | Directed by Eduardo Williams
Animated Shorts
Sister | Directed by Siqi Song
Wild Love | Directed by Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Léa Georges, Maryka Laudet, Zoé Sottiaux, Corentin Yvergniaux
Untravel | Directed by Ana Nedeljkovic, Nikola Majdak Jr.
Entropia | Directed by Flora Anna Buda
My Mother's Eyes | Directed by Jenny Wright
I Wait For The Night | Directed by Arthur Chaumay
Random Thoughts | Directed by Steven Vander Meer
Good Intentions | Directed by Anna Mantzaris
God I Need A Girlfriend | Directed by Stefan Janoski
2019 NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL GRAND JURY PRIZES
GRAND JURY PRIZE NARRATIVE FEATURE: ETERNAL WINTER Directed by Attila Szász
GRAND JURY PRIZE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: DARK SUNS Directed by Julien Elie
GRAND JURY PRIZE NEW DIRECTOR'S FEATURE: THE GARDEN LEFT BEHIND Directed by Flavio Alves
GRAND JURY PRIZE ANIMATED FEATURE: ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE Directed by Raúl de la Fuente, Damian Nenow
GRAND JURY PRIZE REEL MUSIC DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: MR. JIMMY Directed by Peter Dowd
GRAND JURY PRIZE TENNESSEE FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION: TRIGGER Directed by Warren Smythe and Alexandra Sedlak
GRAND JURY PRIZE DOCUMENTARY SHORT: EXIT 12 Directed by Malcolm Pullinger
GRAND JURY PRIZE NARRATIVE SHORT: THE NEIGHBORS' WINDOW Directed by Marshall Curry
GRAND JURY PRIZE ANIMATED SHORT: WILD LOVE Directed by Paul Autric
GRAND JURY PRIZE EXPERIMENTAL SHORT: CRUDE OIL Directed by Christoper Good
GRAND JURY PRIZE TENNESSEE SHORT: JR ROOT Directed by Jonathan Frazier
GRAND JURY PRIZE TENNESSEE STUDENT SHORT: LOSING FACE Directed by Magdalene Kennedy
GRAND JURY PRIZE COLLEGE STUDENT SHORT: KNOCKING DOWN THE FENCES Directed by Megan Shutzer
GRAND JURY PRIZE YOUNG FILMMAKER SHORT: GREY HEART Directed by Theo Tapliz
GRAND JURY PRIZE EPISODIC PILOT: BOOTSTRAPPED Directed by Stephanie Liang
GRAND JURY PRIZE EPISODIC SERIES: TOP DOG Directed by Julia Tokarz
GRAND JURY PRIZE VIRTUAL REALITY AND 360: ACCUSED # 2: WALTER SISULU Directed by Nicolas Champeaux, Giles Porte
GRAND JURY PRIZE GRAVEYARD SHIFT FEATURE: CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER Directed by Mickey Reece
GRAND JURY PRIZE GRAVEYARD SHIFT SHORT: JEFF DRIVES YOU Directed by Aidan Brezonick
The Graveyard Shift is a dimension of the Nashville Film Festival specializing in genre cinema, rigorous art, unconventional stories, and the strange and unusual. The 2019 Nashville Film Festival Graveyard Shift presented additional awards including:
Best Actress Award for star Mary Buss in Mickey Reece’s film CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER
Best Actor Award went to Richard Speight, Jr. for the Mississippi film DRIVEN.
Honorable Mention Award for Feature Film presented to Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen’s documentary SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.
Honorable Mention Award in Graveyard Shift Shorts went to Steven Daniels’ BLOOD SPOOK.
The Graveyard Shift Jury presents a Special Prize to documentary subjects Mark Patton (SCREAM, QUEEN! MY NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) and Joey Ryan (THIS IS WRESTLING: THE JOEY RYAN STORY) for changing discourses, crafting dialogues, and reshaping public narratives in all communities.
Nashville Film Festival 2019 Screenplay Contest Category Winners:
Feature Drama: “The Danger Inside” by Tyler Rabinowitz
Feature Comedy: “Life’s A Beaut” by Kelly Anelons
Feature Horror: “Live” by Christopher O’Bryant
Feature Genre: “Oh Mists, My Mists” by Guilherme Viegas
Pilot One Hour: “Fix” by Jeff Bower
Pilot Half Hour: “Very Fine People” by Jonathan Katz
ANIMATED FEATURE COMPETITION The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales | directed by Benjamin Renner & Patrick Imbert | France | 90 min. | Tennessee Premiere Cocolors | directed by Toshihisa Yokoshima | Japan | 46 min. | Southeast US Premiere Virus Tropical | directed by Santiago Caicedo | Ecuador / Colombia | 97 min. | Tennessee Premiere
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION Chef Flynn | directed by Cameron Yates | USA | 83 min. | Southeast US Premiere Circles | directed by Cassidy Friedman | USA | 82 min. | US Premiere Crime + Punishment | directed by Stephen Maing | USA | 111 min. | Tennessee Premiere Crossroads | directed by Ron Yassen | USA | 76 min. | Tennessee Premiere Dark Money | directed by Kimberly Reed | USA | 99 min. | Tennessee Premiere Every Act of Life | directed by Jeff Kaufman | USA | 93 min. | Southeast US Premiere hillbilly | directed by Sally Rubin & Ashley York | USA | 87 min. | World Premiere | Closing Night SelectionInventing Tomorrow | directed by Laura Nix | USA | 104 min. | Tennessee Premiere Minding the Gap | directed by Bing Liu | USA | 98 min. | Tennessee Premiere A Murder in Mansfield | directed by Barbara Kopple | USA | 87 min. | Tennessee Premiere On Her Shoulders | directed by Alexandria Bombach | USA | 94 min. | Tennessee Premiere Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland | directed by Kate Davis & David Heilbroner | USA | 120 min. | Southeast US Premiere Weed the People | directed by Abby Epstein | USA | 97 min. | Southeast US Premiere The World Before Your Feet | directed by Jeremy Workman | USA | 96 min. | Tennessee Premiere Zero Weeks | directed by Ky Dickens | USA | 85 min. | Southeast US Premiere
GRAVEYARD SHIFT FEATURE COMPETITION Door In the Woods | directed by Billy Chase Goforth | USA | 90 min. | Tennessee Premiere Found Footage 3D | directed by Steven DeGennaro | USA 100 min. | Tennessee Premiere Get My Gun | directed by Brian Darwas | USA | 90 min. | Tennessee Premiere Katrina's Dream | directed by Mirko Bischofberger & Dario Bischofberger | Switzerland | 85 min. | US Premiere The Laplace's Demon | directed by Giordano Giulivi | Italy | 109 min. | Nashville Premiere Mickey Reece's Alien | directed by Mickey Reece | USA | 70 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Odds | directed by Bob Giordano | USA | 107 min. | Southeast US Premiere PROTOTYPE | directed by Blake Williams | Canada | 63 min. | Southeast US Premiere Zerzura | directed by Christopher Kirkley | Niger / USA | 84 min. | Southeast US Premiere
MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY FEATURE COMPETITION Bathtubs Over Broadway | directed by Dava Whisenant | USA | 87 min. | Southeast US Premiere Fatherhood| directed byBen Gregor | United Kingdom | 76 min. | Southeast US Premiere If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd | directed by Stephen Kijak | USA | 94 min. | Tennessee Premiere Industrial Accident - The Story of Wax Trax! Records | directed by Julia Nash | USA | 95 min. | Southeast US Premiere Loud Krazy Love | directed by Trey Hill & Scott Mayo | USA | 87 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Potential of Noise - Conny Plank | directed by Stephan Plank & Reto Caduff | Germany | 92 min. | Southeast US Premiere Satan & Adam | directed by V. Scott Balcerek | USA | 75 min. | Southeast US Premiere Stay Human | directed by Michael Franti | USA | 93 min. | Southeast US Premiere Steven Tyler: Out on a Limb | directed by Casey Tebo | USA | 96 min. | World Premiere | Opening Night Selection
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION 1985 | directed by Yen Tan | USA | 85 min. | Southeast US Premiere Across the Waters | directed by Nicolo Donato | Denmark | 95 min. | Southeast US Premiere An Act of Defiance | directed by Jean van de Velde | South Africa / Netherlands | 123 min. | Tennessee Premiere Adventures In Public School | directed by Kyle Rideout | Canada | 84 min. | Southeast US Premiere Angels Wear White | directed by Vivian Qu | China | 107 min. | Tennessee Premiere Bikini Moon | directed by Milcho Manchevski | USA | 102 min. | Tennessee Premiere Craving | directed by Saskia Diesing | Netherlands | 95 min. | Southeast US Premiere Dating My Mother | directed by Mike Roma | USA | 84 min. | Southeast US Premiere DriverX | directed by Henry Barrial | USA | 98 min. | Tennessee Premiere Fifty Springtimes | directed by Blandine Lenoir | France | 89 min. | Southeast US Premiere Goliath | directed byDominik Locher | Switzerland | 85 min. | Southeast US Premiere Prison Logic | directed by Romany Malco Jr | USA | 95 min. | Tennessee Premiere Salvation| directed by Denise Castro | Spain | 80 min. | Southeast US Premiere Shelter| directed byEran Riklis | Israel | 93 min. | Tennessee Premiere When She Runs Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck | USA | 74 min. | Tennessee Premiere
NEW DIRECTORS FEATURE COMPETITION 3 / 4 | directed by Ilian Metev | Bulgaria | 82 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Best of All Worlds | directed by Adrian Goiginger | Austria | 103 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Marriage | directed by Blerta Zeqiri | Kosovo | 97 min. | Southeast US Premiere Mountain Rest | directed by Alex O Eaton | USA | 98 min. | World Premiere Never Steady, Never Still | directed by Kathleen Hepburn | Canada | 111 min. | Tennessee Premiere Noblemen | directed by Vandana Kataria | India | 109 min. | Tennessee Premiere Still | directed by Takashi Doscher | USA | 88 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Swan | directed by Ása Helga Hjörleifsdótirr | Iceland | 91 min. | Southeast US Premiere Thunder Road | directed by Jim Cummings | USA | 91 min. | Southeast US Premiere
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS FEATURES Benched | directed by Robert Deaton & George Flanigen | USA | 110 min. | World Premiere Blindspotting | directed by Carlos López Estrada | USA | 95 min. | Tennessee Premiere Brampton's Own| directed by Michael Doneger | USA | 91 min. | World Premiere Breath | directed by Simon Baker | USA | 115 min. | Tennessee Premiere Daphne & Velma| directed by Suzi Yoonessi | USA | 77 min. | Tennessee Premiere Eighth Grade| directed by Bo Burnham | USA | 94 min. | Tennessee Premiere Fail State| directed by Alexander Shebanow | USA | 94 min. | Southeast US Premiere First Reformed| directed by Paul Schrader | USA | 108 min. | Tennessee Premiere Harold and Maude| directed by Hal Ashby | USA | 91 min. Hot Summer Nights| directed by Elijah Bynum | USA | 120 min. | Tennessee Premiere urassic Park 25th Anniversary| directed by Steven Spielberg | USA | 127 min. Leave No Trace| directed by Debra Granik | USA | 108 min. | Tennessee Premiere On Chesil Beach| directed by Dominic Cooke | United Kingdom | 110 min. | Tennessee Premiere One Vote| directed by Christine Woodhouse USA | 78 min. | Southeast US Premiere Rosemary's Baby 50th Anniversary| directed by Roman Polanski | USA | 137 min.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS DOCUMENTARY FEATURES Hal| directed by Amy Scott | USA | 90 min. | Tennessee Premiere It All Begins with a Song: The Story of the Nashville Songwriter| directed by Chusy | USA | 80 min. | World Premiere THE KING| directed by Eugene Jarecki | USA | 115 min. | Tennessee Premiere Lost In America directed by Rotimi Rainwater | USA | 85 min. | Tennessee Premiere Sammy Davis Jr.: I've Got to Be Me| directed by Samuel D. Pollard | USA | 100 min. | Tennessee Premiere Turning Point| directed by James Keach USA 82 min. | World Premiere
SPECTRUM FEATURES After Louie| directed by Vincent Gagliostro | USA | 100 min. | Tennessee Premiere Dark River| directed by Clio Barnard | United Kingdom | 90 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Gospel of Eureka| directed by Donal Mosher | Michael Palmieri | USA | 75 min. | Tennessee Premiere Into the Okavango| directed by Neil Gelinas | Angola & Botswana | USA 88 min. | Tennessee Premiere McQueen | directed by Ian Bonhôte United Kingdom 90 min. | Tennessee Premiere Mississippi Requiem| directed by Arkesh Ajay, Kelly Pike, Jerell Rosales & Marta Savina | USA | 88 min. | World Premiere Nico, 1988| directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli | Belgium / Italy | 93 min. | Tennessee Premiere Porcupine Lake| directed by Ingrid Veninger | Canada | 80 min. | Tennessee Premiere Ryiuchi Sakamoto: Coda| directed by Stephen Schible | Japan / USA | 102 min. | Tennessee Premiere To a More Perfect Union: US v Windsor| directed by Donna Zaccaro | USA | 63 min. | Tennessee Premiere Under the Tree| directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson | Iceland | 89 min. | Tennessee Premiere
TENNESSEE FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION Other Versions of You| directed by Motke Dapp USA 95 min. | World Premiere Rukus | directed by Brett Hanover USA 87 min. | Tennessee Premiere Stage 5| directed by Alex Westrick USA 116 min. | Southeast US Premiere Straight Up: Kentucky Bourbon| directed by Eric Byford USA 73 min. | World Premiere Strategy and Pursuit| directed by Matt Riddlehoover USA 92 min. | Southeast US Premiere Television Pioneer: The Story of Ross K. Bagwell, Sr.| directed by Kristen Dye USA 77 min. Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace| directed by Richard Gentile USA 93 min.
May 16-18, 2018 | Nashville, TN
The Creator's Conference is a place to connect with peers, a place to discover the latest industry trends, and a place to refine your skills and abilities. This annual event, which coincides with the Nashville Film Festival, combines the professional development of a conference with the kinetic energy of a festival. In this unique environment, you can discover what types of projects film buyers are currently looking for and hear insights from top Hollywood producers and industry executives.
2018 Creator's Conference Presenters
Penelope Bartlett Criterion Collection
Penelope Bartlett is the programmer for The Criterion Channel on FilmStruck, a digital streaming service which launched in November 2016. She served as Director of Programming for the 2016 Palm Springs Shortfest, and has written and curated for the website shortoftheweek.com
She previously held positions at the Chicago International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and the Glasgow Short Film Festival and Glasgow Film Theater. She has also produced several short films, most recently Crystal Lake by writer/director Jennifer Reeder, which world premiered at the 2016 Berlinale. She lives in New York City.
Matt Bach Puget Systems
Matt Bach has been working for Puget Systems since 2002 and has over 16 years of experience in the PC industry. Since 2011 he has been heading up Puget Labs - researching, testing, and developing hardware benchmarking procedures tailored for individual software packages. This not only includes testing the software itself, but also working closely with the professional community to ensure that our workstations are the best they could be and properly address the major pain points of users.
Rod Blackhurst Filmmaker
Rod Blackhurst directed and produced the post apocalyptic thriller HERE ALONE which won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Blackhurst’s second film, the Netflix Original documentary AMANDA KNOX, premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and was named a New York Times and LA Times Critic's Choice.
Daisy Blackwell Hutton Thomas Nelson
Daisy Blackwell Hutton is a native Mississippian and a graduate of Ole Miss, where she earned her B.A. in French and English Literature. She also holds her M.A. in Comparative Literature from Washington University in St. Louis. Daisy has worked in the publishing industry for over 20 years, beginning her career at the Georges Borchardt Agency in New York and also spending time at The Perseus Book Group and Harvard Business School Press in Boston. She joined Thomas Nelson in 2008 as VP of International Licensing and was promoted to Fiction Publisher in 2012, overseeing all Fiction publishing under the Thomas Nelson and Zondervan imprints. She became publisher of the W Publishing nonfiction imprint in early 2017. She lives in Nashville with her husband, Matt, and their two sons, Leo and Silas.
Andrew Borden The Orchard
Andrew Borden is the Manager of Acquisitions at The Orchard, an independent film distribution company that has released such films as The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Overnight, Cartel Land, Life Animated, and upcoming Sundance 2018 films, American Animals and We The Animals. Since graduating from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Film & Digital Media, he has worked in various roles in the entertainment industry, including marketing, publicity, distribution, acquisitions, and international sales, most recently moving from Cohen Media Group. Apart from his work at The Orchard, he also participates on the Screenwriting Lab Committee for Outfest and is dedicated to finding more diverse stories and fresh, unique voices.
Alex Bowen The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Alex Bowen has been with The Kennedy/Marshall Company for the past three years, working across all divisions: narrative features, television, and documentaries. Since joining the company, she’s been the credited researcher on FINDING OSCAR, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the associate producer of BOSTON, narrated by Matt Damon, and is currently associate producing SATAN & ADAM, premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. In addition, Alex teaches coverage writing workshops at Belmont University and Chapman University, and adjudicates for AFI’s writing scholarship submissions. A native of East Tennessee, Alex spends her free time climbing mountains and working on choreography projects.
Christina Campagnola APA
Christina Campagnola is an agent in the Motion Picture literary department at the Agency for the Performing Arts where she represents screenwriters and directors and consults for independent productions and film funds. Prior to joining the APA, Christina worked in production on various independent films and television shows. Campagnola serves on the advisory board for the IFP and Get Lit nonprofit organizations, as well as on the Dean’s Council of the Florida State University Film School, where she received a B.F.A in film production.
Charleene Closshey Filmmaker
Charleene Closshey is an independent filmmaker, actress, musician, and composer, focusing on stories of personal choice and the effects of love. She is most recently known for her work on indie dramedy No Postage Necessary -- shot on 35mm film and the first film to be released on the blockchain -- a project in which she starred, produced, and composed the score. Closshey co-produced and starred in feature film An Evergreen Christmas (Netflix), with Naomi Judd and Robert Loggia, in addition to composing the score and arranging much of the film’s soundtrack. She produced, starred in, and composed the score for the musical Feather, a show fusing theatre with film, music, and live portrait painting, which made its U.S. premiere Off-Broadway at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. She then made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning musical Once. A classically-trained violinist, pianist, and singer, her next album Talk About Love was produced by Grammy winner Brent Maher and releases summer 2018. Closshey is a partner at Two Roads Picture Co. and a member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and SESAC.
Naia Cucukov Walden Media
As Senior Vice President of Development and Production at Walden Media, Naia Cucukov has a passion for identifying inspiring projects and helping them grow into movie magic. A native of southern New Jersey, she grew up loving film and ultimately discovered her passion for production while receiving her B.A. in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University. Like many entertainment executives before her, Naia started in Hollywood as an assistant at CAA followed by a post at Legendary Pictures. She then made the transition into the role of Creative Executive at Bold Films followed by the opportunity to work with Sir Richard Branson as the Director of Development at Virgin Produced. While at Virgin, Naia oversaw all creative programing for the Virgin Produced Channel onboard Virgin Airlines and co-produced the award-winning short film Departure Date, the first film shot on a plane and edited while 35,000 feet in the air. Since her start at Walden Media in 2013, Naia has hit the ground running, cultivating a diverse slate of films. On behalf of Walden she has overseen production for: The Giver, based on the bestselling book by Lois Lowry; Universal and Working Title’s Everest, based on the true story of the 1996 Everest disaster; Disney’s The BFG, a Steven Spielberg-directed adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved novel; and A Dog’s Purpose, directed by Lasse Hallstrom and based on the bestselling novel. Upcoming projects include: Lionsgate’s Wonder, based on the bestselling middle grade novel, directed by Stephen Chbosky; and Sony Animation’s The Star, told from the perspective of the animals in the manger.
Additionally, Naia volunteers with Reading to Kids and the Brown University Alumni Organization, sits on the Templeton Foundations Film Steering Committee and is an active member of Women in Film and CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment). She spends her free time with her Miniature Dachshund, Sharky.
Jeremy Culver Director/Writer/Producer
Jeremy Culver is an independent filmmaker with a passion for storytelling, often focusing on themes of redemption and reconciliation. His short film, Walking with Francis, chronicling the last days of St. Francis of Assisi, recently had an audience with Pope Francis I. The feature documentary, Radical Kindness (with Martin Sheen), was the recipient of both the Gabriel Award and the CIMA Award. His first feature film, An Evergreen Christmas (starring Robert Loggia, Naomi Judd, Charleene Closshey, and Booboo Stewart), was distributed on Netflix. He produced, directed, and wrote the book for the musical Feather, a show fusing theatre with film, music, and live portrait painting, which made its U.S. premiere Off-Broadway at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. His latest film, No Postage Necessary (starring George Blagden, Charleene Closshey, Robbie Kay, and Michael Beach), releases in Summer 2018, was shot on Kodak 35mm film, and will be the first feature film in history released on the blockchain. He is a partner at Two Roads Picture Co. and a member of The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Motke Dapp Filmmaker
Motke Dapp is an American writer and director who always tries to eat a balanced breakfast at least once a day. His wizarding film techniques have helped him land a suitcase full of awards, as well as an adjunct professor position at Belmont University where he teaches directing. He’s handcrafted, along with other amazing filmmakers, a plethora of whimsical, award-winning short films and a couple of feature films including his most recent, Other Versions of You. Motke’s home is in Nashville, but he has a car and the ability to find airports because he never wants the adventures to end. You can find out more by visiting motke.net.
John J. Dessler ETC, Carnegie Mellon University
John J. Dessler is a creative director, programmer, animator, filmmaker, writer, entrepreneur, musician, and digital/fine artist. He currently freelances and is special faculty at the ETC, Carnegie Mellon University, specializing in visual story/communication, VR Story and Sound, UX and UI design, and project management.
He was the artist and media director at Calkins Media for 10 years and has been contracted by or freelances for companies such as GE, NBC, Tyco, Heinz, and various museums and productions - specializing in visual communication and digital media.
In 1996 he founded The Outlet for Creativity, Inc. (a non-profit 501c3) in Rochester, PA, to foster and support the Arts in Beaver County, and served as president for 9 years. He was a featured speaker, performer, and on jury at numerous conferences including SIGGRAPH, GDC, and SXSW. He was creative director for Creative Services at the ETC where he designed and produced virtual interviews, games, exhibits, and interactions for clients such as Duquesne University, National Civil War Museum, and VERC.
He is a published playwright, winner of the Keystone Press and Telly awards, and is an accomplished studio and performing musician regularly showcased at the famous Bluebird Café in Nashville, TN.
Justin Harvey The Programming Service for Public Television
Justin Harvey is the Vice President of Programming at The Programming Service for Public Television, a company that programs many of the top markets in the PBS system. He spent the previous 15 years at Nashville Public Television and in 2013 was named Director of Content responsible for overseeing all station content and distribution. He is an Emmy Award winning producer who has helped numerous producers distribute their work to the PBS system.
Gill Holland Hurricane Streets
Spirit Award nominee for Producer of the Year, Gill Holland has worked on over 100 films, including producing HURRICANE STREETS, the first film to win three prizes at Sundance. Other Sundance faves include "FLOW: For Love of Water", SPRING FORWARD, LOGGERHEADS, IT FELT LIKE LOVE and "LOOK AND SEE: A Portrait of Wendell Berry". He worked on SXSW-winners MAIDENTRIP and MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND, Emmy-nominated DEAR JESSE and the FOX TV hit GREG THE BUNNY. Other award-winners include SWEETLAND, WHERE HOPE GROWS, BEAUTY MARK, AN HONEST LIAR and WERE THE WORLD MINE. He runs sonaBLAST!, a music label and publisher with over 2,000 songs from acts like Ben Sollee and soundtracks from many films. He is deeply involved in Louisville’s civic, political, and cultural life.
Andrew Hunt Raven Banner
One of the founding partners of Raven Banner, Andrew T Hunt is a Writer/Producer/Director with over 20 years of industry experience. Andrew’s feature length debut Sweet Karma premiered at the 2009 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, and was the catalyst for the formation of Raven Banner Entertainment - a worldwide sales company specializing in genre films. In 2012 Raven Banner Releasing was formed as the Canadian distribution arm for RBE, releasing such titles as Autopsy of Jane Doe, Turbo Kid, Deathgasm, Baskin, Dead Shack, and the upcoming Todd & amp; The Book of Pure Evil: The End of The End. 2015 saw the creation of Northern Banner Releasing, a Canadian distribution company that focuses on non-genre films; titles such as Academy Award Nominated Embrace of the Serpent, The Happiest Day In The Life of Olli Maki, How To Plan An Orgy In A Small Town, and Hello Destroyer. Additionally, Andrew has Executive Produced numerous films, including The Crescent, Stake Land 2, Avenged, and It Came From The Desert. Within Raven Banner Andrew plays a key role supervising the review, development and packaging of feature projects from script to screen, as well as overseeing the branding, marketing and distribution of select titles. And the Summer of 2018 will see Andrew get behind the camera again to direct his second feature film Spare Parts.
Demetria Kalodimos Journalist
Demetria Kalodimos has anchored and reported television news for more than 35 years. She’s won some of journalism’s most prestigious awards including 16 regional Emmys, 2 National Headliners, two Edward R Murrows for investigative reporting and 3 Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Awards. In her journalism career, she produced a dozen feature length news oriented docs on everything from AIDS and Hemophilia, to religious miracles , Romanian orphans, even the Nashville connections to Woodstock. In 2000, Demetria established genuine human productions, writing, directing, shooting and editing true stories about real people…genuine humans. Her debut documentary, Friends Seen and Unseen unraveled the mystery of the underground cult preacher Prophet Omega. Friends Seen and Unseen was a double sellout and award winner at the Nashville Film Festival. It screened at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles and was selected for Birmingham’s Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. Injurious George , the true story of the notorious Nashville Footstomper, also sold out the Nashville Film Festival, drawing rave reviews from the audience and critics. It was awarded by the prestigious Chicago International Film Festival, and was an official selection of the Indie Memphis Film Festival for outstanding southern storytelling. Injurious George won best mini-feature at the Barebones Film Festival 2002. Genuine Human’s first feature-length documentary, Pre-Madonna, screened to sold-out crowds at the Nashville Film Festival in 2004. It was recognized for excellence in documentary at the Berkeley Video and Film Festival. In 2012, Genuine Human collaborated with WSMV television to present Indelible, the Case Against Jeffrey Womack. It revealed never-before-seen or heard evidence from the crime that cost Nashville, Tennessee it’s innocence. Demetria graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors in Music Education from Illinois Wesleyan University. She earned her Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois, and in 2007, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from her alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan. Genuine Human is dedicated to telling true stories of real people, in every form those stories might take. Documentary remains our passion. Real people, true stories, genuine human.
Jim Logrando Craft Services
Jim Logrando is a co-founding partner of Craft Services, a strategy agency specializing in Kickstarter project management, artist management/career development, marketing plans, and brand partnerships. Prior to launching Craft Services, Jim held senior roles in strategic marketing and brand development at Redeye Worldwide and Yep Roc Records, as well as a continued advisory role at Kickstarter. Jim's career began on-air in radio and he continues to be a songwriter, blackjack player, t-shirt collector, and a baseball enthusiast.
Erik Lokkesmoe Aspiration Entertainment
Erik Lokkesmoe has more than 20 years of experience popularizing and populating great ideas and stories. A former speechwriter, press secretary, studio executive, and thought-leader on aspirational audiences.
Over twelve years Erik served as a congressional press secretary, Senate campaign communications director, political communications advisor at the National Association of Broadcasters, speechwriter in the George W. Bush Administration, and head of communications for the National Endowment of the Humanities.
During his political career Erik launched Brewing Culture, a “third-place” initiative to bring variety of beliefs and backgrounds together around great art and ideas. In 2006, Anschutz Film Group & Walden Media asked Erik to be the project manager for the movie Amazing Grace, a political thriller chronicling the heroic story of 18th century abolitionist William Wilberforce. He and his team were heralded by the LA Times for crafting an unconventional marketing campaign and social impact effort to end modern-day slavery.
Erik served as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for AFG/Walden Media in Los Angeles until 2008 when he and two others launched Different Drummer, an unconventional marketing and publicity firm. For the next ten years, across more than 100 entertainment projects, Erik led the vision and strategy of the fast-growing agency that included projects for all major movie studios, television networks, publishers, labels, and causes.
Expanding into production and distribution, Erik and four partners created Aspiration, executive producing the Sundance-premiered, NY Times Critics Pick film LAST DAYS IN THE DESERT starring Ewan McGregor. The company also distributed the festival-winning independent film NOBLE, with several new films in production.
Erik is the author and co-author of three books, including his most recent, DIFFERENT DRUMMER. He and his wife, Monica, have three children and, after moving from DC to LA to DC to LA to NYC to Nashville over the past seven years, are glad to call Music City their home.
Brian Loschiavo Riverside Entertainment
Brian Loschiavo is the Co-Founder and Head of Creative Production & Development for Riverside Entertainment, a Nashville and Los Angeles-based production company specializing in unscripted television, documentary film and high-end branded content.
Prior to forming Riverside Entertainment with partner Jeff Molyneaux, Brian worked as a freelance screenwriter and director before spending 4 years as a Senior Producer for Disney/ABC Television Group. During his tenure, he helped create the successful music-documentary franchise, Nashville: On the Record, which began as a digital series and culminated in 3 primetime concert specials, all of which he executive produced, wrote and/or directed.
As a screenwriter, Brian has sold or optioned several feature and television projects. As a songwriter, his songs have been featured in national commercials and broadcast television shows. He was a producer on the Grammy-nominated feature film, American Saturday Night: Live from the Grand Ole Opry, and is currently producing and directing a feature documentary about Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Cafe.
Brian is a member of the Producers Guild of America and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In 2015, he appeared on Variety Magazine’s Music City Impact Report.
Leonard Maltin Maltin Movies
Leonard Maltin is one of the world’s most respected film critics and historians. He is best known for his widely-used reference work Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide and its companion volume Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide, as well as his thirty-year run on television’s Entertainment Tonight. He teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, appears regularly on Turner Classic Movies, and hosts the weekly podcast Maltin on Movies with his daughter Jessie for the Nerdist network. His books include The 151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, The Great Movie Comedians, The Disney Films, The Art of the Cinematographer, Movie Comedy Teams and The Great American Broadcast. He served two terms as President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, votes for films to be selected for the National Film Registry, and was appointed by the Librarian of Congress to sit on the Board of Directors of the National Film Preservation Foundation. He hosted and co-produced the popular Walt Disney Treasures DVD series for nine years. Perhaps the pinnacle of his career was his appearance in a now-classic episode of South Park. He holds court at leonardmaltin.com. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
Gerry Maravilla Seed&Spark
Gerry Maravilla is an LA-based filmmaker and the Head of Crowdfunding at Seed&Spark. Gerry has made several award-winning shorts, including Cross, which he funded on Seed&Spark and went on to screen at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, and many more. His work has been featured in press outlets such as Business Insider, Pitchfork, Remezcla and more. Find Gerry on social media for the real scoop: @gerrymaravilla
Nora May 3 Arts Entertainment
Nora May is a manager at 3 Arts Entertainment which produces series such as INSECURE, SILICON VALLEY, AMERICAN VANDAL, THE GOOD PLACE and BETTER THINGS. Her clients have worked for showrunners Mara Brock Akil, Mindy Kaling and Marti Noxon to name a few.
Daniel McCoy Pixar
Daniel McCoy began his career with Pixar Animation Studios in and has been worked on a number of Pixar’s award-winning feature and short films including “Geri’s Game,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “Up” “Ratatouille” and “Toy Story 3”. McCoy was the supervising technical director for the Academy Award®-nominated short film “La Luna” which was released theatrically in 2012 in front of the Disney•Pixar feature “Brave.” He currently develops new shading tools with Pixar's Software Tools group.
Austin Mendez North of Two
Austin Mendez grew up in the suburbs of Southern California, where he could not wait to leave and educate himself at the University of California Santa Cruz. A student of economics, this Banana Slug opted out of any further formal education once he found a passion for writing and cinema. Los Angeles called, and he has lived there ever since. He has been writing screenplays since 2008, been involved in productions from web-series to feature film, and now works as the Director of Operations at North of Two.
Carey Nelson Burch My Own Shingle
Carey Nelson Burch serves as President of Hideout Pictures, a division of Average Joes Entertainment and the company behind CMT’s “Still the King” starring Joey Lauren Adams and Billy Ray Cyrus. Previously she was an Executive Producer at TackleBox Films while running her own company, My Own Shingle, where Hideout was a consulting client. Prior, Nelson Burch was a packaging agent at William Morris Endeavor for 12 1/2 years and had the distinction of being the only TV/Film agent in town, servicing Feature and TV producers, the country artist roster, as well as numerous projects. Before joining William Morris Endeavor, Nelson Burch was an Executive at NBC in Los Angeles. She currently serves on the boards of Leadership Music, the Nashville Film Festival, Belmont’s Film & TV Advisory Committee, Film Com and Many Hopes.
Brian Nossokoff UTA
Brian Nossokoff is an agent at the leading global talent and entertainment agency, United Talent Agency (UTA). In this role, he collaborates with a number of different departments including Motion Picture, Television, Music, Endorsements, et. al. After spending twelve years in Los Angeles, he relocated to the UTA offices in New York City in 2017.
Nossokoff’s passion for the business was realized in UTA’s mailroom where he interned over the summers and officially became an assistant after graduating from law school. He spent three years working in production and development before he returned to UTA where he is now an agent in the talent department.
In 2014, he was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s “35 Under 35” list and was honored in Variety’s “Power of Youth” issue in 2017. Nossokoff has helped develop the careers of many actors such as Jacob Tremblay, Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, Alexandra Daddario, Ross Lynch, Zachary Levi, Cameron Monaghan and Kaitlyn Dever. Working across the agency he has cultivated opportunities in a diverse array of mediums for the likes of Trace Adkins, Amara La Negra Steve Earle and The Driver Era.
Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Nossokoff attended the University of Georgia where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science followed by the University of South Carolina where he earned his law degree.
Brian Owens Nashville Film Festival
Brian Owens has programmed NashFilm since 2008. He came to Nashville after founding and managing the Indianapolis International Film Festival. In 2010 he was named one of Nashville’s People in Charge by the Nashville Post and one of the 50 Most Influential People of the 2000’s by the Indianapolis Star.
Owens developed his knowledge of film early in life and honed his skills at Indiana University, where he studied Film. He is an annual guest of the Toronto Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival where he selects films and filmmakers for the April Festival.
Brian has served on multiple film festival juries and has been published in several online and print publications.
Mike Pecci Filmmaker
Trained in film production at the New York Film Academy in 1999, Mike Pecci has since worked with some of Boston and New York's brightest and boldest talents. His critically acclaimed music videos have been featured on MTV2 and Fuse, and his narrative and documentary films have excited festival audience for years. With more than 18 years of experience on the Boston film scene, Mike has cemented a name for himself not only as a music video director, but as an abstractly edgy filmmaker who is undeniably devoted to the art of storytelling.
Andy Peterson Aspiration Entertainment
Andy Peterson is a senior creative media executive at the forefront of marketing entertainment properties and brands to cause conscious & specialty audiences. As a principal at film marketing & development agency Aspiration, Andy has been involved in launching dozens of independent and studio feature films and TV series’ including projects from Paramount Pictures, Participant Media, Sony Pictures, Focus Features, AMC, FOX, dick clark productions and National Geographic among others.
He is also leading Aspiration’s new Docs/ology initiative for curating, servicing and funding ‘praise-worthy’ documentary films.
In 2012 Andy created the Justice Film Festival, a film experience that promotes social justice and celebrates emerging filmmakers from around the world. The festival just announced its 6th annual event in New York City at the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture November 1-4, 2018.
Andy is a graduate of Taylor University, and has lived in Nashville for over 20-years with his wife Rebecca. They have three children. An avid record collector Andy has over 1,000 pieces of vinyl in his collection, and can usually be found visiting contemporary art museums and other sacred spaces during his travels.
Morgan Pichinson Mosaic
Morgan Pichinson is a producer and production executive at Mosaic. She was born in Los Angeles and graduated from Indiana University. She began her career at Verve Talent & Literary Agency working in motion picture and television lit, then went to work at STX Entertainment, and following that to Mosaic in comedy management where she later was promoted in Film & TV production. Mosaic is a management and production company based in Los Angeles. In addition to representing actors, writers, directors, and comedians, Mosaic has a first-look film deal with Sony Pictures, and a first-look television and digital deal with Legendary Entertainment. The company has produced films such as BAD TEACHER, STEP BROTHERS, THE OTHER GUYS, as well as the upcoming film HOLMES & WATSON which reunites Will Ferrell and John C Reilly as the famous duo. In television, Mosaic produced the ABC series “Downward Dog” and Adult Swim’s “Apollo Gauntlet”. Notable clients include Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Judd Apatow, Jay Roach, Kate Mara, Tessa Thompson, and Jessica Chastain.
Alicia Richards Music Industry Exec
Alicia Richards has worked in licensing and creative synch for over 20 years. She has
experience at major labels and music publishers working with the film directors, studios,
networks or music supervisors finding the right songs for their projects and working
within their budget.
Her most recent position, Senior Vice President of Creative Synch, was at Warner Bros.
Records in Burbank where she headed up their Creative Synch department. They
placed songs in Films, Trailers, TV shows, Promos and Sports. Some films and
campaigns that she worked on there include Justice League, Storks, Deep Water
Horizon and Birth of A Nation.
Prior to that she led the Film and Trailer department at Sony Music as VP of Film
Licensing. That department worked on major studio films and their campaigns as well
as indie and student films. Previous to that she was at Disney Music Publishing and
Cherry Lane Music.
Having experience in finding the creative fit and negotiating the fees at both labels and
music publishers she has a unique perspective on all the elements needed to find the
right song or songs to finish a film with the best possible music.
Dr. Nancy McGuire Roche Watkins & Vanderbilt University
Dr. Nancy McGuire Roche holds a Ph.D. in English with Concentrations in Film Studies and American Literature 1930-Present from Middle Tennessee State, as well as a B.S. degree from Vanderbilt University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Brown University. She specializes in film theory, women in film, cinemas of the 1960s, and American Independent
Film, with an emphasis on culture studies, narrative, and gender and identity performance. Dr. Roche currently teaches Film History and Special Topics in Film at the Watkins Film School and Film Theory in their M.F.A. program. She is also a Lecturer in English at Vanderbilt University. Her recent publications include a chapter in Modern American Drama on Screen from Cambridge University Press. A chapter on Mike Nichols in The Other Hollywood Renaissance and her book Cinema in Revolt: Censorship Reform in 1960s British and American Film are both forthcoming from Edinburgh University Press in 2018.
Alex Sera WME
Alex Sera is an agent in WME’s Talent department. She works with the agency’s Nashville-based clients across both the television and film spaces to identify crossover opportunities. Some of the clients she works with include: Kane Brown, Cam, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts.
Sera began her career at WME in 2013 and was promoted to agent in 2018.
A graduate of Williams College, Sera resides in Los Angeles.
Ryan Smith Mountview Films
MOUNTVIEW FILMS – RYAN SMITH – Partner and Head of Production for Mountview Films and co-owner/operator of Thomasville Pictures, a studio and production services company in Thomasville, Georgia. Smith started his career developing and producing When the Night Comes, a feature film for The United Nations Foundation. He then expanded to producing national commercials, music videos, sporting and large concert events. In 2015, Smith negotiated a partnership between AARP & Cumulus to bring Larry King back to radio. Later that year, in partnership with AEG, Smith produced Christmasland – one of the largest Christmas festivals in the history of Los Angeles, which attracted over 250,000 people, took over LA LIVE for a week, and included concerts at The Microsoft Theatre. Through Mountview Films Smith has produced numerous independent feature films, including Some Freaks, which garnered several festival nominations and wins for Best Narrative Feature, including the Grand Jury for the 2017 Nashville Film Festival, and was released worldwide in August of 2017 to enthusiastic media praise. Smith also Executive Produced Heartbeats, an international film from the creator of Step Up. Most recently he produced the short film Why You Don’t Send Nudes, premiering at the Nashville Film Festival in May 2018. Smith is a board member of Film Nashville, a member of the entrepreneurial group Summit Series, and a guest lecturer of the George Shinn School of Entertainment & the Arts at Lipscomb University. Smith is currently overseeing the development of numerous feature films including Peril of a Godsend, a political thriller set in Turkey, and Crescendo, a film based on a novel about the importance of music and mentorship in the lives of young people. He continues to dedicate himself to creating quality content in hopes of inspiring the collective conscience to the greater good through his work.
Bob Zeglarski Cutwater Law PLLC
Bob Zeglarski is an attorney and Founder of Cutwater Law PLLC, an entertainment and business law firm located in Nashville. He has represented film and television productions, producers, screenwriters, distributors, online streaming platforms, investors, and financiers, including a leading merchant bank serving the independent film industry. In addition to his entertainment practice, Bob represents companies and executives in connection with public and private securities offerings, mergers, acquisitions, commercial contracts, and the licensing of products and technologies. Bob currently serves as President of the Media, Entertainment & Technology Alliance (META), a nonprofit trade association serving companies at the intersection of entertainment and technology.
Not Pictured:
Mark Cartier | North of Two Hazel Joyner-Smith | International Black Film Festival of Nashville Anita Modak-Truran | Butler Snow, LLP Regina Moore | Regina Moore Casting Katie Zucker | Zucker Productions
What is The Pitch?
In an effort to create more opportunities for filmmakers, screenwriters, and book authors to get a deal, we've created The Pitch -- a chance to get your story in front of someone who can help turn it into an on-screen reality!
Round 1 - Enter The Pitch here and upload your 1-page written pitch Round 2 - The top 50 will have an opportunity to pitch live in Pitching Round 2 on Thursday, 5/17/2018 (times TBD) at the festival. You will have 5 minutes to WOW them Round 3 - 10 finalists will be selected from Pitching Round 2 to pitch live on Friday, 5/18/2018 (times TBD) to a panel of dealmakers. If they like your pitch and it fits what they are looking for, they will have access to your contact information to reach out to you with potential offers and advice
Round 3 Pitchers:
Benjamin Adams | LUIS AND THE BLUE LEAVES Dominic Burgess | PRODUCTS OF WAR Rob Clyde | JOHN DONOR Adam Finley | MONA Christopher Foley | ACROSS Becky Hobbs | NANYEHI Aaron Lasater | TOUGH LOVE Michael Markham | THE PAINTER Fiona Robert | THE COUNTRY CLUB Richa Rudola | THE SEAL
Opportunity to pitch your screenplay, book, film, or idea (written pitch, here's an example)
Opportunity of advancement to pitch live
Opportunity for 1 paragraph critique of your written pitch upon request before start of festival.
Invitation to Industry Night Reception (Wed, 5/16 at festival)
10 ticket vouchers ($150 Value), good for any regularly priced film or Creator's Conference session at this year's fest
Free admission to Pitch Workshop at festival (Wed, 5/16 at festival)
NashFilm Swag Pack - must pick up at 2018 NashFilm Box Office during festival (May 10-19, 2018)
The Nashville Film Festival is proud to announce the winners of the Actor's Challenge:
Best Film: The Secrets Society | Motke Dapp DirectorBest Actor: David Ditmore | AshesBest Actress: Carla Christina Contreras | The Secrets SocietyBest Style and Beauty Team: Aembras | Chad McClarnon DirectorAudience Favorite: Ashes | Faith McQuinn Director
Actor's Challenge Partners
About the Actor's Challenge:
This first-time event in 2018 was open to all actors 18 years or older who auditioned to work with one of three directors: Motke Dapp, Faith McQuinn, and Chad McClarnon. Each director worked with five actors. The films were completed within approximately three weeks and screened at the festival. Nashville Fashion Week provided hair, makeup, and costumes for the films.
Feature Film Awards
NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Prison Logic, directed by Romany Malco (USA) Honorable Mention - When She Runs, directed by Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck (USA) Best Actor - Romany Malco in Prison Logic (USA) Best Actress - Elise Van't Laar in Craving (Netherlands) Best Screenplay - Angels Wear White, written by Vivian Qu (China) Best Music - Prison Logic(USA) Audience Award - Prison Logic (USA)
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Minding the Gap, directed by Bing Liu (USA) Honorable Mention - Inventing Tomorrow, directed by Laura Nix (USA)
NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Thunder Road, directed by Jim Cummings (USA) Honorable Mention - Still, directed by Takashi Dosher (USA) Honorable Mention - The Marriage, directed by Bierta Zeqiri (Kosovo) Audience Award - Mountain Rest, directed by Alex O. Eaton (USA)
MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Satan & Adam, directed by Scott Balcerek (USA) Honorable Mention - If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd, directed by Steven Kijack (USA) Audience Award - If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd, directed by Steven Kijack (USA) Audience Award - Stay Human, directed by Michael Franti (USA)
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Mickey Reece's Alien, directed by Mickey Reece (USA) Honorable Mention - Zerzura, directed by Christopher Kirkley (Niger / USA) Best Actress - Cate Jones in Mickey Reece's Alien (USA) Best Actor - Jacob Ryan Snovel in Mickey Reece's Alien (USA) Best Actor - CJ Jones in Door in the Woods (USA)
TENNESSEE FIRST COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Rukus, directed by Brett Hanover (USA) Audience Award - Other Versions of You, directed by Motke Dapp (USA)
ANIMATION COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, directed by Benjamin Renner & Patrick Imbert (France)
Short Film Awards
NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - The President's Visit, directed by Cyril Aris (Lebanon / Qatar) - Academy Award Qualified Outstanding US Short - Debris, directed by Juilo O. Ramos (Peru / USA) Honorable Mention US Short - Emergency, directed by Carey Williams (USA) Outstanding International Short - Icarus, directed by Nicolas Boucart (Belgium) Honorable Mention International Short - Miss Wamba, directed by Estafania Cortes (Spain)
ANIMATION COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Weekends, directed by Trevor Jiminez (Canada) - Academy Award Qualified Honorable Mention - Hybrids, directed by Florian Brauch, Kim Tailhades, Matthieu Pujol, Romain Thirion & Yohan Thireau (France)
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - '63 Boycott, directed by Gordon Quinn (USA) - Academy Award Qualified Honorable Mention - Tightly Wound, directed by Shelby Hadden (USA) Honorable Mention - While I Yet Live, directed by Maris Curren (USA)
EXPERIMENTAL COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Green Screen Gringo, directed by Douwe Dijkstra (Netherlands / Brazil) Honorable Mention - Strangers, directed by Eve Duhamel & Julian Vallee (Canada)
STUDENT COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Schoolyard Blues, directed by Maria Eriksson-Hecht (Sweden) Honorable Mention - Lunch Time, directed by Alireza Ghasemi (Iran)
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Socks on Fire: Uncle John and the Copper Headed Water Rattlers, directed by Bo McGuire (USA) Honorable Mention - Paralys, directed by John Boisen & Björn Fävremark
TENNESSEE FIRST COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - Best TN Narrative - Hunter, directed by Hilary Bell (USA) Honorable Mention - Best TN Narrative - The Order, directed by Chad Cunningham (USA) Grand Jury Prize - Best TN Documentary - Clarksville, 1937, directed by Karen Bullis & Kathy Lee Heuston (USA) Grand Jury Prize - Best TN Student Short - Pilots, directed by Jason Luckett
YOUNG FILMMAKERS COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize - The Hitchhiker's Guide to Suburbia, directed by Alex Alford & Zak Denley (US
2018 Screenwriting Competition Winners
THE NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SCREENWRITING COMPETITION WINNERS
May 21, 2018 (Nashville, TN) – The Nashville Film Festival announces the winners of their 5th annual Screenwriting Competition. The winners were selected from over 1,400 submissions from all over the world and include feature-length screenplays, short screenplays, and teleplays.
Below are the winners in each category:
GRAND JURY PRIZES Grand Jury Prize – Feature: Queens, written by Max Sokoloff Grand Jury Prize – Short: True Blue, written by Phil Yuhas
FEATURE SCREENPLAYS Action/Adventure Feature - Suckerfish City, written by William Rodemeyer Comedy Feature - Queens, written by Max Sokoloff Drama Feature - Blue on Blue, written by David Dasilma Family/Animation Feature - Spirit Halloween, written by Billie Bates Historical Feature - Southern Knights, written by Scott Bloom & Myra Turley Inspirational Feature - Get a Life, written by Nicole Fairbrother Music-Inspired Feature - Hard Candy Christmas, written by Nick Abdo Science-Fiction Feature - Moon Rush, written by Matt O’Reilly Tennessee Feature - Green Card Gay, written by KD Amond Thriller/Horror Feature - Dream Screen, written by Steven Epp
SHORT SCREENPLAYS Comedy Short - Mama of Dada, written by Anna Hopkins Drama Short - True Blue, written by Phil Yuhas Genre Short - Sergio: A Scorpion’s Tale, written by Shaun Radecki Tennessee Short - Night of the Swingin’ Dead, written by Jason K Allen Thriller/Horror Short - The Storyteller, written by Patrick Nash Young Screenwriter Short - Hiding Spot, written by Sam Wilson
TELEPLAYS 30-Minute Teleplay - OMG, written by Terry Milner 60-Minute Teleplay - Radicalized, written by Bandar Albuliwi
VR | 360 Film Competition
Grand Jury Prize – I Am a Man, created by Derek Ham
Honorable Mention – MicroGiants, created by Yifu Zhou
ANIMATED FEATURE COMPETITION Bad Cat | directed by Mehmet Kurtulus & Ayse Unal | Turkey | 86 min. | US Premiere Revengeance | directed by Bill Plympton & Jim Lujan | USA | 76 min. | Tennessee Premiere Seoul Station | directed by Sang-ho Yeon | South Korea | 92 min. | Tennessee Premiere Window Horses | directed by Ann Marie Fleming | Canada | 85 min. | Southeast US Premiere
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION 44 Pages | directed by Tony Shaff | USA | 92 min. | Tennessee Premiere Actors of Sound | directed by Lalo Molina | USA | 82 min. | Southeast US Premiere Augie | directed by James Keach | USA | 89 min. | Backpack Full of Cash | directed by Sarah Mondale | USA | 96 min. | Southeast US Premiere California Typewriter | directed by Doug Nichol | USA | 104 min. | Southeast US Premiere Chasing Evel: The Robbie Knievel Story | directed by Jesse James Miller | Canada | 111 min. | Tennessee Premiere Finding Kim | directed by Aaron Bear | USA | 83 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Gateway Bug | directed by Johanna B Kelly | USA | 82 min. | Southeast US Premiere Meth Storm: Arkansas USA | directed by Craig Renaud & Brent Renaud | USA | 100 min. | Southeast US Premiere Quest | directed by Jonathan Olshefski | USA | 105 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Road Movie | directed by Dmitrii Kalashnikov | Belarus, Russia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, & Croatia | 67 min. | Southeast US Premiere Small Talk | directed by Hui-Chen Huang | Taiwan | 88 min. | Southeast US Premiere Spettacolo | directed by Jeff Malmberg & Chris Shellen | USA | 91 min. | Tennessee Premiere Swim Team | directed by Lara Stolman | USA | 100 min. | Tennessee Premiere Unrest | directed by Jennifer Brea| USA | 97 min. | Southeast US Premiere
GRAVEYARD SHIFT FEATURE COMPETITION Birdboy: The Forgotten Children | directed by Pedro Rivero & Alberto Vázquez| Spain | 76 min. |Tennessee Premiere Bloodlands | directed by Steven Kastrissios| Albania & Australia | 80 min. |US Premiere A Closer Walk With Thee | directed by John C. Clark | Brie Williams | USA | 90 min. | Southeast US Premiere Insomnium | directed by Scott Powers | USA | 80 min. | Tennessee Premiere JackRabbit 29 | directed by Kyle Klubal | USA | 172 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Night Watchmen | directed by Mitchell Altieri | USA | 80 min. |Nashville Premiere Show Yourself | directed by Billy Ray Brewton | USA | 79 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Void | directed by Jeremy Gillespie & Steven Kostanski | Canada | 90 min. | Nashville Premiere Without Name | directed by Lorcan Finnegan | Ireland | 93 min. | Tennessee Premiere
MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY FEATURE COMPETITION Arctic Superstar | directed by Simen Braathen | Norway | 72 min. |Southeast US Premiere Bill Frisell: A Portrait | directed by Emma Franz | Australia | 114 min. |Southeast US Premiere Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape | directed by Zack Taylor | USA | 94 min. | Tennessee Premiere Davi’s Way | directed by Tom Donahue | USA | 86 min. | Southeast US Premiere G Funk | directed by Karam Gill | USA | 84 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Last Songwriter | directed by Mark Barger Elliott | USA | 52 min. | World Premiere Score: A Film Music Documentary | directed by Matt Schrader | USA | 94 min. |Tennessee Premiere Straight Into a Storm | directed by William Miller | USA | 110 min. |World Premiere Tokyo Idols | directed by Kyoko Miyake | United Kingdom & Canada | 88 min. | Southeast US Premiere
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION Egon Schiele – Death and The Maiden | directed by Dieter Berner | Austria & Luxembourg | 110 min. |Southeast US Premiere Flowers of Evil | directed by Antti J. Jokinen | Finland | 105 min. | North American Premiere Krotoa | directed by Roberta Durrant | South Africa | 122 min. |US Premiere The Lears | directed by Carl Bessai | USA | 99 min. |World Premiere The Migrumpies | directed by Arman T. Riahi | Austria | 98 min. |North American Premiere Play the Devil | directed by Maria Govan | Trinidad and Tobag | 92 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Relationtrip | directed by Renée Felice Smith, C.A. Gabriel | USA | 89 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Scent of Rain and Lightning | directed by Blake Robbins | USA | 103 min. |Tennessee Premiere Signature Move | directed by Jennifer Reeder | USA | 76 min. | Southeast US Premiere Some Freaks | directed by Ian MacAllister McDonald | USA | 93 min. |Tennessee Premiere The Student | directed by Kirill Serebrennikov | Russia | 118 min. |Southeast US Premiere Sundowners | directed by Pavan Moondi | Canada | 97 min. |World Premiere Tatara Samurai | directed by Yoshinari Nishikori | Japan | 136 min. |Southeast US Premiere We’ve Forgotten More Than We Ever Knew | directed by Thomas Woodrow | USA | 88 min. | Tennessee Premiere The White King | directed by Alex Helfrecht & Jorg Tittel | UK | 89 min. |Southeast US Premiere
NEW DIRECTORS FEATURE COMPETITION Apricot Groves | directed by Pouria Heidary Oureh | Armenia | 79 min. | Tennessee Premiere AXIS | directed by Aisha Tyler | USA | 90 min. | Tennessee Premiere Bomb City | directed by Jameson Brooks | USA | 95 min. | Southeast US Premiere Boomtown | directed by Sabyn Mayfield | USA | 91 min. | World Premiere Easy Living | directed by Adam Keleman | USA | 80 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Eremites | directed by Ronny Trocker | Germany | 110 min. |North American Premiere Girl Flu | directed by Dorie Barton | USA | 94 min. | Tennessee Premiere Park | directed by Sofia Exarchou | Greece & Poland | 100 min. |Southeast US Premiere La Soledad | directed by Jorge Thielen Armand | Venezuela | 89 min. |Tennessee Premiere
SPECIAL PRESENTATION FEATURES Brave New Jersey | directed by Jody Lambert | USA | 86 min. Dog Years | directed by Adam Rifkin | USA | 96 min. The Exception | directed by David Leveaux | United Kingdom | 107 min. Folk Hero & Funny Guy | directed by Jeff Grace | USA | 88 min. The Hero | directed by Brett Haley | USA | 93 min. | OPENING NIGHT SPOTLIGHT Patti Cake$ | directed by Geremy Jasper | USA | 108 min. | CLOSING NIGHT SPOTLIGHT The Wedding Plan | directed by Rama Burshtein | Israel | 110 min.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION DOCUMENTARY FEATURES Abacus: Small Enough to Jail | directed by Steve James | USA | 88 min. Dolores | directed by Peter Bratt | USA | 95 min. May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers | directed by Judd Apatow & Michael Bonfiglio | USA | 107 min. | CENTERPIECE SPOTLIGHT. Step | directed by Amanda Lipitz | USA | 83 min. Where Have You Gone, Lou Dimaggio? | directed by Brad Kuhlman | USA | 75 min.
SPECTRUM The Commune | directed by Thomas Vinterberg | Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands | 111 min. Do Donkeys Act? | directed by David Redmon & Ashley Sabin | USA | 72 min. Last Men in Aleppo | directed by Feras Fayyad | Syria | 104 min. Manifesto | directed by Julian Rosefeldt | Australia & Germany | 95 min. |SPECTRUM SPOTLIGHT. The Memory of Fish | directed by Jennifer Galvin & Sachi Cunningham | USA | 53 min. |EARTH DAY SPOTLIGHT. Menashe | directed by Joshua Weinstein | USA | 82 min. Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves | directed by Mathieu Denis & Simon Lavoie | Canada | 183 min. Vamizi – Cradle of Coral | directed by Mattias Klum | Mozambique & Sweden | 54 min. |EARTH DAY SPOTLIGHT.
SPECTRUM Q The Ornithologist | directed by João Pedro Rodrigues | Portugal, France, & Brazil | 117 min. Staying Vertical | directed by Alain Guiraudie | France | 98 min. The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin | directed by Jennifer M. Kroot | USA | 90 min. Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? | directed by Barak Heymann & Tomer Heymann | Israel | 85 min.
SPECTRUM CHINA Good Samaritan | directed by Fang Gangliang | China | 110 min. The Love of Drum | directed by Ning Jingwu | China | 108 min. Silk Road Hero: Khan’s Arrow | directed by Yang Xiaopu, Fang Jun, Liu Quanwei, Zheng Xiaojia | China | 100 min.
TENNESSEE FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION All the Way to Tacoma | directed by Justin Key | USA | 41 min. | World Premiere Intentional Healing | directed by John Stavas | USA | 42 min. | World Premiere Kandyland | directed by Seth Graves | USA | 81 min. | World Premiere The Meanest Man in Texas | directed by Justin Ward | USA | 106 min. | Tennessee Premiere Wild Man | directed by Jacquie Phillips & Stefanie Black | USA | 85 min. | Southeast US Premiere Your Ride is Here | directed by Fraser Jones | USA | 58 min. | Tennessee Premiere
EPISODIC COMPETITION The Best Dating Advice Brought to You by the Guys Most Qualified to Give You the Best Dating Advice | directed by Christopher Gentle & Jack Lines | USA | 5 min. | World Premiere. Dates (The Series) | directed by Kristie Pennington & Cody Rogers | USA | 24 min. | World Premiere Discocalypse | directed by Dirk Rosenloecher | Germany | 49 min. | US Premiere Guest Appearances | directed by Elizabeth Guest | USA | 12 min. Gunner Jackson: Chapter No. 1 | directed by Christian Strevy | USA | 9 min. | Tennessee Premiere Homies | directed by Mark Columbus | USA | 19 min. | World Premiere Long Live Death | directed by Sebastian Marka | Germany | 89 min. | Southeast US Premiere Manic | directed by Kate Marks | USA | 17 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Minutes Collection | directed by Jim Cummings & Dustin Hahn | USA | 84 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Nest | directed by Filipe Matzembacher & Marcio Reolon | Brazil | 100 min. Our Allies in Iraq (The Shia Militias) | directed by Anders Sømme Hammer | USA | 16 min. | World Premiere Reset | directed by Christelle Gras | France | 34 min. | Tennessee Premiere Who Is? | directed by Carlos Maseda | Venezuela | 2 min. | World Premiere
VR | 360 FILM COMPETITION Asteroids | directed by Eric Darnell | USA | 10 min. | Southeast US Premiere. Escape from Calypso Island | directed by Scott Brown | USA | 8 min. I, Philip | directed by Pierre Zandrowicz | France | 14 min. Invasion | directed by Eric Darnell | USA VAIN: This Party Sucks | directed by Maggie F. Levin | USA | World Premiere | 5 min.
The 2017 Creator's Conference, presented by NashFilm, includes robust tracks for filmmakers, screenwriters, musicians, and all kinds of creators. Come hear about the latest industry trends, paths that have led to success, ways to hone your craft, and meet others in the community!
Creator's Conference Speakers
Jake Basden
Vice President, Publicity & Corporate Communications Big Machine Label Group
Jake oversees publicity and corporate communications for the Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) in Nashville, TN. BMLG is the #1 independent record label in the world home to global superstars Taylor Swift, Steven Tyler, Tim McGraw, Reba and more.
Jake was previously a Media Relations Director in the Sports & Entertainment division of Edelman New York, the largest global PR firm.
He was awarded “Young PR Professional of the Year” by PRWeek magazine and in 2015 led the media relations campaign for the critically-acclaimed documentary GLEN CAMPBELL…I’LL BE ME which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song and won four GRAMMY awards.
Aaron Bleyaert Emmy-Award Winner & Resident Web Guy Conan O’Brien
Aaron Bleyaert is best known for his “Clueless Gamer” series. The series, which began as a part of Conan’s online streaming platform and was later incorporated into the late night show, features Aaron leading Conan & guest celebrities through the newest finds in the video game industry. The series has become a beloved part of the show and a long-lasting online hit.
Aaron is a four-time Emmy nominee – with two nominations for “Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media” and two in the “Outstanding Interactive Program” category. In 2012, Aaron won the Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media – Enhancement to a Television Program or Series” for the Team Coco Sync App.
Aaron also attended the 2016 Nashville Film Festival with his viral short film, “How to Lose Weight in 4 Easy Steps” (written by Bleyaert and directed by Benjamin Berman).
Wendy Calhoun Writer, Series Creator, and Executive Producer
Wendy Calhoun is a writer, series creator, and executive producer with content currently in development at multiple digital and cable studios. Her credits include Co-Executive Producing and writing the historic first season of Fox’s hit series EMPIRE. In addition, she’s written and produced for ABC’S NASHVILLE, FX’s JUSTIFIED, ABC’s REVENGE, and NBC’s LIFE. Last summer, Calhoun wrote and directed the virtual reality short, LEFT BEHIND, sponsored by Google and honored as “Best in VR” at Digital Hollywood 2016. In addition, she served as the Narrative Consultant for Electronic Arts’ BATTLEFIELD HARDLINE video game. She received a 2010 Peabody Award and WGA Best New Series Nomination for JUSTIFIED. She received her second WGA Best New Series Nomination in 2012 for NASHVILLE. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Calhoun studied film and television at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Naia Cucukov Senior Vice President of Development and Production
Walden Media
As Senior Vice President of Development and Production at Walden Media, Naia Cucukov has a passion for identifying inspiring projects and helping them grow into movie magic. A native of southern New Jersey, she grew up loving film and ultimately discovered her passion for production while receiving her B.A. in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University. Like many entertainment executives before her, Naia started in Hollywood as an assistant at CAA followed by a post at Legendary Pictures. She then made the transition into the role of Creative Executive at Bold Films followed by the opportunity to work with Sir Richard Branson as the Director of Development at Virgin Produced. While at Virgin, Naia oversaw all creative programing for the Virgin Produced Channel onboard Virgin Airlines and co-produced the award-winning short film Departure Date, the first film shot on a plane and edited while 35,000 feet in the air. Since her start at Walden Media in 2013, Naia has hit the ground running, cultivating a diverse slate of films. On behalf of Walden she has overseen production for: The Giver, based on the bestselling book by Lois Lowry; Universal and Working Title’s Everest, based on the true story of the 1996 Everest disaster; Disney’s The BFG, a Steven Spielberg-directed adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved novel; and A Dog’s Purpose, directed by Lasse Hallstrom and based on the bestselling novel. Upcoming projects include: Lionsgate’s Wonder, based on the bestselling middle grade novel, directed by Stephen Chbosky; and Sony Animation’s The Star, told from the perspective of the animals in the manger.
Additionally, Naia volunteers with Reading to Kids and the Brown University Alumni Organization, sits on the Templeton Foundations Film Steering Committee and is an active member of Women in Film and CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment). She spends her free time with her Miniature Dachshund, Sharky.
Babacar Diene
Vice President, Acquisitions and Development Voltage Pictures
Babacar Diene is currently Vice President, Acquisitions & Development, at international finance, production and distribution company Voltage Pictures (The Hurt Locker, Dallas Buyers Club). Since joining Voltage in 2012, Diene has been closely involved in several exciting projects, including the feature films Fathers & Daughters starring Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried and Aaron Paul; Pay The Ghost starring Nicolas Cage; I.T starring Pierce Brosnan and Good Kids among others. Previously, Diene was Vice President, Acquisitions & Apsara Distribution at IM Global, as well as holding positions at Icon Entertainment International and GreenseStreet Films International.
Before moving to Los Angeles, Diene graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in International Relations.
Patrick Ewald CEO Epic Pictures Group
Patrick Ewald became the CEO of Epic Pictures Group, Inc. in 2007 with the goal of bringing original and visionary storytelling to a global audience. Patrick’s career in the film business spans over 20 years as a senior level executive and has been involved in the development, financing, production and marketing of over 100 films.
Patrick has produced/executive produced over 35 films which include: “TURBO KID,” “SPACE DOGS,” “WHO GETS THE DOG,” “TALES OF HALLOWEEN,” ENTERTAINMENT,” “JERUZALEM,” “ENTERTAINMENT,” “THE DEVIL’S CHAIR,” “11-11- 11” and is currently producing/executive producing “THE LODGERS,” “REDCON-1,” “THE NANNY,” and “RADIUS.” You might find Patrick vanquishing man-eating spiders or orbiting space in the company of the first interstellar canines.
You might find him quelling a zombie uprising or navigating an apocalyptic future with superheroes by his side. You might find him at any of the former, but more likely you'll find him at home with his wife, three daughters, and dog, Lola, curled up on the couch engrossed in a film.
A New York City native, Mr. Ewald is a two-time Saturn Award winner and an active member of the Producers Guild of America. He graduated from Duke University with a degree in film studies.
Daisy Hamilton
Acquisitions & Business Development TriCoast Worldwide
Daisy Hamilton, a Los Angeles native, grew up working in the film industry. Since graduating from NYU with a major in the business of Film, she has spearheaded development and acquisitions for TriCoast Worldwide. Her career in film and television is driven by a strong and passionate commitment to truth, the proliferation of knowledge, and raising the bar on content and its function for audiences. She has acquired over 15+ titles for TriCoast; some of her favorites include: festival darlings, ARE WE NOT CATS (2016) and INUK (2014), controversial documentaries SHADOW WORLD (2016) and SIRIUS (2015), animated favorite,THE STONE BOY (2017) and the highly successful animated feature based on the Sony Playstation Video Game HEAVENLY SWORD (2015).
Andrew Hunt Founding Partner Raven Banner
One of the founding partners of Raven Banner, Andrew T Hunt is a Writer/Producer/Director with over 20 years experience. Andrew’s feature length debut Sweet Karma premiered at the 2009 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, garnering praise and kudos from press and industry alike. Sweet Karma was also the catalyst for the formation of Raven Banner Entertainment - a worldwide sales company specializing in genre films. In 2012 Raven Banner Releasing was formed as the Canadian distribution arm for RBE, releasing such notable titles as Turbo Kid, Wolfcop, Deathgasm and Black Mountain Side. 2015 saw the creation of Northern Banner Releasing, a Canadian distribution company that focuses on non-genre titles such as Academy Award Nominated Embrace of the Serpent, Borealis, The Happiest Day In The Life of Olli Maki, and How To Plan An Orgy In A Small Town. In 2016 Raven Banner increased its focus on original productions, having formed key partnerships with like-minded producers. Within Raven Banner Andrew plays a key role supervising the review, development and packaging of feature projects from script to screen, as well as overseeing the branding, marketing and distribution of select titles.
Melissa Lummus Screenplay Competitions Manager Nashville Film Festival
Melissa joined the Nashville Film Festival staff in 2012. She currently serves as the Film Competitions Manager, in addition to organizing panels and workshops during the festival.
Melissa studied Film & Digital Media at Baylor University before transferring to Belmont University and receiving a B.S. in Video Production and a Minor in Theater. She is also an alumni of the Second City Training Center and iO Theater, both located in Chicago, where she wrote and performed sketch comedy and improvisation.
She previously worked at Third Man Records and on numerous production jobs, including the Travel Channel’s “Man v. Food Nation”. She has served on the Awards Jury for several other film competitions and festivals, including SoHo International Film Festival.
When she’s not watching her never-ending wishlist of movies and eating queso, Melissa is usually found playing pool, looking up pictures of snails, or planning her next trip. She will also challenge anyone to a game of MarioKart.
Michael Meyer Wig & Hair Design Artist
Michael Meyer worked in his profession at the Hannover State Theater where an average of 40 productions, equaling approximately 250+ shows a year were performed. In ‘98, he and his wife came to the USA where he accepted a position as a wig maker at the San Francisco Opera. He was quickly promoted to 1st assistant wig maker where his responsibilities included custom wig making, and prosthetic work. He has worked as a special effects artist with the local film industry, as well as a wig and makeup designer for theatrical companies around the world. He has worked closely with the medical communities creating medical task trainers, and has built animatronics that are currently being enjoyed by children’s museums. Michael most recently held the position of Head of Department at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he taught all levels of makeup, wig making and styling, prosthetic work, and animatronics.
Melanie Miller Executive Vice President Samuel Goldwyn Films
Melanie Miller has over two decades of experience in the entertainment industry. During her tenure at Gravitas Ventures as Vice President of Acquisitions & Marketing, she played an integral role in the growth of the new paradigm of independent distribution. Prior to Gravitas, Miller was the Artistic Director at the Jackson Hole Film Institute and in 2009 co-founded Fishbowl Films with Diane Becker. The company’s first feature, DETOUR by William Dickerson received a domestic day & date theatrical release. Fishbowl Films' next feature is Shaz Bennett’s directorial debut ALASKA IS A DRAG, a IFP Narrative Lab fellow. Their latest collaboration is a feature length documentary with the working title BRAINIACS. This Sundance Institute 2016 Catalyst Initiative project recently began production with Laura Nix at the helm.
Currently the Executive Vice President at Samuel Goldwyn Films, Melanie is responsible for the company’s distribution, marketing and PR strategy for their slate. In addition, she works closely with Co-Owners Peter Goldwyn and Ben Feingold on ways to expand the Goldwyn footprint, in both long form and episodic content with existing and new partners. Melanie has been a guest speaker at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Sloan Summit, the Sundance Institute, the Produced By Conference, and more. She is a member of Film Independent, IFP and the Producers Guild.
Travis Nicholson Co-Creator Still the King
Travis Nicholson is an accomplished actor and producer, originally from Garland, Texas. His acting credits span over 20 film and television projects, while his producing credits include three feature films, a television pilot, short films, commercials and countless music videos. Working alongside diverse directors such as Clint Eastwood, Joel and Ethan Coen, and Harmony Korine has given Travis exposure to a broad range of styles and techniques over the years, helping him develop as both an actor and filmmaker.
Travis’ father, a talented songwriter and guitar player, moved the family to Nashville in 1981. Surrounded by music, Travis began writing songs and playing guitar. One of his bands, “The Swindlers,” included frontman Justin Townes Earle (son of Steve Earle) and experienced success in the Nashville music scene and on small tours. Although music continues to be a passion, it was always filmmaking that had the strongest pull, and in 1999 Travis enrolled in the film program at the local “Watkins Film School,” with a focus on writing and directing.
After two years in the program, he secured an internship on the set of the Coen Brothers’ “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” and soon after Travis moved to Los Angeles to work on “The Man Who Wasn’t There” and “Intolerable Cruelty.” In addition to the Coen Brothers, he has also worked with legendary filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker (“Don’t Look Back”), Walter Salles (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) and William Monahan (“The Departed”).
In 2012, a short film he produced entitled “The Arm” was awarded “Best Comedic Short” at the Sundance Film Festival. That same year, “Super Zeroes,” which Travis wrote, produced and starred in, won the “Audience Award” at the Nashville Film Festival. His latest producorial effort, “Listening,” received glowing reviews from The Hollywood Reporter and Moviemaker magazine.
Travis is currently writing, producing, and starring in “Still the King”, a comedic series he co-created with Billy Ray Cyrus and Potsy Ponciroli, currently shooting it's second season for CMT.
Andreas Olavarria President and CEO Level 33 Entertainment
Andreas Olavarria currently serves as President and CEO of Level 33 Entertainment (“Level 33”) an independent film distribution company based in Los Angeles. Level 33 has distributed a diverse slate of successful independent features including films such as 1 NIGHT starring Anna Camp & Justin Chatwin, MOUNTAIN MEN starring Chace Crawford & Tyler Labine, THE DEBT starring Stephen Dorff & Academy Award® Nominee David Straithairn, COPENHAGEN starring Gethin Anthony, THE WEDDING VIDEO with Lucy Punch, AFTER WORDS starring Academy Award® Winner Marcia Gay Harden & Oscar Jaenada, MONTANA starring Lars Mikkelsen & Michelle Fairley, and MANHATTAN ROMANCE starring Katherine Waterston, Gaby Hoffmann & Caitlin FitzGerald.
Andreas has over 20 years experience in the field of motion picture production and distribution. Serving as a creative and production executive at motion picture studios such as The Walt Disney Company and 20th Century Fox, as well as an independent film producer, Andreas has demonstrated a track record of success in identifying quality feature film projects and overseeing all facets of production & distribution for both major studios and independent film companies. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America and holds an Honors Degree in Communication Studies from UCLA.
Leslie Pirritano Your Best Friend AMD
Leslie Pirritano has been in various gamer and VR-related roles over the past 15 years, is a key influencer in gaming and immersive tech and is Your Best Friend at AMD. She actively works to promote diversity within the gaming and VR communities. In her spare time, she builds her own PC’s for her gaming and VR experiences.
Robin Prybil Director of Studio Relations, Content and Alliances/AMD Radeon Technologies Group
Robin is Director of Studio Relations, Content and Alliances for AMD/RTG. She began her entertainment career at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1987, where she formalized American Federation of Musicians (AFM) contracts for the agency's musical clients. She crossed over into feature film development at Columbia Pictures before moving over to Paramount Picture for 10 years as Executive Vice-President for producer Robert Evans - which culminated in an Associate Producer credit for How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Robin joined Weta Digital in 2003 where she worked with top tier film directors on such films as AVATAR, The Hobbit series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The BFG, and Jungle Book. Robin is a member of the PGA, BAFTA, VES, ASIFA, and WiVR. A complete list of Robin’s work history can be found at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1311073/
Bob Raines Executive Director TN Entertainment Commission
Appointed by the Office of the Governor to represent the State of Tennessee's entertainment industry. Raines is responsible for advancing the strategic goals of the Tennessee Entertainment Commission ; representing Tennessee's key industry assets and competitive advantages both statewide and abroad; strategic advisor to senior government officials; providing State Legislators’ with analysis of the State's entertainment sector.
Raines works to establish and advance relationships across a spectrum of sects within the State's entertainment industry. Manages and implements the State's production incentives program for film, music, television and commercials. Collaborates with government and private industry leadership to cultivate policy and strategy that reflect best practices for program management and industry development. Promotes and encourages the use of the State's entertainment resources to companies nationwide. Allocates sponsorships and grants to organizations advancing the State's local entertainment industry. Engages with stakeholders and industry professionals through public speaking and community outreach. Actively collaborates on Tennessee Entertainment Commission marketing materials and branding strategies for the State.
Raines is a Leadership Music Class of 2016 Alumni and current Co-Chair of the Nashville Music City Music Council. He is active on several entertainment based boards and maintains strategic partnerships with city and county alliances in Memphis, Knoxville & Chattanooga. He oversees the Governor’s Entertainment Commission board which is a Statewide board composed of leaders from Tennessee base companies like Scripps, Google, Sony and CAA.
Raines holds a degree in Business Administration from East Tennessee State University and an accreditation with the International Association for Management Education.
Ben Rittenhouse Emmy Award Winning Makeup Artist
Ben Rittenhouse is an Emmy Award winning makeup artist (The Pacific, 2010). Ben specializes in special effects makeup, prop making, prosthetics and has cultivated a successful and tenured career in the entertainment industry. Some of his recent projects include: Star Trek, Hunger Games, Avatar, Anchorman, Hangover 3, CSI, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe, Kill Bill: Vol 1&2, Hulk, RIPD, Grey’s Anatomy, The Mist, Hostel, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Hills Have Eyes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Sin City.
SHEL Sarah Holbrook (fiddle, guitar, bass), Hannah Holbrook (piano, concertina, accordion), Eva Holbrook (mandolin), Liza Holbrook (drums, djembe, beatboxing)
SHEL is touring and creating relentlessly in the hothouse environment of the 21st century music business. "We've always made our living playing music,' says Sarah Holbrook, "I dropped out of two different colleges, before it finally sank in that I was supposed to be playing music with my sisters full time.
SHEL music is many things sonically, but its coherence and distinctiveness comes from the sisters’ commitment to making every song an honest four-way collaboration. That said, every artist profits from outside perspective, and circumstances aligned in recent years to work with Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart, whose production credits include albums with Stevie Nicks, Joss Stone and Ringo Starr. SHEL arranged and recorded tracks in Nashville with long-time producer Brent Maher. Then Stewart, in his Los Angeles studio, added sounds and beats to complement each track. The mandate was to uphold the soul of the songs, the acoustic musicality of the sisters as players, the subtlety of SHEL’s vocals and the colors of their harmonies.
SHEL has been featured on TV & in commercials such as the current Toys R Us holiday commercial and “Search Party”on TBS. Other series include The Fosters, Eye Candy, Guilt, and more. They recently opened for Amos Lee on his fall tour, and have spent the last year touring the US & Europe in appearances ranging from clubs to festivals to concerts with orchestras.
Dawn Solér Senior Vice President, TV Music ABC Studios
Dawn Solér is Senior Vice President, TV Music, at ABC Studios where she is responsible for all music at ABC Studios and oversees the music content for shows such as “Nashville,” “Blackish,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Scandal,” and “Quantico.” She worked closely with composer Alan Menken and executive producer Dan Fogelman as the music supervisor on the musical series, “Galavant.” She is founder of the ABC Music Lounge and has produced the on-air music specials, “Nashville: On The Record I, II and III.”
Before ABC, Ms. Solér had her own company, Working Music, where she created several hit soundtracks for New Line Cinema, including “Now And Then,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Don Juan De Marco,” which garnered both Academy Award and Grammy Award nominations.
Other projects she completed include “Being John Malkovich,” “Princess Diaries I & II,” “Sweet Home Alabama”, “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and Disney’s “Enchanted,” which garnered three Academy Award and one Grammy nominations, before making her leap from features to television.
In 2015, Ms. Solér was on Billboard’s list of TV’s Top Music Power Players as well as on their Women in Music list (2015 & 2010). Also in 2015, she was honored in Variety’s Women in Power issue, and was on Imagen’s Most Powerful & Influential Latinos list. In 2014, ABC’s music department was named Best Music Department by the Music Supervisor’s Guild.
Ms. Solér writes a blog about empowerment on her The 40 Plus Girl site, is completing a book “The Be A Girl Principals” with her partner Anastasia Brown, and also does speaking engagements on the subject.
Ms. Solér lives in Thousand Oaks with her husband, Sterling of 19 years, their eleven-year-old daughter, Irene, three dogs and 23 chickens and thrives on gardening, cooking, entertaining.
Dominick Spina Sr. Manager of Market Development, Media & Entertainment AMD
Dominick is Sr. Manager of Market Development, Media & Entertainment for AMD and is based in Los Angeles, CA. He has more than 25 years of experience in the high-technology industry with an emphasis on electronics product design, computer graphics, and software development. His work experience includes establishing GPU rendering development projects at major studios around the world including ILM, Imageworks, Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Weta and countless others.
Beau W. Stapleton, Esq. Partner Rosen Law Group
Beau W. Stapleton, Esq. is an entertainment attorney with extensive experience in film, television, music and digital industries. Beau currently represents a diverse collection of companies and creators including producers, composers, writers, directors, production companies and financiers.
Beau has provided legal representation for an array of film and television projects (The Public, Springbreakers, Cooties, War on Everyone, The Clapper, Still the King) and production legal services for companies such as HBO, Viacom, Discovery, Scripts Networks and National Geographic. Beau’s music practice includes award-winning composers (Johann Johannsson - Theory of Everything, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049; Dustin O’Halloran – Transparent, Lion) as well as international music touring companies, music licensing companies, artists, record labels and managers.
Prior to obtaining his law degree, Beau worked for over ten years in the music industry both as an entrepreneur, artist and composer. As an artist, he toured globally and was represented by CAA, Red Light Management, Island Def Jam Records and Universal Music Publishing Group.
Beau has frequently lectured on issues pertaining to copyright and content creation and has been a guest contributor for the music and technology blog Hypebot.com. He is well versed in copyright law and was honored by the Los Angeles Copyrights Society with the Paul Miller Scholarship Award for excellence in the field.
Beau is a partner at Rosen Law Group, a premiere boutiques entertainment law firm in Los Angeles, California. He received his JD from Loyola Law School, is a member of the California State Bar, and a YouTube certified professional.
Luke Taylor Co-Founder and COO BondIt Media Capital and Buffalo 8 Productions
Luke Taylor is the co-founder and COO of Buffalo 8 Productions and BondIt Media Capital. Taylor has managed multi-million-dollar film productions, overseen high-level film finance transactions, and served as Executive Producer on multiple award-winning films that have premiered at Sundance, Berlin, and South by Southwest film festivals. In it’s three years of existence, BondIt Media Capital has provided financing for 150 feature films and has established itself as a premiere media financier in the industry, while Buffalo 8 continues to produce high quality content including Indie Spirit Award Nominee, Little Men, Sundance Special Jury Winner, As You Are and most recently the Netflix original Rodney King, premiering in May 2017. Taylor graduated from the University of Southern California and enjoys playing music in his free time.
Feature Film Awards
The 48th Nashville Film Festival named winners across multiple categories at three ceremonies at Regal Hollywood 27, the festival's flagship theater. The big winner was Ian MacAllister McDonald's Some Freaks, which took home the Grand Jury Prize in the Narrative Competition as well as Best Actress for Lily Mae Harrington and Best Music. The winning short films in the Narrative, Animated and Documentary Shorts competitions were all qualified to submit to the 2018 Academy Awards, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements. The selection included 303 films representing 56 nations chosen from over 5,500 entries from 125 nations.
The winners are as follows:
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS Audience Award: Step, directed by Amanda Lipitz (USA)
SPECTRUM Audience Award: The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, directed by Jennifer M. Kroot (USA)
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Some Freaks, directed by Ian MacAllister McDonald (USA) Honorable Mention: Play the Devil, directed by Maria Govan (Trinidad & Tobago) Audience Award: The Migrumpies, directed by Arman T. Riahi (Austria) Best Actor: Pyotr Skvortsov for his performance in The Student (Russia) Best Actress: Lily Mae Harrington in Some Freaks (USA) Best Screenplay: Play the Devil, written by Maria Govan (Trinidad & Tobago) Best Music: Some Freaks, Composer Walter Sickert; Music Supervisor, Dan Wilcox (USA) Special Jury Prize for Overall Film Aesthetics: Flowers of Evil, directed by Antti J. Jokinen (Finland)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Unrest, directed by Jennifer Rhea (USA) Honorable Mention: Quest, directed by Jonathan Olshefski (USA) Audience Award: Augie, directed by James Keach (USA) Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Filmmaking: Small Talk, directed by Hui-Chen Huang (Taiwan)
NEW DIRECTORS FEATURE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: The Eremites, directed by Ronny Trocker (Germany) Honorable Mention: La Soledad, directed by Jorge Thielen Armand (Venezuela) Audience Award (tie): Bomb City, directed by Jameson Brooks (USA) Audience Award (tie): Girl Flu, directed by Dorie Barton (USA) Special Jury Prize for Performance: Dave Davis for is performance in Bomb City (USA)
MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape, directed by Zack Taylor (USA) Honorable Mention: Score: A Film Music Documentary, directed by Matt Schrader (USA) Audience Award: The Last Songwriter, directed by Mark Barger Elliott (USA)
GRAVEYARD SHIFT FEATURE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: A Closer Walk with Thee, directed by John C. Clark & Brie Williams (USA) Honorable Mention: Birdboy: The Lost Children, directed by Pedro Rivero | Alberto Vázquez (Spain) Audience Award: Show Yourself, directed by Billy Ray Brewton (USA) Best Actor: A.J. Knight for his performance in A Closer Walk with Thee (USA) Best Actress: Suela Bako, in Bloodlands (Albania / Australia)
ANIMATED FEATURE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Reveangance, directed by Bill Plympton (USA) Audience Award: Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming), directed by Ann Marie Fleming (Canada)
TENNESSEE FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Kandyland, directed by Seth Graves (USA) Audience Award: Wild Man, directed by Jacquie Phillips & Stefanie Black (USA)
Short Film Awards
The 48th Nashville Film Festival named winners across multiple categories at three ceremonies at Regal Hollywood 27, the festival's flagship theater. The winning short films in the Narrative, Animated and Documentary Shorts competitions were all qualified to submit to the 2018 Academy Awards, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements. The selection included 303 films representing 56 nations chosen from over 5,500 entries from 125 nations.
The winners are as follows:
EPISODIC COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize - Long Form: The Nest, directed by Filipe Matzembacher & Marcio Reolon (Brazil) Grand Jury Prize - Short Form: Guest Appearances, directed by Elizabeth Guest (USA) Audience Award: Long Live Death, directed by Sebastian Marka (Germany) Special Jury Prize: Tatanka Means, for his performance in The Minutes Collection (USA)
NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: What Tears Us Apart, directed by Hu Wei (France) (Qualified for Academy Award Consideration) Best American Short Film: American Paradise, directed by Joe Talbot (USA) Honorable Mention - American Short Film: A Funeral for Lightning, directed by Emily Kai Bock (USA / Canada) Best International Short Film: Import, directed by Ena Sendijarevic (Netherlands) Honorable Mention - International Short Film: Thank You Mr. Imada, directed by Sylvain Chomet (France) Audience Award: 4:15 PM The End of the World, directed by Gabi Virginia Sarga & Catalin Rotaru (Romania)
ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Garden Party, directed by Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Theophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon, Lucas Na (France) (Qualified for Academy Award Consideration) Honorable Mention: Kaputt/Broken - The Woman's Prison at Hoheneck, directed by Volker Schlecht & Alexander Lahl (Germany) Honorable Mention: E is for Evolution, directed by Paul Kusmaul (Belgium) Honorable Mention: The Absence of Eddy Table, directed by Rune Spaans (Norway) Audience Award: Nowhere Line: Voices from Manus Island, directed by Lukas Schrank (Australia)
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Refugee, directed by Emily Moore & Joyce Chen (USA) Honorable Mention: Moriom, directed by Francesca Scalisi & Mark Olexa (Switzerland / Bangladesh) Audience Award: The Streets Are Ours: Two Lives Cross in Karachi, directed by Michelle Fiordaliso (USA / Pakistan)
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: The Edge of Alchemy, directed by Stacey Steers (USA) Honorable Mention: The Reflection of Power, directed by Mihai Grecu (France) Audience Award: The Reflection of Power, directed by Mihai Grecu (France)
COLLEGE STUDENT SHORTS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: The Art of Not Appearing, directed by Pernille Rivedal Hellevik (Norway) Honorable Mention: The Alan Dimension, directed by Jac Clinch (United Kingdom) Special Jury Prize for Performance: Lucy Chappell in Spilt Milk (United Kingdom)
GRAVEYARD SHIFT SHORTS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: I Am the Doorway, directed by Robin Kasparik (Czech Republic) Honorable Mention: Pearlies (Quenottes), directed by Pascal Thiebaux & Gil Pinheiro (Canada) Special Jury Prize for Exuberance, Vision and Naughtiness: Ghosting the Party, directed by Carlos Alberto Fernandez Lopez Audience Award: Hand Fart, directed by Stanley Wong & Travis Ashkenasy
TENNESSEE FIRST SHORTS Grand Jury Prize - Narrative Short: A Funeral for Lightning, directed by Emily Kai Bock Grand Jury Prize - Documentary Short: Still Sophie, directed by Caroline Knight Grand Jury Prize - Student Short: Millennium Girl, directed by Grayson Propst Tennessee Horizon Audience Award: Martha, directed by Taylor Burgess
YOUNG FILMMAKERS SHORTS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Jouska, directedy Wynter Rhys Audience Award: Recess, directed by Brett Elam
The Nashville Film Festival announces the winners of their 4th annual Screenwriting Competition. The winners were selected from over 1,300 submissions from all over the world including feature-length screenplays, short screenplays, and teleplays. Winners were chosen by a team of 27 industry professionals including agents, writers, producers, and directors for companies such as APA Agency, Bob’s Burgers, and Voltage Pictures.
GRAND JURY PRIZES Grand Jury Prize Feature: The Secret of Shangri-La, written by Lisa Gold Grand Jury Prize Short : Del Rio, Texas, written by Raj Trivedi
FEATURE SCREENPLAYS Best Comedy Feature: The Anklebiter, written by Andrew Jones Best Drama Feature: The Low Road, written by Darren McInerney Best Action/Adventure Feature: Duel of the Immortals, written by Michael Gibrall Best Family/Animation Feature: The Secret of Shangri-La, written by Lisa Gold Best Historical Feature: A Man Called White, written by Randy Hines Best Inspirational Feature: The Moonbeam Fisherman, written by John Dummer Best Music-Inspired Feature: The Jack-O-Lanterns, written by Dan Goforth Best Science-Fiction Feature: Alien in my Pocket, written by Joe Borriello Best Tennessee Feature: Café New York, written by Katy Chevigny-Smith Best Thriller/Horror Feature: The Sand Reckoner, written by Christopher Colpitts
SHORT SCREENPLAYS Best Comedy Short: Anatomically Modern Human for President, written by Amanda Martinez Best Drama Short: Del Rio, Texas, written by Raj Trivedi Best Genre Short: Fly!, written by Dave Chan Best Tennessee Short: The Morning After, written by Conway Preston Best Thriller/Horror Short: Gone, written by David Cramer Best Young Screenwriter Short: Ruth(less), written by Lauren Marie Miller
TELEPLAYS Best 30-Minute Teleplay: Millennial Rules, written by Heidi Putallaz Best 60-Minute Teleplay: Blood Oath, written by Jake Bottiglieri
In 2017, the Nashville Film Festival's 48th year, the VR & 360 Film Competition was launched to curate and spotlight quality VR & 360 Film experiences. On the final day of the 2017 festival, April 29th, each of the competition finalists were exhibited on site at the Regal Hollywood 27 Cinemas. The competition awards included high performance computers from AMD (Grand Jury Prize & Honorable Mention) as well as awards certificates & festival laurels.
View the winners of the 2017 NashFilm VR & 360 Film Competition:
Grand Jury Prize Grand Jury Prize: Invasion, created by Baobab Studios
Honorable Mention Honorable Mention: I, Philip directed by Pierre Zandrowicz
Finalists Finalist - The Rock Presents: "Escape From Calypso Island" by Scott Brown Finalist - Asteroids by Baobab Studios Finalist - VAIN: This Party Sucks directed by Maggie Levin
Prizes
1) "The Beacon" award statue by Alan Lequire 2) High Performance computer by AMD 3) Award Certificate 4) Festival Laurels 5) Qty (2) All-Access Passes to the festival and Creators Conference
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS High profile films featuring familiar names and rising stars making their Nashville premieres.
American Epic | directed by Bernard MacMahon | UK & USA | min. Three Night Closing Spotlight Event. The Bristol Sessions (Work-in-Progress) | directed by | USA | min. Hunt for the Wilderpeople | directed by Taika Waititi | New Zealand | min. The Innocents | directed by Anne Fontaine | Poland & France | min. Little Men | directed by Ira Sachs | USA | min. The Lobster | directed by Yorgos Lanthimos | Greece, UK & Ireland | min. Louder than Bombs | directed by Joachim Trier | Norway, France & Denmark | min. Love & Friendship | directed by Whit Stillman | Ireland & Netherlands | min. Day One Spotlight.Morris from America | directed by Chad Hartigan | USA & Germany | min. Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You | directed by Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing | USA | min. Sing Street | directed by John Carney | Ireland | min. Smokey & the Bandit | directed by Hal Needham | USA | min. Special (almost) 40th Anniversary Presentation.A Tale of Love and Darkness | directed by Natalie Portman | Israel | min. Weiner | directed by Josh Kriegman & Elyse Steinberg | USA | min.Centerpiece Spotlight
SPECTRUM Compelling, challenging stories crafted by the filmmakers who are setting trends in contemporary world cinema.
The Alchemist's Cookbook | directed by Joel Potrykus | USA | 82 min. | Tennessee Premiere April and the Extraordinary World | directed by Christian Desmares & Franck Ekinci | France | 105 min. | Tennessee Premiere A Blossom of Love in Gannan | directed by Liqiang Gao | China | 94 min. | North American Premiere Cemetery of Splendor | directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Thailand | 122 min. | Tennessee Premiere Chevalier | directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari | Greece | 99 min. | Tennessee Premiere Dheepan | directed by Jacques Audiard | France | 115 min. | Tennessee Premiere He Hated Pigeons | directed by Ingrid Veninger | Canada | 80 min. | Southeastern US Premiere Hearing Implant | directed by Junliang Fang | China | 90 min. | North American Premiere Lo and Behold, Reveries in a Connected World | directed by Werner Herzog | USA | 100 min. | Tennessee Premiere Nai River | directed by Bin Luo | China | 98 min. | North American Premiere A Noble Spirit | directed by Yue Miao | China | 105 min. | North American Premiere Norjmaa | directed by Bayin | China | 102 min.| North American Premiere Presenting Princess Shaw | directed by Ido Haar | Israel | 80 min. | Tennessee Premiere Promise | directed by Lin Sheng & Yong Li | China | 90 min. | North American Premiere Sunset Song | directed by Terence Davies | UK & Ireland | 135 min. | Tennessee Premiere Tickled | directed by David Farrier & Dylan Reeve | New Zealand & USA | 92 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Youth Times | directed by Yijun Liu | China | 90 min. | North American Premiere
TENNESSEE FIRST COMPETITION Homegrown cinema representing all corners of the Volunteer State. These films compete for Best Feature, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, and Best Student Short. The winning feature film receives a $1,000 cash prize and each of the winning short films receive a $500 cash prize. The Tennessee Horizon Audience Awards presented by Native Magazine are give to the Best Feature and Best Short Film, selected by your vote!
The Dust Storm | directed by Ryan Lacen & Anthony Baldino | USA | 96 min. | Southeast US Premiere Josephine | directed by Rory Feek | USA | 81 min. | World Premiere Mom Jovi | directed by Rachel Lambert | USA | 85 min. | World Premiere The Polar Bear Club | directed by Brett Price | USA | 82 min. | Tennessee Premiere Soul | directed by James King | USA | 100 min.| North American Premiere What's the Matter with Gerald? | directed by Matt Riddlehoover | USA | 98 min. | World Premiere
BRIDGESTONE NARRATIVE COMPETITION The Bridgestone Narrative Competition brings the newest films from around the world created by established filmmakers. Filmmakers compete for cash and prizes of up to $4,000 with winners selected by a jury of industry professionals.
collective:unconscious | directed by Lily Baldwin, Frances Bodomo, Daniel Patrick Carbone, Josephine Decker & Lauren Wolkstein | USA | 78 min. | Tennessee Premiere Demimonde | directed by Attila Szász | USA | 88 min. | Southeast US Premiere Fireworkers | directed by Christina Bennett Lind | USA | 91 min. | World Premiere Five Nights in Maine | directed by Maris Curran | USA | 82 min. | Tennessee Premiere Free in Deed | directed by Jake Mahaffy | USA | 98 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Great & the Small | directed by Dusty Bias | USA | 123 min. | Southeast US Premiere Hunky Dory | directed by Michael Curtis Johnson | USA | 85 min. | Tennessee Premiere I Promise You Anarchy | directed by Julio Hernández Cordón | Mexico | 100 min. | Tennessee Premiere It Had to Be You | directed by Sasha Gordon | USA | 83 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Lure | directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska | Poland | 92 min. | Southeast US Premiere Magallanes | directed by Salvador del Solar | Peru, Argentina & Chile | 110 min. Middle Man | directed by Ned Crowley | USA | 101 min. Modern Love | directed by Joshua Tunick | USA | 93 min. Neptune | directed by Derek Kimball | USA | 102 min. Song of Songs | directed by Eva Neymann | Ukraine | 76 min. | Southeast US Premiere
NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION The New Directors Competition features narrative works created by first-time feature filmmakers. It’s your chance to catch a rising star before they become the next celebrated auteur. The winning filmmaker receives up to $4,000 cash.
The 4th | directed by Andre Hyland | USA | 82 min. | Tennessee Premiere Banana | directed by Andrea Jublin | Italy | 90 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Elk | directed by Etienne Labroue | France | 83 min. | Southeast US Premiere The Fits | directed by Anna Rose Holmer | USA | 72 min. | Tennessee Premiere Good Funk | directed by Adam Kritzer | USA | 73 min. Spa Night | directed by Andrew Ahn | USA | 96 min. Tamago | directed by Koji Hirano | Japan | 77 min. | Southeast US Premiere Transpecos | directed by Greg Kwedar | USA | 86 min. The Violators | directed by Helen Walsh | UK | 96 min. | Southeast US Premier
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION The Documentary Competition features a selection of the finest non-fiction cinema on offer. The Grand Jury Prize winner receives a cash prize of up to $4,000, selected by a jury of documentary filmmakers, producers, and critics.
Accidental Courtesy: Daryl David, Race & America | directed by Matt Ornstein | USA | 97 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Bad Kids | directed by Keith Fulton & Lou Pepe | USA | 101 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Bandit | directed by Jesse Moss | USA | 83 min. | Southeast US Premiere Chicken People | directed by Nicole Lucas Haimes | USA | 83 min. | Southeast US Premiere Command and Control | directed by Robert Kenner | USA | 95 min. Holy Hell | directed by Will Allen | USA | 100 min. Hooligan Sparrow | directed by Nanfu Wang | USA | 84 min. Learning to See | directed by Jake Oelman | USA | 68 min. | Southeast US Premiere Mother's Wish | directed by Joonas Berghäll | Finland, Sweden, Denmark & Portugal | 85 min. Oriented | directed by Jake Witzenfeld | UK & Israel | 81 min. | Tennessee Premiere SEED: The Untold Story | directed by Taggart Siegel & Jon Betz | USA | 92 min. | World Premiere The Seer: A Conversation with Wendell Berry | directed by Laura Dunn | USA | 81 min. | Southeast US Premiere Thank You, Del: The Story of the Del Close Marathon | directed by Todd Bieber | USA | 84 min. To the Moon and Back | directed by Susan Morgan Cooper | USA | 85 min. | Southeast US Premiere Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru | directed by Joe Berlinger | USA | 121 min. | Tennessee Premiere When Two Worlds Collide | directed by Heidi Brandenburg & Mathew Orzel | Peru | 103 min.
GIBSON MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY COMPETITION The Gibson Music Films/Music City Competition highlights films that celebrate music, musicians, and the impact music has on our lives. The Grand Jury Prize winner receives a cash prize of up to $4,000, selected by a jury of documentary filmmakers, producers, and critics.
Artist & Repertoire | directed by Matthew Jones | UK | 105 min. | Southeast US Premiere Colin Hay - Waiting for My Real Life | directed by Nate Gowtham & Aaron Faulls | USA | 85 min. | Southeast US Premiere A Fat Wreck | directed by Shaun Colon | USA | 89 min. | Southeast US Premiere Honky Tonk Heaven | directed by Brenda Greene Mitchell & Sam Wainwright Douglas | USA | 73 min. | Southeast US Premiere SHU-DE! | directed by Michael Faulkner | USA | 83 min. | World Premiere Sidemen: Long Road to Glory | directed by Scott Rosenbaum | USA | 78 min. | Southeast US Premiere A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story | directed by Keith Maitland | USA | 90 min. | Southeast US Premiere Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows | directed by Rob Hatch-Miller | USA | 84 min. | Nashville Premiere What Would Beethoven Do? | directed by Jonathan Keijser | USA | 75 min.| Southeast US Premiere
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION Graveyard Shift is an unflinching look at the human (and inhuman) condition, holding nothing back and digging down to the marrow. It’s not of the faint of heart – if you didn’t figure that out already.
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne | directed by Adrian Tofei | Romania | 87 min. | North American Premiere A Beginner's Guide To Snuff | directed by Mitchell Altieri | USA | 87 min. | Southeast US Premiere Curtain | directed by Jaron Henrie-McCrea | USA | 73 min. | Tennessee Premiere Inside Scarlett | directed by Carter Mays | USA | 89 min. | Tennessee Premiere The Lure | directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska | Poland | 92 min. | Southeast US Premiere Maskoun | directed by Sharif Abdunnur & Krystle Houiess | Lebanon | 96 min. | Southeast US Premiere
Shorts Program
Short films are all under 40 minutes. The winning films in the Narrative Shorts Competition, Animated Shorts Competition, and Documentary Short Competition will become eligible for Academy Awards® consideration, provided it meets all other eligibility requirements
NARRATIVE COMPETITION A.D. 1363, the End of Chivalry | directed by Jake Mahaffy | New Zealand & USA | min. | Nashville Premiere All Those Sunflowers | directed by Brom Schouw | Netherlands | min. | Tennessee Premiere Belladonna | directed by Dubravka Turic | Croatia | min. | Southeast US Premiere Birthday | directed by Chris King | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Boys | directed by Isabella Carbonell | Sweden| min. | Tennessee Premiere Buddy | directed by Jan Roosens & Raf Roosens | Belgium | min. | Southeast US Premiere Crystal Lake | directed by Jennifer Reeder | USA | min. | North American Premiere Cuddle Party | directed by Matthew Irving Epstein | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Curve | directed by Tim Egan | Australia | min. | Southeast US Premiere Dirt | directed by Darius Clark Monroe | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Discipline | directed by Christophe M. Saber | Switzerland | min. | Tennessee Premiere. Disco Inferno | directed by Alice Waddington | Spain | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Dragon's Demise | directed by Marina Diaby | France| min. | US Premiere Dredger | directed by Phillip Barker | Canada | min. | US Premiere a film by Vera Vaughn | directed by Sorrel Brae | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere First World Problems | directed by Hanna Maylett | Finland | min. | Tennessee Premiere Get the F K Out of Paris | directed by Greg Emetaz | USA | min. | North American Premiere Greener Grass | directed by Paul Briganti | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Group B | directed by Nick Rowland | UK | min. | Southeast Premiere Group Violence | directed by Karim Boukercha | France | min. | World Premiere Her Friend Adam | directed by Ben Petrie | Canada | min. | Southeast US Premiere. How to Lose Weight in Four Easy Steps | directed by Benjamin Berman | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere If I Could Tell You | directed by Rob Clyde & Ben Clyde | USA | min. | World Premiere Killer | directed by Matt Kazman | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Love Comes Later | directed by François Morisset | Afghanistan & USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Love is Blind | directed by Dan Hodgson | UK | min. | Southeast Premiere Madam Black | directed by Ivan Barge | New Zealand | min. | Southeast US Premiere Malaguti Phantom | directed by Sam de Jong | Netherlands | min. | Tennessee Premiere Mother(s) | directed by Maimouna Doucouré | France | min. | Tennessee Premiere No Hot Ashes | directed by Matt Thompson | UK | min. | World Premiere. Northern Great Mountain | directed by Amanda Kernell | Sweden | min. | Tennessee Premiere Oslo's Rose | directed by Det sporadiske filmkollektivet | Norway | min. | Southeast US Premiere Out of the Village | directed by Jonathan Stein | Ghana & USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Over | directed by Jörn Threlfall | UK | min. | Southeast US Premiere Partners | directed by Joey Ally | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere People of the Delta | directed by Joseph Lawrence | Ethiopia | min. | Southeast US Premiere Pepperette | directed by Jerome Hoff | Canada | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Society | directed by Osama Rasheed | Iraq | min. | Southeast US Premiere Solemates | directed by Bryce Dallas Howard | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Thunder Road | directed by Jim Cummings | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere. Unleaded | directed by Emmanuel Tenenbaum | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Vanilla | directed by Juna Beiro | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere The Wall | directed by Samuel Lampaert | Belgium | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Way of Tea | directed by Marc Fouchard | France | min. | Southeast US Premiere Where You Are | directed by Graham Parkes | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere
ANIMATION COMPETITION Accidents, Blunders and Calamities | directed by James Cunningham | New Zealand | min. | Southeast US Premiere. After the End | directed by Sam Southward | UK | min. | Southeast US Premiere Alienation | directed by Laura Lehmus | Germany | min. | Tennessee Premiere Alike | directed by Daniel Martínez Lara & Rafa Cano Méndez | Spain | min. | Tennessee Premiere Bendito Machine V - Pull the Trigger | directed by Jossie Malis | Spain | min. | Nashville Premiere Borrowed Time | directed by Lou Hamou-Lhadj & Andrew Coats | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Fulfilament | directed by Rhiannon Evans | UK | min. | Tennessee Premiere I Am a Pencil | directed by Joe D'Arcy | Australia | min. | Southeast US Premiere The Itching | directed by Dianne Bellino | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Johnny Express | directed by Kyungmin Woo | South Korea | min. | Tennessee Premiere Lambs | directed by Gottfried Mentor | Germany | min. | Southeast US Premiere. LOVE | directed by Réka Bucsi | Hungary | min. | Southeast US Premiere Moom | directed by Robert Kondo & Dice Tsutsumi | Japan | min. | Southeast US Premiere The Orchestra | directed by Mikey Hill | Australia | min. | Tennessee Premiere Perfect Houseguest | directed by Ru Kuwahata & Max Porter | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Pombo Loves You | directed by Steve Warne | UK | min. | Southeast US Premiere Sea Child | directed by Minha Kim | UK | min. | Southeast US Premiere The Story of Percival Pilts | directed by Janette Goodey | New Zealand & Australia | min. | Tennessee Premiere Taichi Mice: Entrance Exams | directed by Boqign Tang & Xialan Zeng | USA | min. | Nashville Premiere Taking Flight | directed by Brandon Oldenburg | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Taking the Plunge | directed by Nicholas Manfredi & Marie Raoult | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere. Violet | directed by Maurice Joyce | Ireland | min. | Tennessee Premiere Waves '98 | directed by Ely Dagher | Lebanon | min. | Southeast US Premiere Welcome to My Life | directed by Elizabeth Ito | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION American Dreams | directed by Ned McNeilage & Jamie Watkins | USA | min. | World Premiere. Bacon and God's Wrath | directed by Sol Friedman | Canada | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Black Belt | directed by Margaret Brown | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Boombox Collection: Boots Riley | directed by Mohammad Gorjestani | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere The Carousel | directed by Jonathan Napolitano | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Emerging | directed by Steven Kochones | USA | min. | World Premiere Her & Me | directed by Shelby Hadden | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Homecoming Queen | directed by Robert Machoian | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere The House Is Innocent | directed by Nicholas Coles | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Invisible | directed by Zofia Pregowska | Poland | min. | Southeast US Premiere Mining Poems or Odes | directed by Callum Rice | UK | min. | Southeast US Premiere MissMe: The Artful Vandal | directed by Mohammad Gorjestani | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere My Gal, Rosemarie | directed by Jason Tippet | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Nascent | directed by Lindsay Branham & Jon Kasbe | Central African Republic & USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Phil's Camino | directed by Annie O'Neil & Jessica Lewis | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Pickle | directed by Amy Nicholson | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Pink Boy | directed by Eric Rockey | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Purrtraitist | directed by Mark Zemel | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Speaking Is Difficult | directed by AJ Schnack | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Step into the Page | directed by Ashley Rodholm | USA | min. | World Premiere The Surrender | directed by Stephen Maing | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere. A Tale of Love, Madness and Death | directed by Mijael Bustos | Chile | min. | Southeast US Premiere These C*cksucking Tears | directed by Dan Taberski | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Two Cities | directed by Darius Clark Monroe | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Undeniably Donnie | directed by Mark Slagle & Tyler Jones | USA | min. World Famous Gopher Hole Museum | directed by Douglas Nayler & Chelsea McMullan | Canada | min. | US Premiere Zain's Summer: From Refugee to American Boy | directed by Joshua Seftel | USA | min. | Nashville Premiere
EXPERIMENTAL COMPETITION Citius, Altius, Fortius | directed by Felix Deimann | Germany | min. Démontable | directed by Douwe Dijkstro | Netherlands | min. | Southeast US Premiere Double-Blind No.1 | directed by The Double-Blind Experiments | Australia | min. | Tennessee Premiere ETUDE | directed by Robert Todd | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Quantum | directed by Flatform | Italy | min. | Southeast US Premiere Setting West | directed by Poirier Judith | Canada | min. | US Premiere Swimming in Your Skin Again | directed by Terence Nance | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Tehran | directed by Masoud MoeinEslam | Iran | min. | Southeast US Premiere Things | directed by Ben Rivers | UK | min. | Tennessee Premiere Zero-G | directed by Jannis Lenz | Austria | min. | Southeast US Premiere
STUDENT SHORTS COMPETITION Almost Not Beautiful | directed by Sarah Jean Kruchowski | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere. Edmond | directed by Nina Gantz | UK | min. | Tennessee Premiere Jacket | directed by Patrick Vollrath | Austria | min. | Tennessee Premiere Keeping Balance | directed by Bernhard Wenger | Germany | min. | Southeast US Premiere Patriot | directed by Eva Riley | UK | min. | Southeast US Premiere Perdition Country | directed by Raphaël Crombez | Belgium | min. | North American Premiere Rain | directed by Malina Maria Mackiewicz | Australia | min. | Southeast US Premiere Rajam | directed by Amanda Knox | USA | min. | World Premiere Summer Haze | directed by Mauricio Rivera Hoffmann | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Taking the Plunge | directed by Nicolas Manfredi & Marie Raoult | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Treatment | directed by Marvin Meiendresch | Germany | min. | Southeast US Premiere.
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION 20 Matches | directed by Mark Tapio Kines | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere. The Ants Go Marching | directed by Charles Dillon Ward | USA | min. | World Premiere As They Continue To Fall | directed by Nikhil Bhagat | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere The Chickening | directed by Nick DenBoer & Davy Force | USA | min. Girl #2 | directed by David H. Jeffery | USA | min. | World Premiere Gwilliam | directed by Brian Lonano | USA | min. | Nashville Premiere Horn | directed by Hughes William Thompson | USA | min. | World Premiere It's Him | directed by Dakota Laden | USA | min. Nasty | directed by Prano Bailey-Bond | UK | min. | Tennessee Premiere Playback | directed by Nathan Crooker | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Sânge | directed by Percival Argüero Mendoza | Mexico | min. | Tennessee Premiere. The Smiling Man | directed by A.J. Briones | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Substance | directed by Barbara Stepansky | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Tilly | directed by Robert Kotecki | USA | min. | World Premiere Void | directed by Jamie Lipman | USA | min. | World Premiere
TENNESSEE FIRST COMPETITION Alexa To Exa | directed by Exa Zim & Christian Marsh | USA | min. | North American Premiere Chaturanga | directed by Shultz Juliette | USA | min. | World Premiere Epilogues | directed by Justin Scott | USA | min. | World Premiere Everyday Yeti | directed by Motke Dapp | USA | min. Gogurt | directed by Hilary Bell | USA | min. | World Premiere Holstered | directed by Michael Rolli | USA | min. | World Premiere Lift Like a Girl | directed by Allie Sultan | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Mr. Johnson's Julius Caesar | directed by Lesley Surdi | USA | min. | World Premiere Mr. Man | directed by Haven Nutt | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Naiad | directed by Trevor Krulcik | USA | min. | World Premiere Radio Road | directed by Warren Lewis Allen | USA | min. | World Premiere Register | directed by Faith McQuinn | USA | min. | US Premiere The Saurus | directed by Drew Maynard | USA | min. | World Premiere Tailypo | directed by Cameron McCasland | USA | min. Tennis Tips with Freddy Love | directed by Aaron Muñoz | USA | 3 min. | World Premiere Love | directed by Aaron Muñoz | USA | min. | World Premiere Three Fingers | directed by Paul D. Hart | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Unbeliever | directed by Will Morgan Holland | USA | min. | World Premiere The Van | directed by John McAmis | USA | min. | World Premiere Visionary | directed by Caroline Knight | USA | min. | World Premiere When to End | directed by Travis Slagle | USA | min. Wildman | directed by Zachary Wells & Timothy Graham | USA | min. | World Premiere
YOUNG FILMMAKERS COMPETITION Another Kind of Girl | directed by Khaldiya Jibawi | Jordan | min. | Tennessee Premiere. The Chicken of Wuzuh | directed by Sungbin BYUN | South Korea | min. | North American Premiere The Fleshiest | directed by Jirayuth Limratanasaran | Thailand | min. | Tennessee Premiere Little Red | directed by Wynter Rhys | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Livin' Reel Project: New Wave | USA | min. | World Premiere Lucky Numbers | directed by Chester Milton | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere The Red Brick | directed by John Cheung & Aim Wonghirundacha | UK | min. | World Premiere The Skin I'm In | directed by Rajaiah Jones | USA | min. | World Premiere Wake | directed by Larkin Rhinehardt & Luke Kinman | USA | min. | World Premiere
WEB SERIES COMPETITION 1 Minute Meal: A Micro-Documentary Series | directed by James Boo | USA | min. 20 Seconds to Live | directed by Ben Rock | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere The Benefits of Gusbandry | directed by Alicia J. Rose | USA | min. | Tennessee Premiere Ex-Best | directed by Barbara Stepansky | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere I Kissed a GIRL | directed by Jen Sheridan | USA | min. | Southeast US Premiere Last Will & Testicle | directed by Byron Lane | USA | min. Life's Work: STONE | directed by Ben Proudfoot | Canada | min. Three's a Pain | directed by Kenneth Garner | USA | min. | World Premiere
Feature Film Awards
SPECIAL PRESENTATION AWARDS Southwest Airlines Audience Award: Sing Street
TENNESSEE FIRST COMPETITION AWARDS Grand Jury Prize Feature: Josephine Grand Jury Prize Narrative Short: Three Fingers Grand Jury Prize Documentary Short: Life Like a Girl Grand Jury Prize Student Short: Gogurt Southwest Airlines Audience Award: Josephine
BRIDGESTONE NARRATIVE COMPETITION AWARDS Grand Jury Prize: Magallanes | Salvador del Solar Honorable Mention: Free in Deed | Jake Mahaffy Best Actor: David Harewood | Free in Deed Best Actress: Dorka Gryllus | Demimonde Best Screenplay: Song of Songs | Eva Neymann Best Music: The Lure Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Performance: The Cast of Magallane Southwest Airlines Audience Award (tie): Demimonde | Atilla Szász Southwest Airlines Audience Award (tie): Hunky Dory | Michael Curtis Johnson Southwest Airlines Audience Award (tie): Magallanes | Salvador del Solar
NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION AWARDS Grand Jury Prize: Transpecos | Greg Kwedar Honorable Mention: The Fits | Anna Rose Holmer Best Actor: Gabriel Luna | Transpecos Best Actress: Brogan Ellis and Lauren McQueen | The Violators Special Jury Prize for Production Design: The Arbalest | Aimee Holmberg Southwest Airlines Audience Award: Transpecos | Greg Kwedar
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARDS Grand Jury Prize (tie): SEED: The Untold Story | Taggart Siegel and Jon Betz Grand Jury Prize (tie): The Seer | Laura Dunn Honorable Mention: The Bandit | Jesse Moss Special Jury Prize for Badass Filmmaking: Hooligan Sparrow | Nanfu Wang Southwest Airlines Audience Award: To the Moon and Back | Susan Morgan Cooper
GIBSON MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY COMPETITION AWARDS Grand Jury Prize: Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows Honorable Mention: Colin Hay -Waiting for My Real Life | Nate Gowtham and Aaron Faulls Special Jury Prize for Best Underdog Story: Sidemen: Long Road to Glory | Scott Rosenbaum Southwest Airlines Audience Award: Colin Hay -Waiting for My Real Life | Nate Gowtham and Aaron Faulls
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION AWARDS Grand Jury Prize for Feature Film: The Lure (ALSO STEVE GOLDMANN PRIZE) Grand Jury Prize for Short Film (tie): Horn Grand Jury Prize for Short Film (tie): The Itching Honorable Mention: Jaron Henrie-McCrea | Curtain Best Actor: Adrian Tofel | Be My Cat: A Film for Anne Best Actress: Marta Mazurek | The Lure Special Jury Prize for Originality and Exceptional Editing: Jaron Henrie-McCrea | Curtain Southwest Airlines Audience Award : The Lure
SONG Best Original Song: "Drive It Like You Stole It" | Sing Street
Short Film Awards
SHORTS GRAND JURY PRIZES Live Action Short Competition: Out of the Village Animated Short Competition: Borrowed Time Documentary Short Competition: The Surrender Experimental Short Competition: Quantum Student Short Competition: Keeping Balance Episodic Competition: 20 Seconds to Live | Ben Rock. USA.
2016 Screenplay Competition Awards
GRAND JURY PRIZE (AWARDS) Grand Jury Prize – Feature: When the Devil’s Loose, written by Ben Watts Grand Jury Prize – Short: A Brief’s Encounter // A Difference of 25 cents, written by Sundae Jahant-Osborn
FEATURE SCREENPLAY (AWARDS) Best Action/Adventure Feature: Ranger Creed, written by Travis Opgenorth Best Comedy Feature: Steve, written by Maryanne Melloan Woods Best Drama Feature: When the Devil's Loose, written by Ben Watts Best Family/Animation Feature: Treefort, written by Rich Dalmas Best Historical Feature: Klondike Kate, written by Steve Warren Best Inspirational Feature: Bronze, written by Kerri Weston & Robert Pawloski Best Music-Inspired Feature: Looking for Nirvana, written by Ian Simpson Best Sci-Fi Feature: The Southerland School, written by Wade Wofford Best Tennessee Feature: The Sound of the Sword, written by Amber Bartlett & Ryan Estabrooks Best Thriller/Horror Feature: Guilty, written by Alan Thornburg
SHORT SCREENPLAY (AWARDS) Best Action/Adventure Short: Welcome Back, written by Elizabeth Hagale Best Comedy Short: A Briefs Encounter, written by Sundae Jahant-Osborn Best Drama Short: Smile, written by Sarah Phillips Best Family/Animation Short: Fridge Mates, written by Nichole Kanney Best Historical Short: US Navy Cine-Kodak, written by Stephen Hunt Best Inspirational Short A Difference of 25 cents, written by Sundae Jahant-Osborn Best Music-Inspired Short: Just Can't Wait to Be King, written by Brett Edwards Best Sci-Fi Short: Glitch, written by Andrew Jordan Best Tennessee Short: The Good Mother, written by Marci Badman Best Thriller/Horror Short: Glitch, written by Andrew Jordan Best Young Screenwriter Short: Dinner at Calypso, written by Onyekachi Iwu
TELEPLAY (AWARDS) Best 30 Minute Pilot: Downeasters, written by Mike Makowsky Best 60 Minute Pilot: At Risk, written by Kristin Goodman
2016 Screenplay Competition Finalists
FEATURE SCREENPLAY (FINALISTS) Action/Adventure: The Drome, written by Hunter Davis Action/Adventure: Keeper of the Pipe, written by Steve Warren Action/Adventure: Ranger Creed, written by Travis Opgenorth Comedy: Lothario, written by Robert Remy Comedy: Secret Santa, written by Maggie Franks Comedy: Steve, written by Maryanne Melloan Woods Comedy: Wingman, written by Joel Moss Levinson & Stephen Levinson Drama: The Bottle Business, written by Alan Wartes Drama: Brothers of the Phin, written by Jim Henry & Marci Sohan Drama: It Takes a Village, written by Alison Grifa Ismaili Drama: Lucky 13, written by Denise Meyers Drama: Running to Daylight, written by William Savage Drama: Sand Devils, written by Tom Khazoyan Drama: Waiting Games, written by Jeffrey Field Drama: When The Devil’s Loose, written by Ben Watts Family/Animation: Moon-Wrecked, written by Adam Rosenbaum Family/Animation: Patchwork, written by Amanda Keener Family/Animation: Skater Girl, written by Philip Suraci, Jr. Family/Animation: Treefort, written by Rich Dalmas Historical: Acts of God, written by Reed Moran Historical: Fire on Ice, written by Courtney Suttle Historical: Freedom, written by Ryan LaForge Historical: Klondike Kate, written by Steve Warren Historical: Silence in Berlin, written by Matthew Wolff Inspirational: Bronze, written by Kerri Weston & Robert Pawloski Inspirational: Mia and the Moviestar, written by Sheri Davenport Inspirational: The Woodpecker Waltz, written by Daniel Leonetti Music Inspired: Looking for Nirvana, written by Ian Simpson Music Inspired: The Minstrel, written by Todd Sorrell Science Fiction: Lock Eyes, written by Bodine Boling Science Fiction: Parousia, written by Todd Sorrell Science Fiction: The Southerland School, written by Wade Wofford Tennessee: For the Sake of the Song, written by Jason May Tennessee: The Sound of the Sword, written by Amber Bartlett & Ryan Estabrooks Tennessee: The Sympathetic Drive, written by Jay Wright Thriller/Horror: Dead (Re) Tired, written by Trace Crawford Thriller/Horror: Guilty, written by Alan Thornburg Thriller/Horror: Repairing the Inevitable, written by Rebecca Felland-Syring Thriller/Horror: We Take Care Of Our Own, written by Jeremy Burgess
SHORT SCREENPLAY (FINALISTS) Action/Adventure: Welcome Back, written by Elizabeth Hagale Comedy: Baggage, written by Andrea Behring Comedy: A Briefs Encounter, written by Sundae Jahant-Osborn Comedy: Froggie, written by Marjory Kaptanoglu Comedy: Woundscape, written by Shelby Kern Drama: The Elevator Most Belonging To Alice, written byBill Sarre Drama: Gasolina, written by Tannaz Hazemi Drama: The Green Bench, written by Diane Sherlock Drama: Raghead, written by Tom Coash Drama: Run, My Dear, written by Marjory Kaptanoglu Drama: Smile, written by Sarah Phillips Family/Animation: Fridge Mates, written by Nichole Kanney Family/Animation: Rubber Soul, written by Joey Perotti Historical: Sentry Duty, written by Clyde Bennett Historical: US Navy Cine-Kodak, written by Stephen Hunt Inspirational: A Difference of 25¢, written by Sundae Jahant-Osborn Inspirational: Mia, written by Sheri Davenport Inspirational: Impressions, written by Alice Park & Tiffany Frances Music Inspired: He Is My Music, written by Vicki Bartholomew Music Inspired: Just Can’t Wait To Be King, written by Brett Edwards Science Fiction: Glitch, written by Andrew Jordan Science Fiction: The Tesla Files, written by Alan Wartes Tennessee: The Good Mother, written by Marci Badman Tennessee: Together, Alone, written by Bob Lawler Thriller/Horror: Glitch, written by Andrew Jordan Thriller/Horror: Vacuum, written by Anastasiya Mirzoev Young Screenwriter: Dinner at Calypso, written by Onyekachi Iwu Young Screenwriter: Racing the Sunrise, written by Amy Russo
TELEPLAY (FINALISTS) 30 Minute Pilot: Dog Days of Summer, written byChristine Michele Jones 30 Minute Pilot: Downeasters, written by Mike Makowsky 30 Minute Pilot: Kicking & Screaming, written by David Young 30 Minute Pilot: Kosher Delicate Lesson, written by Jim Norman 60 Minute Pilot: At Risk, written by Kristin Goodman 60 Minute Pilot: Bog Walk, written by Dominique Holmes 60 Minute Pilot: Southern Gothic, written by Mickey Blaine
2016 Screenplay Competition Semi-Finalists
FEATURE SCREENPLAY (FINALISTS) Action/Adventure: A Secret Journey, written by Gary Piazza Action/Adventure: Ace of Spades, written by Jesse Gustafson Action/Adventure: Hollow Graham, written by Steve Lewis Action/Adventure: In the Shadow of the Buddha, written by Emily Bentley Solomon Action/Adventure: Realm, written by Dan Tonkin Action/Adventure: Red Ivory, written by Larry Thomas Comedy: Boomerang Moon, written by Craig Casselberry & Ben Philippe Comedy: Catch, written by Jason Zielinski Comedy: eDisharmony, written by Lorraine Portman Comedy: Fiends , written by Wade Allain-Marcus Comedy: Frankie and Fabulous, written by Kimberly Shumate Comedy: Hacking the Movie: Sharks on a Plane, written by David Lyon Comedy: How To Be A Canadian, written by Kenny Stevenson Comedy: I Lost My Laugh, written by Steve Holinsworth Comedy: Ill Will, written by Darren Love Comedy: Jacksonville, written by Jeffrey Field Comedy: Made in China, written by Alicia Lomas-Gross Comedy: Paintbrush, written by Tony Cane-Honeysett Comedy: Stupid Cupid, written by Dan Gunderman Comedy: The Fun in Dysfunctional, written by Cara Daniello Drama: 40 Milimeter, written by Steve Hochman Drama: A Summer for Heroes, written by Dennis Douda Drama: Belt of Iron, written by Harry Burrus Drama: The Blight, written by Michelle Cutler Drama: Buzz Cut Season, written by Tatiana Bears Drama: Carbon, written by Claire McClanahan Drama: Chasing Echoes, written by William Schreiber Drama: Curse of the Zombie Werewolf, written by C M Webb Drama: Dean the Drummer, written by Tannaz Hazemi Drama: Debbie the Viking, written by Graham Parke Drama: Dietrich Danzig, written by John Pisano-Thomsen Drama: Faith Found Wanting, written by Margo Trueblood Drama: Forgiving Evil, written by Mike Scherer Drama: King of Sunset, written by Tyler Peck Drama: Mirage, written by Margaret Carlyle Price Drama: Muted, written by Brandi Ford Drama: Never Been Born, written by Adria Tennor Drama: The Salt of Her Skin, written by Michael Easton Drama: Steppin’ Out!, written by Steve Bensinger Drama: Sweet Souls Atrocious, written by Tracey Bradley Drama: Take You In, written by Michelle Cutler Drama: The Umpire Has No Balls, written by Debbie Bolsky Drama: UnAlaska, written by Jean Lee and Eung-Jin Lee Drama: Viable Parts, written by Laura Brienza Family/Animation: Skweaky The Email Bunny, written by Colin Holmes Family/Animation: The Little Wanderers, written by Torry Martin & Cynthia Nielson Historical: Death of a Legend, written by Keith Davidson Historical: Disembodied Voices, written by Victor Warren Historical: Donaldina: Based on True Events in the Life of DonaldinaCameron, written by Carol Lee Hall Historical: Walking Point, written by Diann Beck Inspirational: Silent Rescue, written by Todd Sorrell Inspirational: The Tribute, written by Mike Reid Music Inspired: By Shel Silverstein, written by Joe Walters Music Inspired: Casa Linda Nights, written by Stu Gilbert Music Inspired: Johnny Bragg, written by Jonathan Miller Music Inspired: Songbird, written by RL Williams Science Fiction: Dark Side, written by Michael Wright Science Fiction: The King’s Court, written by Brandon Montgomery Science Fiction: The Memory Sphere, written by Kevin Sluder Science Fiction: The Third Book, written by Rick Diamond Tennessee: C-Sectioned, written by Andrew MacQuarrie Tennessee: Peanut and Cracker, written by Jack Tim Lane Tennessee: Scents, written by Irish Johnston Tennessee: The Little Wanderers, written by Torry Martin & Cynthia Nielson Thriller/Horror: Control, written by Steve Lewis Thriller/Horror: The Gorge, written by Warren Cowell Sanctuary | Scott Pittock Thriller/Horror: Scatterbrains, written by Richard Hohenrath Thriller/Horror: Seeing Red, written by Sundae Jahant-Osborn Thriller/Horror: Sister Sarah, written by Harrison Witt Thriller/Horror: Slander, written by Ilo Orleans
SHORT SCREENPLAY (SEMI-FINALISTS) Action/Adventure: Best Interests, written by James Freeman Comedy: Audrey’s Knickers, written by Scott Baron Comedy: Haunted House Hunters, written by Heidi Willis Comedy: Surrogates – A Maybe Love Story, written by Aaron Yeung Comedy: The Changing Room, written by Elisabeth Seldes Annacone Comedy: The Proposal, written by Charles Lo Manto and Holly Prine Drama: Body and Son, written by Chris Hamilton Drama: Going Down, written by Sheri Davenport Drama: The Glove Salesman, written by Frederick Jones Drama: Magdalena, written by Candice Holdorf Drama: Sick, written by Jennifer Sharp Drama: Sweet Charity written by David Evans Drama: The Table Top Dancer, written by Addison Bhuyan Drama: Take Gentle Care, written by Eric Hyde Family/Animation: A Briefs Encounter, written by Sundae Jahant-Osborn Family/Animation: Special Delivery, written by Terrance Thibodeaux Historical: A Beautiful Lie, written by Sundae Jahant-Osborn & Toby Osborne Historical: Steel Harvest, written by Christiaan Kutlik Music Inspired: Marrow, written by Kate Gray Science Fiction: Jenni, written by Jay Wright Science Fiction: They Hide From The Sun, written by Eugene Ramos & Terence Nance Tennessee: The Putt Putt Preacher, written by Jason Allen Tennessee: The Man from Everywhere, written by Jason Allen Thriller/Horror: Fingers, written by Lachlan Marks Thriller/Horror: Killing Fool, written by Marjory Kaptanoglu Thriller/Horror: Walter’s Days, written by Nathan Ludwig & Charles Hill Young Screenwriter: Foreign Policy, written by Adam Yuster Young Screenwriter: Hands, written by Kylen Newcomb Young Screenwriter: Sidewalk Safari, written by Jack Fossett
TELEPLAY (SEMI-FINALISTS) 30 Minute Pilot: Star Academy 3013: What Are Sex Robots Made Of?, written by Christopher J. Valin 30 Minute Pilot: Sugar, written by Caitlin Hogan 30 Minute Pilot: The Adventures of Ash and Owen, written by Arun Narayanan 30 Minute Pilot: The Club, written by Maureen Monahan 30 Minute Pilot: Whisper in the Vines, written by Sasha Siljanovic 60 Minute Pilot: Across the Line, written by Heidi Putallaz 60 Minute Pilot: Covert Youth Agency, written by Jason Ancona 60 Minute Pilot: Going Reno, written by Elizabeth Quinn 60 Minute Pilot: Hometown, written by Wendy Wilkins 60 Minute Pilot: Hood, written by Devin Conroy 60 Minute Pilot: In the Kingdom of Fife, written by D.L. Wright 60 Minute Pilot: Ithaca, written by Mike De Caro 60 Minute Pilot: Private Air, written by Billie Bates 60 Minute Pilot: The Dragon and The White Devil, written by Christopher Sachs 60 Minute Pilot: The Letters, written by Dani Bailes 60 Minute Pilot: The Third Form, written by Garrett Amerson 60 Minute Pilot: Two Emperors, written by Paul Gross
“This is a strong and diverse presentation,” said Brian Owens, NaFF Artistic Director. “These films showcase some of the most talented filmmakers I have seen in years. The Nashville Film Festival is proud of the number of World, Southeast and Tennessee premieres in this year’s field of features.”
“Film fans will have an outstanding variety of films to choose from,” said Ted Crockett, NaFF Executive Director. “The music docs, narrative features, and short films will make this festival one of the best ever. We’re excited to celebrate film with our members, sponsors, film fans and amazing filmmakers.” (Film synopses.)
Feature Films
BRIDGESTONE NARRATIVE COMPETITION 7 Chinese Brothers | Bob Byington. USA. | Southeast US Premiere. Cowboys | Tomislav Mrsic. Croatia. | Tennessee Premiere. Diamond Tongues | Brian Robertson, Pavan Moondi. USA. | Southeast US Premiere. Eadweard | Kyle Rideout. Croatia. | Southeast US Premiere. Funny Bunny | Alison Bagnall. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. God Bless the Child | Robert Machoian, Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. H. | Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia. USA, Argentina. | Tennessee Premiere. Lake Los Angeles | Mike Ott. USA | Tennessee Premiere. Los Hongos | Oscar Ruiz Navia. Columbia. | Tennessee Premiere. Margarita, with a Straw | Shonali Bose, Nilesh Maniyar. India. | Tennessee Premiere. Monument to Michael Jackson | Darko Lungulov. Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia. | Southeast US Premiere. Runoff | Kimberly Levin. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Safelight | Tony Aloupis. USA. | World Premiere. Sam | Nicholas Brooks. USA. | World Premiere. Sand Dollars | Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán. Dominican Republic, Argentina, Mexico. | Tennessee Premiere. Yosemite | Gabrielle Demeestere. USA. | Tennessee Premiere.
NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION All-Stars | Lance Kinsey. USA. | Southeast US Premiere. The Ambassador to Bern | Attila Szász. Hungary. | Southeast US Premiere. Ben’s At Home | Mars Horodyski. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. The Challenger | Kent Moran. USA . | Tennessee Premiere. For the Plasma | Bingham Bryant, Kyle Molzan. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Krisha | Trey Edward Shults. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. The Midnight Swim | Sarah Adina Smith. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Molly Takes a Trip | Annika Kurnick. USA. | World Premiere. Naz & Maalik | Jay Dockendorf. USA. | Southeast US Premiere. Radiator | Tom Browne. United Kingdom. | Tennessee Premiere. Some Beasts | Cameron Nelson. USA. | Southeast US Premiere. Songs She Wrote About People She Knows | Kris Elgstrand. Canada. | Southeast US Premiere.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young | Annika, Iltis, Timothy Kane. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. For Grace | Mark Helenowski, Kevin Pang. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Frame by Frame | Mo Scarpelli, Alexandria Bombach. USA, Afghanistan. | Tennessee Premiere. From Fat to Finish Line | Angela Lee. USA | World Premiere. Holbrook / Twain: An American Odyssey | Scott Teems. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. How to Dance in Ohio | Alexandra Shiva. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. In My Father’s House | Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg. USA. | Southeast Premiere. The Keepers | Joann Selvidge, Sara Kaye Larson. USA. | World Premiere. Live from New York! | Bao Nguyen. USA. | Southeast Premiere. Meru | E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin. India, USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Rosenwald | Aviva Kempner. USA. | Special Presentation by the Jewish Film Festival. Tennessee Premiere. Stray Dog | Debra Granik. India, USA. | Tennessee Premiere. T(E)RROR | Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliff. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Top Spin | Sara Newens, Mina T. Son. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Welcome to Leith | Michael Nichols, Christopher K. Walker. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. We Were Rebels | Katharina von Schroeder, Florian Schewe. USA, South Sudan, Germany. | North American Premiere.
MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY Austin to Boston | James Marcus Haney. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Buskin’ Blues | Erin Derham. USA. | World Premiere. Country: Portraits of an American Sound | Steven Kochones. USA. | World Premiere. Heartworn Highways Revisited | Wayne Price. USA. | Southeast Premiere. How Sweet the Sound – The Blind Boys of Alabama | Leslie McCleave. USA. | World Premiere. Imba Means Sing | Danielle Bernstein. USA, Canada and Uganda. | Tennessee Premiere. Made in Japan | Josh Bishop. USA, Japan. | Southeast Premiere. My Voice, My Life | Ruby Yang. Hong Kong. | Tennessee Premiere. Orion: The Man Who Would Be KingI | Jeanie Finlay. UK. | Southeast Premiere. The Record Man | Mark Moormann. USA. | Tennessee Premiere Revival: The Sam Bush Story | Wayne Franklin, Kris Wheeler. USA. | World Premiere. Sweet Micky for President | Ben Patterson. USA. | Tennessee Premiere.
TENNESSEE FIRST Ain't It Nowhere | Scott Murphy. | World Premiere. Duty of the Hour | Tony Dancy, Reece Auguiste. | World Premiere. Heartworn Highways Revisited | Wayne Price. | World Premiere. Homeless | Clay Hassler. | World Premiere. The Keepers | Joann Self Selvidge, Sara Kaye Larson. | World Premiere. Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw | Rick Goldsmith. | World Premiere. Orphan Brigade - Soundtrack to a Ghost Story | Joshua Britt, Neilson Hubbard. | World Premiere. Paternity Leave | Matt Riddlehoover. | World Premiere. Reminiscent | Justin Tandy, Dustin Brandt Hyer. | World Premiere. Semicolon; The Adventures of Ostomy Girl | Robin Greenspun. | World Premiere.
GRAVEYARD SHIFT Another | Jason Bognacki. USA. | Southeast US Premiere. Cub | Jonas Govaerts. Belgium. | Tennessee Premiere. Alléluia | Frabrice Du Welz. Belgium. | Tennessee Premiere. Felt | Jason Banker. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Horsehead | Romain Basset. France. | Tennessee Premiere. They Look Like People | Perry Blackshear. USA. | Southeast US Premiere. Ladies of the House | John Stuart Wildman. USA. | Tennessee Premiere. Sufferland | Linear Downfall. USA. | World Premiere.
Feature Film Awards
The Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) 2015 announced the 46th Annual Competition Award winners, including Grand Jury Prizes to Monument to Michael Jackson, Orion: The Man Who Would Be King and other notable films. Best Original Song went to Brian Wilson for “One Kind of Love” from Love & Mercy.
BRIDGESTONE NARRATIVE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Monument to Michael Jackson | Darko Lungolov Honorable Mention: WildLike | Frank Hall Green
The Bridgestone Narrative Competition Grand Jury Prize went to Monument to Michael Jackson. The film was, “at times a political farce, a relationship drama and an inspiring tale of tenacity in the face of adversity.” The jury also awarded Geraldine Chaplin from Sand Dollars the Best Actress award, while Boris Milivojevic from Monument to Michael Jackson received the Best Actor award. Best Screenplay went to Shonali Bose for Margarita, with a Straw, and the Film Musicians Secondary Market Fund Award for Best Music in a Feature Film went to Ramon Cordero, Benjamin De Menil and Edilio Paredes for Sand Dollars. The Special Jury Prize for Cinematography was awarded to Tony Mirza for Eadweard.
GIBSON MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Orion: The Man Who Would Be King | Jeanie Finlay Honorable Mention: Sweet Micky for President | Ben Patterson
The jury said Orion, “hits every note... and then some. It was a completely unpredictable yet always entertaining and moving documentary.” The jury awarded the Special Jury Prize for Best Import to Tomi Fujiyama in Made in Japan.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Frame by Frame | Mo Scarpelli and Alexandra Bombach Honorable Mention: Welcome to Leith | Michael Beach and Christopher K. Walker
“Frame by Frame is a fascinating look into life in Afghanistan that celebrates its growing photography culture, with unprecedented access and interviews,” the jury said. “The film is beautifully crafted and we're so honored to present these first time filmmakers with the Documentary Grand Jury Prize, and hope that they will continue to make inspiring films.” The Special Jury Prize for Direction went to Jimmy Chin and E. Chai Vasahelyi forMeru.
NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Songs She Wrote About People She Knows | Kris Elgstrand Honorable Mention: Naz & Maalik | Jay Dockendorf
Songs She Wrote About People She Knows received the Grand Jury Prize, “for its quirky plot, high production values, and unique yet relatable characters, the New Directors Jury awarded its Grand Jury Prize to Songs She Wrote About People She Knows. Lead actress Arabella Bushnell delivers a particularly strong performance as an aspiring pop singer, complete with highly original and hilarious songs. Writer/director Kris Elgstrand is a strong new voice in independent cinema and we are excited to see what he comes up with next. “
The jury awarded Krisha Fairchild with Best Actress for Krisha and Daniel Cerqueira with Best Actor for Radiator. The Special Jury Prize for Direction went to Sarah Adina Smith for The Midnight Swim.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG Winner: “One Kind of Love,” from Love & Mercy | written and performed by Brian Wilson Honorable Mention: “Found You,” from In My Father’s House | written and performed by Rhymefest
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize (tie): Alléluia | Fabrice du Welz Grand Jury Prize (tie): They Look Like People | Perry Blackshear
“The jury found itself unable to determine a hierarchy between exquisite works of passion, madness, human bonds and inhuman horror.” The jury awarded for Best Actress to Amy Everson in Felt and Best Actor to MacLeod Andrews in They Look Like People. The Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Use of Music went to Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red in It.
GROUND ZERO TENNESSEE FIRST COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: The Keepers | Joann Self Selvidge and Sara Kaye Larson
SPONSORED AWARDS NPT Human Spirit Award: My Voice, My Life | Ruby Yang Women in Film & Television Award: Yosemite | Gabrielle Demeestere Outstanding LGBT Film: Naz & Maalik | Jay Dockendorf Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Award: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Lipscomb University Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Rosenwald | Aviva Kempner
Audience Awards
“It’s been an incredible year,” said Brian Owens, Nashville Film Festival Artistic Director. “The feedback on almost all films was positive and we enjoyed larger than ever audiences that continued to grow throughout the week. People were talking about these films in person and on social media. We are so proud to have presented them. Personally, I’ll never forget this program of films.”
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AUDIENCE AWARD OVERALL WINNER In My Father’s House | Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg, scored 4.99 out of 5
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS Narrative Competition: Eadweard | Kyle Rideout, director Documentary Competition: In My Father’s House | Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, directors Special Presentations: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, director Spectrum: The Waiting Country Woman | Li Yangiu, director Music Films/Music City: Revival: The Sam Bush Story | Kris Wheeler and Wayne Franklin Tennessee First: Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw | Rick Goldsmith, director New Directors Competition: The Challenger | Kent Moran, director Graveyard Shift: They Look Like People | Perry Blackshear, director
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AUDIENCE AWARDS - DOCUMENTARIES – TOP FIVE In My Father’s House | Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, directors Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw | Rick Goldsmith, director The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young | Annika Iltis and Timothy Kane, directors Revival: The Sam Bush Story | Kris Wheeler and Wayne Franklin, directors Imba Means Sing | Danielle Bernstein, director
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AUDIENCE AWARD - NARRATIVES – TOP FIVE Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, director The Challenger | Kent Moran, director Love & Mercy | Bill Pohlad, director Ain’t It Nowhere | Scott Murphy, director I’ll See You in My Dreams | Brett Haley, director
Short Film Awards
The Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) is pleased to announce the short film awards winners for the 46th Annual Nashville Film Festival. Jurors chose the winners from more than 2,600 entries ranging from 3-39 minutes in length, and covering a variety of genres.
Winners in the animated, narrative and documentary shorts categories are automatically qualified for Academy Award® consideration, should they meet all other eligibility requirements. The Nashville Film Festival is one of only 17 festivals in the world that are automatic qualifiers in these three categories.
According to the jury, its palpable portrayal of a child torn between two worlds earned Daytimer the Live Action Short Grand Jury Prize. Bear Story set itself a very high bar both stylistically and narratively and delivered across the board, which garnered it the Grand Jury Prize for Animated Short. La Vie en rose comme dans les films provided a humble glimpse into the complicated world of memory; the short received the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Short. Each of these three shorts will be automatically qualified for Academy Award® consideration.
LIVE ACTION SHORT Grand Jury Prize: Daytimer | Riz Ahmed. United Kingdom. Honorable Mention: Tzniut | David Formentin. USA. Honorable Mention: Saturday | Mike Forshaw. United Kingdom. Special Jury Prize for Visual Storytelling: The Aftermath of the Inauguration of the Public Toilet at Kilometer 375 | Omar El Zohairy. Egypt.
ANIMATED SHORT Grand Jury Prize: Bear Story | Gabriel Osorio. Chile. Honorable Mention: Man on the Chair | Dahee Jeong. France. Special Jury Prize for Achievement in Animation: Pineapple Calamari | Kasia Nalewajka. United Kingdom.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT Grand Jury Prize: La Vie en rose comme dans les films | Christophe M. Saber. Switzerland. Honorable Mention: Autofocus | Boris Poljak. Croatia. Special Jury Prize for Bridging the Gap Between Experimental & Documentary Filmmaking: Object | Paulina Skibinska. Poland.
EXPERIMENTAL SHORT Grand Jury Prize: null. | Michael Lange, David Gesslbauer. Germany. Honorable Mention: Play Within a Play | Yasmijn Karhof. Netherlands.
STUDENT SHORT Grand Jury Prize: Wire Cutters | Jack Anderson. USA. Honorable Mention: The Aftermath of the Inauguration of the Public Toilet at Kilometer 375 | Omar El Zohairy. Egypt. Watkins Young Filmmaker Award: Poet Against Prejudice | Faiza Almontaser. USA.
GRAVEYARD SHIFT Grand Jury Prize for Short Film: Alone | Didier Philippe France. Honorable Mention for Short Film: PrimroseLane | Nick Phillips USA.
GROUND ZERO TENNESSEE FIRST SHORTS Documentary Award: Muddy Pond | Tyler Jones. TN, USA. Narrative Award: Trying Not to Explode | Dave Dorsey. TN, USA.
TENNESSEE HORIZON AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORTS Presented by TN Film, Music & Entertainment Commission and Native Magazine Winner (tie): Daddy’s Little Girl | Chad McClarnon. TN, USA. Winner (tie): Usetocould | Drew Maynard. TN, USA. Steven Goldmann Visionary Award: World of Tomorrow | Don Hertzfeldt.USA.
New Web Series Competition
09/08/2014 Nashville, TN - The Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) presented by Nissan, today announced the Official Call for Entries for a new Web Series Competition. With the Nashville Film Festival Film Competition and Screenwriting Competition, the three competitions will draw over 5,000 entries and offer more than $115,000 in cash and prizes. The Calls will close January 14, 2015. Winners of all competitions will be announced at the Nashville Film Festival, April 16 – 25th, 2015.
WEB SERIES Grand Jury Prize: 24 Hour Records | Brad Cash | USA. Honorable Mention: HelLA | Rory Uphold | USA.
“The finalists for this year’s Screenwriting Competition represent the best in undiscovered writing talent,” said Ted Crockett, NaFF Executive Director. “They presented everything from hilarious comedies to terrifying horror films, and we are thrilled to be a venue to jumpstart their careers.” The 65 finalists were selected from nearly 1,300 entries from around the world. The Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition is unique among thousands of screenwriting competitions in the U.S. because it offers a category for young screenwriters as well as more categories for short screenplays than any other competition. The winner of 2014’s Tennessee Screenwriter Short Award is participating in this year’s festival as a feature. “Placing in a screenwriting competition assists up and coming talent with an important step in their careers,” continued Crockett. “It can help them as they establish themselves and their films, whether that’s gaining financing, exposure or both.” Top scripts, selected from NaFF winners, will be read by Blossom Films, Nicole Kidman’s Academy-Award nominated production company; noted casting director, Laray Mayfield; Sycamore Pictures CEO, Ben Nearn; Rich Peluso, Senior Vice President of AFFIRM Films; famed limit-breaking director/producer Harmony Korine; Lewis Bogach, Emmy-winning Vice President of CMT-TV; and Abso Lutely Productions, producer of six current comedy TV hits.
2015 Screenplay Competition Awards
FEATURE SCREENPLAY (AWARDS) Best Drama Feature: Oil and Water, written by Alfred Catalfo & Morgan Dudley Best Drama Feature (Runner-up): Independence Pass, written by Brian MacEvilly Best Comedy Feature: The Full Irish, written by Brian MacEvilly Best Comedy Feature (Runner-up): My Bad Day in Hell, written by Eric Carlson Best Music-Inspired Feature: Blind Boone, written by Moss Hall & Max Morath Best Music-Inspired Feature (Runner-up): Chris Gaines Saves the World, written by Donald Driscoll Best Sci-Fi - Feature: No Man’s Land, written by Michelle Davidson & Jeffrey Field Best Sci-Fi - Feature (Runner-up): Eden, written by Jessica Chou Best Inspirational Feature: Heart Stringz, written by Barbara Ashdown Best Inspirational Feature (Runner-up): In-Between, written by Sandra Smith Best Animated Feature: My Monster Burrufu, written by Alberto Corral Best Animated Feature (Runner-up): The Mythfitz, written by Nicholas Julius Best Historical Feature: Kid Convict, written by Julie Umbreit Best Historical Feature (Runner-up): Samson, written by Shawn Hoffman Best Family Friendly Feature: Eleven Days, written by Jaginder Singh Best Family Friendly Feature (Runner-up): Darby Petty and the Lost Treasure, written by DC Sayre Best Action/Adventure Feature: The Third Bomb, written by Phillip Parker Best Action/Adventure Feature (Runner-up): Guns and Grace, written by Odin Ozdil Best Thriller/Horror Feature: A Texas Story, written by David Martin-Porras & Julia Fontana Best Thriller/Horror Feature (Runner-up): Bad Blood, written by Billie Bates Best Tennessee Feature: The Last Drop, written by A.D. Smith Best Tennessee Feature (Runner-up): Sink Swim, written by Elvis Wilson
SHORT SCREENPLAY (AWARDS) Best Drama Short: Illuminate, written by Robert Pawloski Best Drama Short (Runner-up): Which Spoke of Freedom, written by Aria Marrogi & Chris Germiller Best Comedy Short: U Got Tagged, written by Andrew Roxby Best Comedy Short (Runner-up): That Other Crazy Thing You Do, written by Michelle Leibel Best Family Friendly Short: Wiindigoo the Cannibal, written by Michael O’Rourke & Winona LaDuke Best Family Friendly Short (Runner-up): The Home of Rock, written by Brian MacEvilly Best Genre Short: Lumen 18, written byDarren Tibbits Best Genre Short (Runner-up): Guest, written by Charles Dillon Ward Best Tennessee Short: The Incident at Broadway and Grand, written by Francis Wolff Best Tennessee Short (Runner-up): The Ice Road, written by Taylor Albertson Best Young Screenwriter Short: The Pride Club, written by Kirill Dyshlovoy Best Young Screenwriter Short (Runner-up): The Favor, written byJack Fossett
TELEPLAY (AWARDS) Comedy Teleplay: Star Pupils, written by Tom Ruprecht Comedy Teleplay (Runner-up): The Knot, written by Adam Rosenbaum Drama Teleplay: Long Lost, written by Deanna Shumaker Drama Teleplay (Runner-up): Limbo, written by Jessica Chou
2015 Screenwriting Competition Finalists
FEATURE SCREENPLAY (FINALISTS) Action/Adventure Feature: D.T. | Ken Comer Action/Adventure Feature: Guns and Grace | Odin Ozdil Action/Adventure Feature: The Third Bomb | Phillip Parker Animated Feature: My Monster Burrufu | Alberto Corral Animated Feature: The Mythfitz | Nicholas Julius Comedy Feature: Alliance | Charlie Robinson & Carla Robinson Comedy Feature: Canadian Holiday | David Rocchio Comedy Feature: Miss Loving | Bernard Smith Comedy Feature: My Bad Day in Hell | Eric Carlson Comedy Feature: Poe Boys | David Van Hooser Comedy Feature: The Full Irish | Brian MacEvilly Drama Feature: Code Blues | Gary Wallach Drama Feature: Glen Sherley | Joe Rassulo & Robert Gibson Drama Feature: Independence Pass | Brian MacEvilly Drama Feature: Oil and Water | Alfred Thomas Catalfo & Morgan Webster Dudley Drama Feature: Shadowman | Mike Miller Drama Feature: The Acadian | David Vincent Drama Feature: The Oracle of Jerald's Bay | Sarah Bewley Family Friendly Feature: Darby Petty and the Lost Treasure | DC Sayre Family Friendly Feature: Eleven Days | Jaginder Singh Family Friendly Feature: The Creepy House | Shoshana Rosenbaum Historical Feature: In Spite of It All | Rebecca Boyd Historical Feature: Kid Convict | Julie Umbreit Historical Feature: Samson: A Savior Will Rise | Shawn Hoffman & Michael Hoffman Inspirational Feature: Heart Stringz | Barbara Ashdown Inspirational Feature: In-Between | Sandra Webb Smith Inspirational Feature: One Small Step | Patrick Sherman Music Inspired Feature: Blind Boone | Moss Hall & Max Morath Music Inspired Feature: Chris Gaines Saves the World | Donald Driscoll Music Inspired Feature: Stride | Rick Whelan Sci-Fi Feature: Bioterror Conspiracy | Louis Lio Sci-Fi Feature: Eden | Jessica Chou Sci-Fi Feature: No Man's Land | Michelle Davidson & Jeffrey Field Sci-Fi Feature: Populous | Michael Quintero Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: Empathy | Elvis Wilson Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: SinkSwim | Elvis Wilson Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: TheAcadian | David Vincent Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: The Last Drop | A. D. Smith Thriller/Horror Feature: A Texas Story | David Martin|Porras & Julia Fontana Thriller/Horror Feature: Bad Blood | Billie Bates Thriller/Horror Feature: Empathy | Elvis Wilson Thriller/Horror Feature: Ginseng | Josh Barkey Thriller/Horror Feature: Lifers | Phil Burdette Thriller/Horror Feature: The Apocalypse Chronicles | Nathan Ludwig & Charles Hill Thriller/Horror Feature: Why the Willow Weeps | Dwight Jolivette Thriller/Horror Feature: Zombie Ward | Harry Oxnard
SHORT SCREENPLAY (FINALISTS) Comedy Short: That Other Crazy Thing You Do | Michelle Leibel Comedy Short: U Got Tagged | Andrew Roxby Drama Short: Illuminate | Robert Pawloski Drama Short: Which Spoke of Freedom | Aria Marrogi & Chris Germiller Family Friendly Short: The Home of Rock | Brian MacEvilly Family Friendly Short: Wiindigoo the Cannibal | Michael O'Rourke & Winona LaDuke Tennessee Screenwriter Short: The Ice Road | Taylor Albertson Tennessee Screenwriter Short: Incident at Broadway and Grand | Francis Wolff Genre Short: Guest | Charles Dillon Ward Genre Short: Lumen 18 | Darren Tibbits Young Screenwriter Short: The Favor | Jack Fossett Young Screenwriter Short: The Pride Club | Kirill Dyshlovoy
TELEPLAY (FINALISTS) Comedy Teleplay: It Could Be Worse, written by Tracy Reilly Comedy Teleplay: The Knot, written by Adam Rosenbaum Comedy Teleplay: Star Pupils, written by Tom Ruprecht Drama Teleplay: Limbo, written by Jessica Chou Drama Teleplay: Long Lost, written by Deanna Shumaker Drama Teleplay: Renegades, written by Conway Preston Drama Teleplay: Tip & Keeper, written by Carol Caldwell
2015 Screenplay Competition Semi-Finalists
ACTION/ADVENTURE - FEATURE(SEMI-FINALISTS) D. T. | Ken Comer Cooper’s Promise | Timothy Jay Smith Crystal | Charles Johnston Guns and Grace | Odin Ozdil Precious Seconds | Paul Byrne Shadow Warriors | Steve Warren Strings | Peter Wisan The Third Bomb | Phillip Parker
ANIMATED - FEATURE(SEMI-FINALISTS) Caterpillarland | Roxanne Beck Incredibull | Gregory P. Wolk My Monster Burrufu | Alberto Corral The Mythfitz | Nicholas Julius Under The Well | Max Eber
COMEDY - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) alliance | Charlie Robinson Carla Robinson Canadian Holiday | David Rocchio Dating Jennifer | Eric Stalnaker Erotic Romance | Rachel Kempf Follow Your Heart | James Capozzi & Leo Esnes Lin & Lucy | Billie Bates Locations | Michael McClendon Miss Loving | Bernard Smith My Bad Day in Hell | Eric Carlson Next In Line | Sam Washington Number One Rule | John Alarid One Night Stan | Robbie Robertson Poe Boys | David Van Hooser The Full Irish | Brian MacEvilly Trial and Erin | Larry Shulruff Up With The Joneses | Rani DeMuth
COMEDY - SHORT (SEMI-FINALISTS) Losing Teeth | Kelly Hightower That Other Crazy Thing You Do | Michelle Leibel U Got Tagged | Andrew Roxby
DRAMA - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) American Soldier | Steve Warren Baker’s Dozen | Michael Gossette Because Of Me | Robin Garland Between the Road and Charlie Macklin | Rod Thompson Burn It Down | Allen C. Gardner Chalk Dust | Daniel Corter Code Blues | Gary Wallach Cure | Dimitri Neos Glen Sherley | Joe Rassulo Robert Gibson Independence Pass | Brian MacEvilly Kingwood | Gus Avila Lessons from the Gypsy Camp | Elizabeth Appell Let There Be Light | Carol Caldwell Mending Grace | Michele Mathis Nessun Dorma (No One Sleeps) | Matteo Servente & Melissa Anderson Sweazy No Man’s Land | Michelle Davidson & Jeffrey R. Field Oil and Water | Alfred Thomas Catalfo & Morgan Webster Dudley One Bad Astronaut | L.A. Longworth Real Estate Boom | Casimir Nozkowski Shadowman | Mike Miller Squid Jiggers | Judi Blaze Tags | Robert Christian Frostholm The Acadian | David Vincent The Oracle of Jerald’s Bay | Sarah Bewley The Water King | Persephone Vandegrift Where I’m Going, You Can’t Follow | Elizabeth Morrison
DRAMA - SHORT (SEMI-FINALISTS) Blind Man | Kirk Vanderbeek Going Postal | Francis Wolff Illuminate | Robert Pawloski Mermaid Bay | Erich Decker-Hoppen Which Spoke of Freedom | Aria Marrogi & Chris Germiller
FAMILY FRIENDLY - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) Darby Petty and the Lost Treasure | DC Sayre Eleven Days | Jaginder Singh In-Between | Sandra Webb Smith Murphy’s Second Chance | Amber Rapp Not Your Parent’s Parade | Philip Suraci, Jr. The Creepy House | Shoshana Rosenbaum The Last Apeman | Tom Coash
FAMILY FRIENDLY - SHORT(SEMI-FINALISTS) Music Inspired, Animation, Historical, Inspiration, Family Glasses | Francis Wolff The Home of Rock | Brian MacEvilly Wiindigoo the Cannibal | Michael O’Rourke & Winona LaDuke
HISTORICAL - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) Agitation | Dianna Zimmerman & Brad Jost Donaldina: Based on True Events in the Life of Donaldina Cameron | Carol Hall Grace | Jeffrey Allen Russel & Lynda Lemberg In Spite of It All | Rebecca Boyd Kid Convict | Julie Umbreit Oil and Water | Alfred Thomas Catalfo & Morgan Webster Dudley Samson | Shawn Hoffman Victoria of Murray Hill | Kate Danaher & Robert Rivenbark
INSPIRATIONAL - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) Black Sea Rose | Deirdre L. Brenner & Jillian Reilly Heart Stringz | Barbara Ashdown His Journey and Mine | Dennis Wise In-Between | Sandra Webb Smith Mordecai: Based on the Biblical Story of Esther | Carol Lee Hall One Small Step | Patrick Sherman PurgaStory | Michael Sieve & Michael Sieve Sons of the Fallen | Steve Warren The Color of Redemption | Lynn Cornell Ultra | Jennifer Hammond
SCI-FI - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) Banished To Arizona | Robert Ritner Bioterror Conspiracy | Louis Lio Eden | Jessica Chou Imperfect | Linda Plamann-Handford No Man’s Land | Michelle Davidson & Jeffrey Field Populous | Michael Quintero The Ballad of the Redneck Mech | Kevin Human The Last Adventure of Shay Blaze | Howard Fridkin Vitruvian | Scott Poiley & Anthony DiBlasi
TENNESSEE - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) By Reason Of Insanity | Carson Morton Critical Mass | Penny Michael Empathy | Elvis Wilson In-Between | Sandra Webb Smith Nessun Dorma (No One Sleeps) | Matteo Servente & Melissa Anderson Sweazy Sink Swim | Elvis Wilson The Acadian | David Vincent The Last Drop | A. D. Smith Vendetta Stone | Tom Wood
TENNESSEE - SHORT (SEMI-FINALISTS) Going Postal | Francis Wolff Incident at Broadway and Grand | Francis Wolff
THRILLER/HORROR - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) A Texas Story | David Martin-Porras Julia Fontana Bad Blood | Billie Bates Bound | Tracey Keefer Dead Meat | Kevin Glover & Shant Yegparian Empathy | Elvis Wilson Ginseng | Josh Barkey Intrusion | Geoff Inverarity Last Known Location | Jeremy Rush Lifers | Phil Burdette Rokoko | Kirk Vanderbeek Tags | Robert Christian Frostholm The Apocalypse Chronicles | Nathan Ludwig & Charles Hill The Bunker | Oliver Edlin Why the Willow Weeps | Dwight Jolivette Zombie Ward | Harry Oxnard
MUSIC INSPIRED - FEATURE (SEMI-FINALISTS) Blind Boone | Moss Hall & Max Morath Chris Gaines Saves the World | Donald Driscoll If The Shoe Fits | Arla Bowers Moo Moo | Eileen Cabiling & Andrea Ashton Songbird | Rebecca Williams Spindler Stride | Rick Whelan
GENRE - SHORT(SEMI-FINALISTS) Action/Adventure, Thriller/Horror, Science Fiction Guest | Charles Dillon Ward Lumen 18 | Darren Tibbits Phase 6 | Jeff Dolan Uninvited | Helena Ellison
YOUNG SCREENWRITER - SHORT (SEMI-FINALISTS) Menagerie | Hollie West The Favor | Jack Fossett The Pride Club | Kirill Dyshlovoy
2015 Teleplay Competition Semi-Finalists
TELEPLAY (SEMI-FINALISTS) Comedy Teleplay: It Could Be Worse | Tracy Reilly Comedy Teleplay: Likes & Follows | Jason Kessler Comedy Teleplay: Monster Suit Blues | Jeff Haber & Russell Costanzo Comedy Teleplay: Star Pupils | Tom Ruprecht Comedy Teleplay: The Carr Lot | Nancy Rechtman Comedy Teleplay: The Knot | Adam Rosenbaum Drama Teleplay: Eidola | Robert Herold Drama Teleplay: How Jane Austen Ruined My Life | Teresa Warner Drama Teleplay: Jackie Fox | Keith Davidson Drama Teleplay: Limbo | Jessica Chou Drama Teleplay: Long Lost | Deanna Shumaker Drama Teleplay: Renegades | Conway Preston Drama Teleplay: Stimulant | Lance Wayne Drama Teleplay: The Resurrection Man | Brian Powell & Gina Powell Drama Teleplay: Tip & Keeper | Carol Caldwell
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS American Commune | Directors: Rena Mundo Croshere, Nadine Mundo | USA | 90 min. Boulevard | Director: Dito Montiel | USA | 100 min. Calvary | Director: John Michael McDonagh | Ireland / United Kingdom | 100 min. Dom Hemingway | Director: Richard Shepard | United Kingdom | 93 min. Field of Lost Shoes | Director: Sean McNamara | USA | 94 min. | WORLD PREMIERE. Happy Christmas | Director: Joe Swanberg | USA | 78 min. Ida | Director: Pawel Pawilkowski | Poland | 80 min. Locke | Director: Steven Knight | United Kingdom | 85 min. Lucky Them | Director: Megan Griffiths | USA | 97 min. Obvious Child | Director: Gillian Robespierre | USA | 83 min. The One I Love | Director: Charlie McDowell | USA | 91 min. Words and Pictures | Director: Fred Schepisi | USA | 111 min.
WORLD CINEMA The Amazing Catfish | Director: Claudia Sainte-Luce | Mexico | 89 min. Bethlehem | Director. Yuval Adler | Israel / Belgium / Germany | 99 min. Butter on the Latch | Director: Josephine Baker | USA | 63 min. Long Way Home | Director: Måns Nilsson | Sweden / USA | 87 min. | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. Manakamana | Director: Stephanie Spray, Pacho Velez | Nepal / USA | 117 min. Metro Manila | Director: Sean Ellis | United Kingdom / Philippines | 115 min. A Story of Children and Film | Director: Mark Cousins | United Kingdom / France | 101 min. Vic + Flo Saw a Bear | Director: Denis Côté | Canada | 95 min. When the World’s On Fire | Director: James Clauer | USA | 70 min. | WORLD PREMIRE.
NARRATIVE COMPETITION The Animal Project | Director: Ingrid Vininger | Canada | 90 min. Buzzard | Director: Joel Potrykus | USA | 97 min. Club Sandwich | Director: Fernando Eimbcke | Mexico | 82 min. The Enemy Within | Director: Yorgos Tsemberopoulos | Greece | 107 min. Grace. | Director: Heath Jones | USA | 95 min.| WORLD PREMIERE. The House That Jack Built | Director: Henry Barrial | USA | 90 min. The Identical | Director: Dustin Marcellino | USA. 88 min| WORLD PREMIERE. The Invisible Collection | Director: Bernard Attal | Brazil | 89 min. Little Brother | Director: Seric Aprymov | Kazakhstan | 97 min. Love Me | Directors: Maryna Gorbach, Mehmet Bahadir Er | Turkey / Ukraine | 90 min. Maryan | Director: Ganapathy Bharat. India | Namibia | 150 min. Noble | Director: Stephen Bradley. Vietnam | United Kingdom | 101 min. Peace After Marriage | Director: Ghazi Albuliwi | USA | 86 min. Something Necessary | Director: Judy Kibinge | Germany / Kenya | 85 min. Test | Director: Chris Mason Johnson | USA | 89 min. Thou Wast Mild and Lovely | Director: Josephine Decker | USA | 94 min. Undiscovered Gyrl | Director: Allison Burnett | USA | 100 min.| WORLD PREMIERE.
NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION 1982| Director: Tommy Oliver | USA | 80 min. 9 Full Moons | Director: Tomer Almagor | USA | 103 min. As It Is in Heaven | Director: Joshua Overbay | USA | 86 min. Before I Disappear | Director: Shawn Christensen | USA | 94 min. Chasing Ghosts | Director: Josh Shreve | USA | 93 min. Congratulations! | Director: Mike Brune | USA | 90 min. Drunktown’s Finest | Director: Sydney Freeland | USA | 95 min. Forty Years from Yesterday | Director: Robert Machoian, Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck | USA | 76 min. I Believe in Unicorns | Director: Leah Meyerhoff | USA | 80 min. Medeas | Director: Andrea Pallaoro | Italy / Mexico / USA | 97 min. OJ: The Musical | Director: Jeff Rosenberg | USA | 90 min. The Resurrection of a Bastard | Director: Guido van Driel | Netherlands | 89 min. Trap Street | Director: Vivian Qu | China | 93 min. White Shadow | Director: Noaz Deshe | Tanzania / Germany | 117 min.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION Art War |Director: Marco Wilms | Egypt / Germany | 84 min. | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. Besa: The Promise |Director: Rachel Goslins | Albania / USA | 90 min. Blackout: On Swan Pond |Director: Scott Colthorp | USA | 95 min. WORLD PREMIERE. Butterfly Girl |Director: Cary Bell | USA | 76 min. The Case Against 8 |Directors: Ben Cotner, Ryan White | USA | 112 min. Farmland |Director: James Moll | USA | 70 min. Fight Church |Director: Daniel Junge, Bryan Storkel | USA | 84 min. Freedom Summer |Director: Stanley Nelson | USA | 113 min. Happy Valley | Director: Amir Bar-Lev | USA | 98 min. The Human Experiment |Director: Dana Nachman, Don Hardy Jr. | USA | 80 min. Kidnapped for Christ |Director: Kate S. Logan | USA / Dominican Republic | 85 min. The Overnighters |Director: Jesse Moss | USA | 100 min. Point and Shoot | Director: Marshall Curry | USA / Libya | 83 min. SlingShot |Director: Paul Lazarus | USA | 97 min. A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness |Director: Ben Rivers, Ben Russell | France / Germany / Estonia / USA | 98 min. The Starfish Throwers |Director: Jesse Roesler | USA | 83 min. Stream of Love |Director: Agnes Sós. Hungary / Romania | 70 min| NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. This Time Next Year | Director: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman | USA | 83 min. WHITEY: The United States of America v. James J. Bulger | Director: Joe Berlinger | USA | 130 min.
MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY COMPETITION The 78 Project Movie | Director: Alex Steyermark | USA | 98 min. Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory | Director: Michael Rossato-Bennett | USA | 73 min. The Ballad of Shovels & Rope | Director: Jace Freeman | USA | 72 min. Béla Fleck: How to Write a Banjo Concerto | Director: Béla Fleck | USA | 97 min| WORLD PREMIERE. Brasslands | Director: The Meerkat Media Collective | USA / Serbia | 84 min. A Film About Kids and Music | Director: Ramon Tort | Spain | 101 min. Glen Campbell…I'll Be Me | Director: James Keach | USA | 116 min. | WORLD PREMIERE. I Lay Where I Fall | Director: Andrew Stubbs | USA | 88 min. | WORLD PREMIERE. Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty | Director: Greg Oliver | USA | 80 min. Led Zeppelin Played Here | Director: Jeff Krulik | USA | 90 min. The Road to Fame | Director: Hao Tu | China / Netherlands / Denmark / United Kingdom | 80 min. Take Me to the River | Director: Martin Shore | USA | 95 min. The Winding Stream | Director: Beth Harrington | USA | 90 min.
TENNESSEE FIRST COMPETITION Banjo Romantika: American Bluegrass Music & The Czech Imagination | Director: Shara Lange | USA | 65 min. Beautiful Jim | Director: Rex Jones | USA | 53 min. Closer to God | Director: Billy Senese | USA | 84 min. | WORLD PREMIERE. A Decade With an Unsigned Rock Band | Director: Criss Cheatham | USA | 81 min. | WORLD PREMIERE. Riser: Dierks Bentley | Director: Wes Edwards | USA | 45 min. Something, Anything | Director: Paul Harrill | USA | 88 min.
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION Blood Tokoloshe | Director: Jordan Harland | South Africa | 72 min. | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. Borgman | Director: Alex van Warmerdam | Netherlands | 113 min. The Congress | Director: Ari Folman | Israel / France | 122 min. Proxy | Director: Zack Parker | USA | 120 min. The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears | Director: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani | Belgium | 102 min. Wetlands | Director: David Wnendt | Germany | 105 min. Wild Domestic | Director: Kyle Komline | USA | 74 min. You and the Night | Director: Yann Gonzalez | France | 98 min.
Short Films
The Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) today announced the complete line-up for Short Films in Competition to be screened at the 45th annual Festival, April 17 – 26. NaFF will screen 157 short films from 33 countries in categories ranging from narrative, experimental, animated, young filmmakers, and Tennessee shorts. A record-breaking 2,347 short films were submitted. The 2014 lineup includes works starring Michael Cera, Amanda Seyfried, Anna Chlumsky, Michelle Rodriguez and Ben Schwartz. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended its qualification for NaFF Shorts in 2014. For the first time, shorts in the documentary category qualify for Academy Award consideration, in addition to narrative and animation shorts, which have qualified in past years. “Because of our Academy Award qualifier status, we tend to receive an impressive number of short film entries each year,” said Artistic Director, Brian Owens. “It means that our film goers will see quality short films and they may see shorts that go on to win Oscars. For example, our 2013 Live Action winner, Curfew, and our 2012 Animated Winner, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, both came through Nashville.” This year, NaFF expands to two locations. Short films will be screened at Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 and on the NaFF outdoor theater at Nissan Multicultural Village (Walk of Fame Park) in downtown Nashville. Like other major film festivals such as Sundance and Tribeca, NaFF is open to the public. Tickets may be purchased to any of 200 events, including films, panel discussions, and parties on the Nashville Film Festival website. NaFF brings in filmmakers, celebrities, and industry insiders to mingle with people who enjoy film on the big screen. The Short Films in Competition include:
LIVE ACTION SHORTS IN COMPETITION – ACADEMY AWARD™ QUALIFYING CATEGORY Afronauts | Director: Frances Bodomo. USA. 14 minutes. It's July 16, 1969: America is preparing to launch Apollo 11. Thousands of miles away, the Zambia Space Academy hopes to beat America to the moon in this film inspired by true events.
The Amber Amulet | Director: Matthew Moore. Australia. 22 minutes. This is the story of a superhero, a beagle, an amulet made of amber, and the potential that is locked inside all of us. The Audition | Director: Michael Haussman. Italy. 11 minutes. This scene begins as a playful challenge between two actors. What happens seems unplanned - as emotions become involved and they fall in love. The audience asks: Is this real? Or just really good acting? Baby Mary | Director: Kris Swanberg. USA. 9 minutes. An eight-year-old girl living on the west side of Chicago finds a neglected toddler and decides to take her home. Balance | Director: Mark Ram. Netherlands. 11 minutes. Friends Henderson and Morris are climbing a mountain, connected by a rope. They take an easy passage, but a loss of oversight leads to Henderson's fall. Morris cannot prevent falling too. Seconds later he finds himself hanging above an abyss, realizing the balance is unstable. Bernard the Great | Director: Philippe Lupien, Marie-Helene Viens. Canada. 10 minutes. It’s Bernard's birthday, but he doesn’t want to grow up. At 10 years old, he invents a suit that stops his growth. But everything will not work out as he planned… Being different is not as simple as he thought. Best | Director: William Oldroyd. United Kingdom. 3 minutes. With his wedding only moments away, a man and his best friend confront their future. The Big House | Director: Musa Syeed. Yemen. 5 minutes. A young Yemeni boy ventures out of his cramped apartment and finds a key to the empty mansion down the street, where he lets his imagination run wild. Box Walk | Director: Tony Fulgham. USA. 16 minutes. A quiet thirteen-year-old and his stepfather track down a wounded deer as the boy learns that doing the right thing is rarely easy and rarely clear. The Bravest, the Boldest | Director: Moon Molson. USA. 17 minutes. Two Army Casualty Notification Officers arrive at the Harlem projects to deliver Sayeeda Porter some news about her son serving in the war in the Middle East. But whatever it is they have to say, Sayeeda ain't trying to hear it. Burger | Director: Magnus Mork. Norway / United Kingdom. 11 minutes. It's a late night in a burger bar in Wales... Butter Lamp | Director: Hu Wei. France / China. 16 minutes. A photographer weaves unique links among nomadic families. Catherine | Director: Dean Fleischer-Camp. USA. 13 minutes. Catherine returns to work after a hiatus. Chapel Perilous | Director: Matthew Lessner. USA. 13 minutes. Winner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, a new short film by Matthew Lessner with Kris Park, David Henry Gerson, Bobby McGee and music by Sun Araw! Claire | Director: Cate Smierciak. Germany. 14 minutes. Alone on her first night in Berlin, a shy young woman gathers the courage to go out on her own, but after meeting a few locals at the corner bar, she is faced with more adventure than she bargained for. Crystal | Director: Chell Stephen. Canada. 17 minutes. Cursed with a real crumby attitude and a boring-ass hometown, 17-year-old Crystal relies on her passion for dance to escape the mundane life of rural Ontario and pursue her out-sized dream of being a pop superstar. The Cyclist | Director: Christopher Bryan. USA. 7 minutes. An emotional, visceral short film about the memories a man takes with him on his final ride. Dig | Director: Toby Halbrooks. USA. 10 minutes. A young girl watches her father dig a hole in their backyard. Mystified about his purpose, the neighborhood comes to watch. Dog Food | Director: Brian Crano. USA. 18 minutes. When Declan loses his dog and best friend Ralphie, his life starts to unravel. Dotty | Director: Mick Andrews, Brett O'Gorman. New Zealand. 11 minutes. A stubborn old lady struggles to send a text message to her daughter. The Earth, the Way I Left It | Director: Jeff Pinilla. USA. 18 minutes. A child coping with death in the family is visited by a stranger from the stars. This is a tale of youth preserving innocence through imagination. Exchange & Mart | Director: Cara Connolly, Martin Clark. United Kingdom. 15 minutes. A remote boarding school in the Scottish highlands is home to Reg, a lonely and yearning teenage girl. When Reg is required to fight in the woods, she knows what she must do. First Baptist | Director:Nedra McClyde, Jamund Washington. USA. 20 minutes. A young Southern Baptist choir soloist fights for the right for his place. A First Date | Director: Alex Weinress. Australia. 8 minutes. A serial online dater is ready to throw in the towel. She has one more online date lined up but fears another first date might be her last. Floating Sunflowers | Director: Francisco Solorzano. USA. 12 minutes. A still-life painter (Anna Chlumsky), and an author, are caught in an emotional winter but find solace in the possibility of love. Funnel | Director: Andre Hyland. USA. 8 minutes. When a man's car breaks down, he finds himself on a quest for a funnel. Future Self | Director: Ezra Godden. USA. 17 minutes. A sharp, ambitious boy is deeply underwhelmed when he meets a carefree, bizarre looking weirdo claiming to be his future self. Gaspé Copper | Director: Alexis Fortier-Gauthier. Canada. 14 minutes. Murdochville,1957. A family is forced to move, as the father, pained by a long miners’ strike, finds a new job in the city. Good Morning | Director: Peter Knegt, Stephen Dunn. Canada. 10 minutes. What happens when you wake up remarkably hungover on the morning after your 30th birthday to find that there’s a teenager sleeping on your couch (but thankfully not in your bed)? A Good Story | Director: Martin-Christopher Bode. Germany. 20 minutes. When Helga Landowsky discovers a broken jug in an antiques store near the German/Polish border, she wants to have it at any cost. Gregory Go Boom | Director: Janicza Bravo. USA. 18 minutes. A paraplegic man (Michael Cera) leaves home to be on his own. I'm a Mitzvah | Director: Ben Berman. USA. 19 minutes. A young American man spends one last night with his deceased friend while stranded in rural Mexico. The Immaculate Reception | Director: Charlotte Glynn. USA. 17 minutes. It's 1972 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sixteen-year-old Joey has the chance to prove himself when his crush ends up at his house to watch the infamous football game between the Steelers and the Raiders. Jonathan's Chest | Director: Christopher Radcliff. USA. 14 minutes. Everything changes one night for Alex, a troubled teenager, when he is visited by a boy claiming to be his brother -- who disappeared years earlier. Kekasih | Director: Diffan Sina Norman. Malaysia. 9 minutes. While pursuing his late wife, a botanical professor encounters a divine presence that will transform him forever. Krisha | Director: Trey Edward Shults. USA. 15 minutes. When Krisha decides to join her family for a holiday dinner, tensions escalate and she struggles to keep her own demons at bay. The Last Time I Saw Richard | Director: Nicholas Verso. Australia. 22 minutes. In the winter of 1995, a friendship forms between two boys forced to share a room in a teen mental health clinic. Life's a Bitch | Director: Francois Jaros. Canada. 5 minutes. Philip is going through a difficult and painful break-up. MeTube: August sings Carmen 'Habanera' | Director: Daniel Moshel. Austria. 4 minutes. MeTube, a homage to thousands of ambitious YouTube users and video bloggers, gifted and less gifted self-promoters on the internet, has attracted international attention. My Sense of Modesty | Director: Sébastien Bailly. France. 20 minutes. Hafsia, a student in Art History, is going to have to remove her hijab for an oral exam. She goes to the Louvre Museum to view the painting that she has to comment on. Mystery | Director: Chema García Ibarra. Mexico. 12 minutes. They say that if you put your ear to the back of his neck, you can hear the Virgin talk. The Opportunist | Director: David Lassiter. USA. 15 minutes. A night in the life of social shape-shifter addicted to the visceral thrill of invading the lives of others. The Party | Director: Astrid Thorvaldsen, Ingvild Dagestad. Norway. 7 minutes. The party is over. Person to Person | Director: Dustin Guy Defa. USA. 18 minutes. Waking up the morning after hosting a party, a man discovers a stranger passed out on his floor. He spends the rest of the day trying to convince her to leave. Pour Retourner | Director: Scooter Corkle. Canada. 13 minutes. A talented prison chef with the respect of his fellow inmates is paroled to a world that does not want him. Rat Pack Rat | Director: Todd Rohal. USA. 19 minutes. A Sammy Davis, Jr. impersonator, hired to visit with a loyal Rat Pack fan, finds himself delivering last rites at the boy's bedside. Rhino Full Throttle | Director: Erik Schmitt. Germany. 15 minutes. What is the city made of? Sequence | Director: Charles Torrens. USA. 20 minutes. A man wakes up one morning to realize the entire world has dreamed about him the night before. Sevilla | Director: Bram Schouw. Netherlands. 11 minutes. Three youngsters make a road trip that will change their lives forever. Social Butterfly | Director: Lauren Wolkstein. France / USA. 15 minutes. A 30-year-old American woman enters into a teenage party in the South of France. Some of the guests wonder who she is and what she is doing there. Syndromeda | Director: Patrik Eklund. Sweden. 22 minutes. Leif wakes up on the road—naked and bloody—with no memory of what has happened. No one believes him when he claims he was abducted by aliens. Take Me to the Front | Director: Stefano Pietrocola. United Kingdom. 13 minutes. A British photojournalist covers the Bosnian War. How far will he go for his art? Where will he draw the line between documentation and intervention? The Third Wheel | Director: Adam Lustick. USA. 6 minutes. In the crazy world of online dating, Gabrielle finds herself on a date with a pretty cute guy, Mark, and his psycho ex-girlfriend, Amy. This Way Out | Director: Staten Cousins-Roe. United Kingdom. 18 minutes. The oddball owner of a struggling euthanasia center has ten days to increase client numbers or face closure. Tryouts | Director: Susana Casares. USA. 14 minutes. Being a teenager isn't easy, especially for Nayla, a Muslim-American girl who wants to join her high school's cheerleading squad. Unogumbe (Noye's Fluddle) | Director: Mark Dornford-May. South Africa. 35 minutes. An adaptation of Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde moving the action from medieval England to present-day South Africa, where the background and poverty of the township is a striking metaphor for man's inhumanity to man. Verbatim | Director: Brett Weiner. USA. 7 minutes. A jaded lawyer wastes an afternoon trying to figure out if a dim-witted government employee has ever used a photocopier. Vikingar | Director: Magali Magistry. Iceland / Denmark. 14 minutes. Iceland, year 1000. Magnus, a fearless Viking warrior, confronts Bjarni the Berserker who abducted his wife and child. Their rivalry is only beginning. The Voice Thief | Director: Adan Jodorowsky. USA / France / Chile. 26 minutes. When an opera singer loses her voice, her husband embarks on an odyssey through Miami's dark underworld to recover it through supernatural means. Wakening | Director: Danis Goulet. Canada. 9 minutes. In the near future, the environment has been destroyed and society suffocates under a brutal military occupation. A lone Cree wanderer Weesakechak searches an urban war zone to find the ancient and dangerous Weetigo to help fight against the occupiers. We Keep On Dancing | Director: Jessica Barclay Lawton. Australia. 9 minutes. Two distinctly disparate characters come together over a broken down Volkswagen Beetle in this sweet, amusing tale of love, loss and… car trouble. Wedding Night | Director: Jenni Toivoniemi. Finland. 7 minutes. A young Mormon couple’s wedding night is a surprise for both of them. Whale Valley | Director: Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson. Iceland / Demark. 15 minutes. Two brothers living in a remote Icelandic fjord with their parents take a journey that will mark a turning point in their lives.
ANIMATED SHORTS IN COMPETITION – ACADEMY AWARD™ QUALIFYING CATEGORY Allergy to Originality | Director: Drew Christie. USA. 5 minutes. A humorous, animated Op-Doc for the New York Times explores the rich history of adaptation, plagiarism, and other forms of appropriation in art. Animation Hotline, 2012 | Director: Dustin Grella. USA. 6 minutes. Animation Hotline, uses anonymous messages left on the artist's voicemail to provide the content for these sometimes insightful, sometimes bizarre, micro-shorts. Astigmatismo | Director: Nicolai Troshinsky. Spain. 4 minutes. A boy, having lost his glasses, can only see one thing in focus at a time. His sight gets attracted by the sounds that surround him. He will have to explore a blurry world of unknown places and strange characters. Bear Me | Director: Kasia Wilk. Germany. 6 minutes. Love and other strange things...Bear me is a funny animation film about love, a normal course of life and everything else a relationship can offer - but in an idealistic perception. Blame It On the Seagull | Director: Julie Engaas. Norway. 13 minutes An animated documentary about Pelle Sandstrak and the way he showed the first signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette’s syndrome as a teenager. Caminandes: Gran Dillama | Director: Pablo Vazquez. Netherlands. 3 minutes. A young llama named Koro discovers that the grass is always greener on the other side (of the fence). Getting there turns out to be harder than expected. A Cautionary Tail | Director: Simon Rippingale. Australia. 15 minutes. A little girl is born with a tail that expresses her emotions. But when she grows up she must choose between conformity and self-expression. Starring Cate Blanchett. Confusion Through Sand | Director: Danny Madden. USA. 12 minutes. A nineteen year old kid finds himself alone in a hostile desert, scared as hell and trained to react. Francis | Director: Richard Hickey. United Kingdom. 7 minutes. A young boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago spent his vacations in Quetico Provincial Park, on the border of Minnesota and Canada. But he won't be going back any day soon, not after what happened to a girl called Francis Brandywine. Friendship All-Stars of Friendship | Director: Dan Lippert, Harry Chaskin, Justin Michael. USA. 3 minutes. A stop-motion animated series following the gloriously mundane lives of celebrity roommates who all happen to live in the same building. In this episode, Ron Perlman shows off his new sunglasses to Guillermo del Toro. Imposter | Director: Elie Chapuis. Switerland. 7 minutes. In a city at night, a human-shaped deer tries to steal a man's identity by taking his head off. Junkyard | Director: Hisko Hulsing. Netherlands. 18 minutes. A man is being robbed and stabbed by a junkie. In the last second before he dies, a youth friendship flashes before his eyes. Me + Her | Director: Joseph Oxford. USA. 12 minutes. When Jack and Jill of Cardboard City are separated by Jill's untimely death, Jack goes on a journey to mend his (literally) broken heart. Mia | Director: Wouter Bongaerts. Belgium. 9 minutes. 7-year-old Mia tries to liberate her overworked mother from the grasp of an overpopulated metropolis. In her quest, she unlocks the hidden secrets that make the world turn. Places Where We Lived | Director: Bernardo Britto. USA. 7 minutes. A man wakes up with a weird feeling. His parents are selling his childhood home. The Sad House | Director: Sofia Carrillo. Mexico. 13 minutes. The story of a family told through objects found in junk shops and flea markets. Sausage | Director: Robert Grieves. United Kingdom. 7 minutes. The idyllic world of two artisan stallholders is invaded by a devious fast-food vendor whose devious methods provoke life changing events. SpongeBob SquarePants 4D: The Great Jelly Rescue! | Director: Brent Young. USA. 8 minutes. When Bikini Bottom's jellyfish population is threatened by Plankton's maniacal plans, it's up to SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy to save the day. Strings | Director: Pedro Solis Garcia. Spain. 11 minutes. Maria’s routine at school is altered by the arrival of a very special child. Soon, they become close friends. Yearbook | Director: Bernardo Britto. USA. 6 minutes. A man is hired to compile the definitive history of human existence before the planet blows up.
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS IN COMPETITION – ACADEMY AWARD™ QUALIFYING CATEGORY Choreography | Director: Ashley Sabin, David Redmon. USA. 8 minutes. Donkeys actively look back at the filmmaker’s gaze in Choreography, an experiential documentary that inverts a vérité or observational approach by showing everyday moments of how donkeys avoid becoming “caught” and transformed into an “unaware” or “natural” image. Flo | Director: Riley Hooper. USA . 10 minutes. In the face of Multiple Sclerosis, lung cancer and visual impairment, photographer Flo Fox has continued to pursue her art and has maintained her adventurous, feisty spirit and dirty sense of humor. No longer able to even hold a camera, she has her attendants take photos for her. Gordie | Director: Traolach Ó Murchú. Ireland. 10 minutes. An intimate self-authored documentary, Gordie tells the story of a Tlingit First Nation man living with the trauma of a devastating childhood event. Forgiveness is found in the coldest truths. Hacked Circuit | Director: Deborah Stratman. USA. 16 minutes. Multiple layers of fabrication and imposition are laid bare by this fluidly choreographed, single-shot embodiment of control. Sonic surveillance meets the black art of foley. A Hole in the Sky | Director: Alex Lora, Antonio Tibaldi. Spain / Somolia. 10 minutes. Young Alifa looks up at the Somali sky. She thinks about her daily life as a shepherdess... She knows that the day that will change her life forever is about to come. The Home Team | Director: Joshua Seftel. USA. 9 minutes. What’s in the water of Murray, Kentucky that such a small, tight-knit town is home to such an extraordinary basketball team? Murray’s love for the home team runs deep, and on the night of the big game, a single act of generosity changes everything. The Last Days of Peter Bergmann | Director: Ciaran Cassidy. Ireland. 20 minutes. In the summer of 2009, a man calling himself Peter Bergmann arrived in Sligo Town. Over his final three days, he would go to great lengths to ensure no one would ever discover who he was or where he came from. The Lion's Mouth Opens | Director: Lucy Walker . USA. 15 minutes. A stunningly courageous young actor, Marianna Palka, confronts her risk of Huntington's Disease. Love. Love. Love. | Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram. Russia. 12 minutes. Through the endless winters, every year, her love takes new shapes and forms. Notes on Blindness | Director: Peter Middleton, James Spinney. United Kingdom. 14 minutes. In 1983, following a decade of steady deterioration, writer and theologian John Hull lost all traces of light sensation. For the next three years he would keep a diary on audio cassette - over sixteen hours in total - a unique and insightful meditation on memory, consciousness and perception. Skate Yrself Clean | Director: Janna Jude Brown. USA. 7 minutes. Part documentary, part music video, meet the ever-joyful Ricky Lee Robinson: professional floor cleaner by day, beloved freestyle rollerskater by night. Stumped | Director: Robin Berghaus. USA. 10 minutes. When a filmmaker suddenly finds himself a quadrilateral amputee, he adapts to a world he never could have imagined, and finds a new creative outlet in stand-up comedy. Tim and Susan Have Matching Handguns | Director: Joe Callander. USA. 2 minutes. Love is swapping clips with your spouse in the middle of a three gun problem. Who Shot Rock & Roll: The Film | Director: Steven Kochones. USA. 37 minutes. Hear the stories behind rock’s most enduring images. This film spotlights the work of acclaimed rock photographers through interviews, photographs and never-before-seen footage covering 50 years of rock and roll.
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS IN COMPETITION Brimstone Line | Director: Chris Kennedy. Canada. 10 minutes. Three grids are placed along the Credit River in rural Ontario to intensify our sense of the zoom, narrowing vision and flattening space. Cherries | Director: Friedl vom Gröller. Austria. 3 minutes. A salon piece in black and white. The filmmaker circles the amorous play. Gestures and blurs, intuitively precise in-camera edits condense the situation of debauchery and digression. Confessions with An Open Curtain | Director: Eli Cortiñas. Austria. 6 minutes. "Funny business, a woman´s career, the things you drop on the way up the ladder so you can move faster. You forget you will need them again when you get back to being a woman. There is one career all females have in common whether we like it or not: Being a woman. “ Dry Standpipe | Director: Wojciech Bakowski. Poland. 12 minutes. A startlingly raw interlaced video collage by celebrated Polish artist, musician and poet Wojciech Bakowski. from left to right, top to bottom | Director: Flora Watzal. Austria. 15 minutes. Ever since early performance art, the camera has stood ready as recording apparatus. Film and video seem to be the most suitable medium for playing back the movements of bodies in space and over time, complex processes and narrative entanglements. Yet what happens in the opposite case, when the space performs and along with it, the recording apparatus? LIVEPAN | Director: Sasha Pirker. Austria. 2 minutes. Unobserved production forms, no escape, deadpan, the stoic expression of the body/object comic—as we know from Buster Keaton—develops to the livepan of everyday routine. Minimal Vandalism | Director: Kay Walkowiak. Austria. 4 minutes. Touching art objects in an exhibition space is usually not allowed. Not so in Kay Walkowiak´s Minimal Vandalism, where this prohibition is practically stomped on. Picture Perfect Pyramid | Director: Johann Lurf. Austria. 5 minutes. Picture Perfect Pyramid is a 16mm film which in counter-clockwise spirals, circles a large pyramid structure that was built on the outskirts of Vienna in 1983. Using twenty-four positions the film was shot over the course of an entire day, with one shot per hour. Redemption | Director: Miguel Gomes. Portugal. 26 minutes. Where and when have four poor individuals begun searching for redemption? Reign of Silence | Director: Lukas Marxt. Austria. 7 minutes. Reign of Silence records a human intervention in nature, a barren landscape that’s strangely surreal, where humans aren´t really expected.
COLLEGE STUDENT FILM COMPETITION 1%ers | Director: Francesca de Sola. USA. 17 minutes. A famous actress (Michelle Rodriguez) and her co-star (Rie Rasmussen) break away from their Hollywood bubble and head to a locals dive bar in pursuit of something 'real'. Things take a dark and violent turn when they clash with a group of outlaw bikers over a poker game. All God's Creatures | Director: Brendon McDonall. Australia. 20 minutes. Having just lost their father, brothers Asher and Charlie's already fragile relationship undergoes a test of almost mythic proportions when one of them commits an act of mindless cruelty. Even Cowboys Get to Cry | Director: Mees Peijnenburg. Netherlands. 20 minutes. A film about losing our youth, loneliness, violence and guilt: an homage to friendship. Helpless | Director: Christene Hurley. USA. 8 minutes. Leah confesses her true feelings to Chayse in the school library while unknown malice lurks in the hallways. H’mong Sisters | Director: Jeff Wong. Singapore / Vietnam. 14 minutes. Among the indigenous tribes in the mountains of Vietnam, 13-year old Mu thinks she knows everything her 16-year old sister Paj, a tour guide, knows - until they encounter a sex tourist. Into The Silent Sea | Director: Andrej Landin. USA. 25 minutes. Under desperate circumstances, and across vast distances, an intense connection is made. Miss Todd | Director: Kristina Yee. United Kingdom. 13 minutes. It's 1909, and the whole world is waking to the possibilities of flight. Miss Todd dreams of flying, but she's got more than gravity holding her down. This is the story of her determination, her perseverance, and her passion. Noah | Director: Patrick Cederberg, Walter Woodman. Canada. 18 minutes. In a story that plays out entirely on a teenager's computer screen, Noah follows its eponymous protagonist as his relationship takes a rapid turn for the worse in this fascinating study of behavior (and romance) in the digital age. The Pink Helmet Posse | Director: Kristelle Laroche, Benjamin Mullinkosson. USA. 9 minutes. Three pink tutus. Three pink helmets. Three pink skateboards. Bella, Sierra and Rella prove that skateboarding is not just for boys. Rabbit and Deer | Director: Péter Vácz. Hungary. 17 minutes. The friendship of Rabbit and Deer is put to the test by Deer's new obsession to find the formula for the 3rd dimension... Silent | Director: Jaco Dukes. USA. 9 minutes. A Jewish man deals with memories from World War II, when he was in line with other prisoners to be executed by a Nazi soldier. Still Got Lives | Director: Jan-Gerrit Seyler. Germany. 23 minutes. Marco and Lisa are in love. Online, they fight side by side against dreadful monsters. However, Lisa refuses to meet Marco in real life. When one day she stops showing up for the game, Marco decides to go searching for her. Symphony no. 42 | Director: Réka Bucsi. Hungary. 10 minutes. The film presents 47 observations in the irrational connections between human and nature.
YOUNG FILMMAKERS COMPETITION Among Flowers | Director: 2013 Watkins Pre-College Film Students. USA. 11 minutes. A teen girl, Lily, is resistant to therapy sessions until her persistent doctor, Dr. Jennings, finds a way to connect to and talk about her grief. On the verge of a breakthrough, Jennings hits a roadblock, leaving Lily's future unknown. As We Get Older | Director: Silas Connolly. USA. 6 minutes. Drug and alcohol usage are questioned as a solution to adolescent emptiness and inner conflict through graphic depiction of one teen’s night of moral dissipation. Bongo | Director: Evan Sennett. USA. 5 minutes. A curious looking boy, named Bongo, watches a couple dance. Carry Over | Director: Ryan Hopkinson. USA. 8 minutes. Northview High School's football team attempt to lead their school to the playoffs for the first time in school history in this youth-directed documentary. Cookie Wars | Director: Natasha Lasky. USA. 6 minutes. An ambitious mother has hired a ringer to help her sell Girl Scout cookies while her real daughter has plans of her own. The battle is on! Epitaph | Director: Charles Blecker. USA. 6 minutes. An unusual boy, Billy Coffin, takes his name seriously and prepares for the inevitable. The Farm | Director: Malone Lumarda. USA. 10 minutes. A wanderer stumbles across a seemingly abandoned farm and discovers he is not alone. In Fiction | Director: Andrew Robbin. USA. 7 minutes. A writer finds himself in a bind with his wife when a character he's created begins to take over his life. Overflow | Director: Ruby Drake. USA. 7 minutes. Two girls try to work through an unexpected crisis in their friendship. Slender: The Film | Director: Rod Myers, Sam Slocum. USA. 9 minutes. Teenage boy Steven Shepard, determined to find the cause of the accident that killed his mother, starts on a journey into the woods with his three friends to kill what he thinks did it. Three Tiny Films from Saint Ann's School | Directors: Gregory Eagan, Laura Brown, Cullen Girolamo. USA. 6 minutes. These three films -- "Irresolution" by Gregory Eagan, "Go Fish" by Laura Brown, and "Director's Cut" by Cullen Girolamo -- all under two minutes, were shot on 16mm color negative by students in a 3rd year production class at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn. These films are silent, each with an original score.
Feature Film Awards
GIBSON MUSIC CITY/MUSIC FILMS Grand Jury Prize: Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me, directed by James Keach (USA) Honorable Mention: The Ballad of Shovels and Rope, directed by Jace Freeman (USA) Special Jury Prize for Art and Activism: Alive Inside (USA)
The Gibson Music City/Music Films Grand Jury Award went to Glen Campbell...I'll Be Me, for sharing such an, "intimate and honest portrayal of a music legend's battle with Alzheimer's, Glen Campbell… I'll Be Me captures a family's commitment to love and laugh through the adversity of a debilitating disease."
The Gibson Music Films/Music City Competition Jury presented two awards tonight that truly celebrate the culture and heritage of Nashville. Juror, Joe Pacheco, a New York City based Director and Producer, said, "This year's 'Music Films/Music City' competition presented an impressive slate of films."
The jury also awarded an Honorable Mention to Jace Freeman and Sean Clark for their film, The Ballad of Shovels and Rope that also won the Ground Zero Tennessee Spirit Award for Best Feature.
BRIDGESTONE NARRATIVE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Club Sandwich, directed by Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico) Honorable Mention: Little Brother, directed by Serik Aprimov (Kazakhstan) Best Actor: Manolis Mavromatakis, for The Enemy Within (Greece) Best Actress: Britt Robertson, for Undiscovered Gyrl (Ask Me Anything) (USA) Film Musicians Secondary Market Fund Best Music in a Feature Film: Undiscovered Gyrl Louise LaQuire Award for Best Screenplay: Bernard Attal, The Invisible Collection (Brazil) Special Jury Prize for Original Vision: Joel Potrykus, Buzzard (USA) Special Jury Prize for Cultural Significance: Maryna Er Gorbach & Mehmet Bahadir Er, Love Me (Ukraine / Turkey)
The Bridgestone Narrative Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Fernando Eimbcke's Club Sandwich, described as a, "...poignant and well paced coming of age film that is both sensitive and laugh out loud funny." by Bridgestone Narrative Grand juror, Brad Horvath, a Toronto producer.
The Bridgestone Narrative Grand Jury further expressed that the films insight into adolescence and separation anxiety made it a distinct pleasure to watch. Juror Meghan Wurtz of New York City based Film Movement, said, "We look forward to more films from this incredible director in the years to come."
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Besa: The Promise, directed by Rachel Goslins (USA / Albania) Honorable Mention: Happy Valley, directed by Amir Bar-Lev (USA) Special Jury Prize for Investigative Filmmaking: Kate Logan, for Kidnapped for Christ (USA)
The Documentary Competition awarded the Grand Jury Prize to Rachel Goslins, the director of BESA: The Promise. "An inspiring work that sheds light on one of the darkest events in human history" said, Documentary Competition juror, Mark Rabinowitz, of Platform Media Group. "The film examines the power of a promise and uses an emotional and deeply personal story to reveal a cultural code and strength of integrity that is sorely needed in the world today…" added juror Allison Inman of Nashville's Belcourt Theatre.
The Honorable Mention award for the Documentary Competition went to Happy Valley, in which juror, Ben Hall of Nashville's WTVF said, "...was a meticulous piece of documentary journalism which expertly examines how even the most heinous of crimes...can affect people in disparate and surprising ways."
The Special Jury Prize was awarded to Kidnapped for Christ, which the Jury described as a "courageous investigative film, which sheds light on a little-known epidemic."
NEW DIRECTORS NARRATIVE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Before I Disappear, directed by Shawn Christensen (USA) Honorable Mention: 1982, directed by Tommy Oliver (USA) Honorable Mention: Drunktown’s Finest, directed by Sydney Freeland (USA) Best Actor: Jeremiah Bitsui, Drunktown’s Finest (USA) Best Actress: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Medeas (USA / Mexico / Italy)
The New Directors Narrative Competition awarded five awards tonight. The Grand Jury Prize was awarded based on the fundamental elements of filmmaking: storytelling, photography, character development, editing, and pacing, as well as surprises, twists and turns and originality, according to juror, Michael Chieffo, an actor and producer in Los Angeles.
Before I Disappear took home the Grand Jury Prize, which "held us in suspense and compelled us to wonder," said, Los Angeles based actress, Beth Grant.
GROUND ZERO TN SPIRIT COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize – Feature: The Ballad of Shovels and Rope, directed by Jace Freeman Honorable Mention: Something, Anything, Paul Harrill
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize for Feature Film: Wetlands Honorable Mention for Feature Film: You and the Night Best Actor: Eric Cantona, You and the Night Best Actress: Carla Juri, Wetlands and Robin Wright, The Congress (Tie) Grand Jury Prize for Short Film: The Voice Thief Honorable Mention for Short Film: Kekasih Special Jury Prize for Direction: - The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears Special Jury Prize for Cinematography: The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears, Manuel Dacosse Helene Cattet & Bruno Forzani
The 2014 Graveyard Shift truly spanned the whole world both literally (the countries represented) and figuratively (the ideas encompassed). “The visions it presented were provocative, intriguing, horrifying, and beautiful, and spoke volumes as to the conceptual diversity of World Cinema and the limitless possibilities that a creative mind and an inspired crew can create,” remarked juror Jason Shawhan.
In addition to the Feature Film Award Winners, NaFF proudly announced additional awards for variety of eligible films tonight. Juror Amy Webb added, "Thank you to the Nashville Film Festival for exposing us to stories from so many countries and cultures. We hope this tradition continues."
SPECIAL FEATURE AWARDS Special Jury Prize for Art and Activism: Alive Inside: A Film About Memory and Music Special Jury Prize for GLBT Filmmaking: The Case Against 8 - Ben Cotner & Ryan White Best Original Song in a Feature Film: “Davina” from I Believe in Unicorns - Sasha Gordon, Composer Best Feature Film by a Woman | Presented by WIFT: The Winding Stream Best Short Directed by a Woman | Presented by WIFT: Helpless NPT Human Spirit Award: The Starfish Throwers Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Award: The Invisible Collection Lipscomb Ecumenical Prize: Ida
Short Film Awards
“We had more short films entered in our festival this year, than ever before, said NaFF Artistic Director, Brian Owens. “Word has gotten around to filmmakers that NaFF is THE festival to enter because winners in the short documentary, narrative and animation competitions are automatically given Academy Award consideration. As an Academy Award Qualifying festival, several of NaFF films have gone on to earn nominations, including: Academy Award-winner Shawn Christensen for Curfew, Sean Durkin for Mary Last Seen, Jamie Travis for The Armoire, and Denis Villeneuve for Next Floor. Recent NaFF selections that went on to Oscar nominations include: Buzkashi Boys, Kavi, Miracle Fish, The Pig, Instead of Abracadbra, and West Bank Story.
NARRATIVE SHORTS Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short: Rhino Full Throttle, Erik Schmitt (Germany)* Honorable Mention for Best Narrative Short: Afronauts, Frances Bodomo (USA) Honorable Mention for Best Narrative Short: I’m a Mitzvah, Ben Berman (USA)
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Short: The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, Ciaran Cassidy (Ireland)* Honorable Mention for Best Documentary Short: Love. Love. Love. – Sandhya Daisy Sundaram
ANIMATION SHORTS Grand Jury Prize for Best Animated Short: Rabbit and Deer, Peter Vacz (Hungary)* Honorable Mention for Best Animated Short: Yearbook, Bernardo Britto (USA)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR ACTING Ed Oxenbould: The Amber Amulet & All God’s Creatures
WOMEN IN FILM & TV Helpless – Christene Hurley
STUDENT SHORTS Grand Jury Prize: Pink Helmet Posse, Kristelle Laroche, Benjamin Mullincosson Honorable Mention: Into the Silent Sea, Andrej Landin
YOUNG FILMMAKER Overflow – Ruby Drake
TN SHORTS FINALISTS TN Horizon Audience Award for Best Short: Lower Broads, Drew Langer Runner Up: Elvis Loses His Excess…, Riley Hooper Runner Up: Sorry About Tomorrow, Motke Dapp Runner Up: Bear With Me, Chad McClarnon
GROUND ZERO TN SPIRIT COMPEITION Grand Jury Prize – Narrative Short: Shadowland, Steven Wesley Miller Grand Jury Prize – Documentary Short: Straight Up: Tennessee Whiskey, Eric Byford
First Annual Screenwriting Competition Awards
2014 Screenplay Competition Awards
FEATURE SCREENPLAY (AWARDS) Action/Adventure Feature: Will Powers | Andrew Eisen Action/Adventure Feature (Runner-Up): In Debt Deep | Andrew Brown Animation Feature: Tank’s | Randall C. Willis Animation Feature (Runner-Up): The Princess Honeybee | James McFarlane Comedy Feature: hAPPy | Sam Friedlander Comedy Feature (Runner-Up): Male Order | Amanda Darling Comedy Feature: hAPPy | Sam Friedlander Comedy Feature (Runner-Up): Male Order | Amanda Darling Drama Feature: Little Silver Heart | Lonas Taylor Drama Feature (Runner-Up): Vulture’s Row | Alfred Thomas Catalfo Family Feature: Yes, Bub | Elisabeth Annacone Family Feature (Runner-Up): The Spirit Flyer | Jonathan Vermeer & Bart Morse Historical Feature: The Poem | Dawn Wise Historical Feature (Runner-Up): Newton’s Laws of Emotion | Eugene Ramos Inspirational Feature: Bring It Home | Kari Redmond & Ben Davies Inspirational Feature (Runner-Up): William, Will You Dance? | Mary Huckstep Music-Inspired Feature: Dead Man Blues | Jefferson McClure Music-Inspired Feature (Runner-Up): Man at the Top | Larry Shulruff Sci-Fi Feature: Heroman | Timucin Leflef Sci-Fi Feature (Runner-Up): The Beginning | Elise Carr & Dennis Carr Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: Driving Top Down | Elvis Wilson Tennessee Screenwriter Feature (Runner-Up): The Sound of the Sword | Ryan Estabrooks and Amber Bartlett Thriller/Horror Feature: Vulture’s Row | Alfred Thomas Catalfo Thriller/Horror Feature (Runner-Up): Sold! | Allen C. Gardner
SHORT SCREENPLAY (AWARDS) Action/Adventure Short: The Ten Mile | Tarp Jones Action/Adventure Short (Runner-Up): Celara Electric | Lee McQueen Animation Short: The Hunter | Wade Balance Animation Short (Runner-Up): The Dreamscape Aquarium | David Serra Comedy Short: The Bride of Frankie | Devi Snively Comedy Short (Runner-Up): Power Wash | Linda Rumney Drama Short: The Lost Cause | Jeffrey Rubin Drama Short (Runner-Up): Cocaine Eyes | Alexander Briley Family Short: Pipe Dream | Sundae Jahant-Osborn Family Short (Runner-Up): Escape | Diana Zimmerman & Brad Jost Historical Short: Scorched Earth | Skye Lynch Inspirational Short: Long Distance Call | Sussu Laaksonen Inspirational Short (Runner-Up): Shit-House Crazy | Julie Akeret Music-Inspired Short Winner: A Certain Romance | Anthony Cawood Sci-Fi Short: Every Lady Has A Silver Lining | Tishema Jones Al-Amin Sci-Fi Short (Runner-Up): In A Forest | Ryan Sprague Tennessee Screenwriter Short: The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention | Melissa Anderson Sweazy Tennessee Screenwriter Short (Runner-Up): Mulligan | Caleb Stallings Thriller/Horror Short: The Ants Go Marching | Charles Dillon Ward Thriller/Horror Short (Runner-Up): Memento | Stuart Creque Young Screenwriter Short: Family Portrait | Michael Flynn Young Screenwriter Short (Runner-Up): Outpost Bravo | Joshua Taylor
TELEPLAY (AWARDS) TV Comedy Pilot: Roomies | Kristin Cantrell TV Comedy Pilot (Runner-Up): Foxy Naught | Karen Rouse TV Drama Pilot: Ordnung | Aaron Rollins TV Drama Pilot (Runner-Up): Valleywood | Grete Heinemann
2014 Screenplay Competition Finalists
FEATURE SCREENPLAY (FINALISTS) Action/Adventure Feature: Buck McAlister and The Hand of God | Nick Mertens Action/Adventure Feature: Buried South of Galatians | Stephen Hoover Action/Adventure Feature: In Debt Deep | Andrew Brown Action/Adventure Feature: The Myth of the Western Dragons | John T. Frederick Action/Adventure Feature: Will Powers | Andrew Eisen Animation Feature: Lost Dog | Jeff DeVuono Animation Feature: Tank's | Randall C Willis Animation Feature: The Princess Animation Feature: Honeybee | James McFarlane Comedy Feature: hAPPy | Sam Friedlander Comedy Feature: Male Order | Amanda Darling Comedy Feature: Misfortune Cookie | Amanda Darling Drama Feature: Children of Honor | Amanda Darling Drama Feature: Little Silver Heart | Lonas Taylor Drama Feature: The Executioner | Danielle Barros Drama Feature: The Translation | David Abram Drama Feature: Vulture's Row | Alfred Thomas Catalfo Family Feature: Coincidental Miracles | Heather Hughes and Kate Wharton Family Feature: The Key to Nede - An Adventure Begins| Karisa Ewinger Family Feature: The Spirit Flyer | Jonathan Vermeer and Bart Morse Family Feature: Yes, Bub | Elisabeth Annacone Historical Feature: Billy | Peter Meech Historical Feature: More Precious | LeAnn Morris Historical Feature: Newton's Laws of Emotion | Eugene Ramos Historical Feature: The Poem | Dawn Wise Historical Feature: Urban Scenes/Creole Dreams | David Rousseve Inspirational Feature: Be My Eyes | Dustin Stevens Inspirational Feature: Bring it Home | Kari Redmond and Ben Davies Inspirational Feature: William, Will You Dance? | Mary Huckstep Music Inspired Feature: Dead Man Blues | Jefferson McClure Music Inspired Feature: Man at at the Top | Larry Shulruff Music Inspired Feature: Soup Sandwich | Sabrina Siebert Sci-Fi Feature: Heroman | Timucin Leflef Sci-Fi Feature: Project Guile| Dustin Kahia Sci-Fi Feature: The Beginning | Elise Carr and Dennis Carr Sci-Fi Feature: Time and Again | Stuart Creque Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: Driving Top Down | Elvis Wilson Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: The Acadian | David Vincent Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: The Sound of the Sword | Ryan Estabrooks and Amber Bartlett Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: The Vilification of Ruth Dunn | Taylor Albertson Thriller/Horror Feature: Horror Comic | Stephen Hoover Thriller/Horror Feature: Sold | Allen C. Gardner Thriller/Horror Feature: The Righteous Man | Andrew Mescher Thriller/Horror Feature: Vulture's Row | Alfred Thomas Catalfo
SHORT SCREENPLAY (FINALISTS) Action/Adventure Short: Celara Electric | Lee McQueen Action/Adventure Short: The Ten Mile | Tarp Jones Animation Short: Lily, the Saddest Girl in the World | Darren Barker Animation Short: The Dreamscape Aquarium | David Serra Animation Short: The Hunter | Wade Ballance Comedy Short: If You Go There | Stacy Alynn Comedy Short: Power Wash | Linda Rumney Comedy Short: The Bride of Frankie | Devi Snively Drama Short: Cocaine Eyes | Alexander Briley Drama Short: The Lost Cause | Jeffrey Rubin Drama Short: You're a Good Guy, Eli | Cornelius Murphy Family Short: Escape | Dianna Zimmerman and Brad Jost Family Short: Pipe Dream | Sundae Jahant-Osborn Family Short: The Barking Spider | Robert Gately and Lois Gately Historical Short: Scorched Earth | Skye Lynch Inspirational Short: Long Distance Call | Sussu Laaksonen Inspirational Short: Shit-house Crazy | Julie Akeret and Will Daniel Music Inspired Short: A Certain Romance | Anthony Cawood Sci-Fi Short: Every Lady Has A Silver Lining | Tishehma Jones-AlAmin Sci-Fi Short: In a Forest | Ryan Sprague Tennessee Screenwriter Short: Mulligan | Caleb Stallings Tennessee Screenwriter Short: The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention | Melissa Sweazy Tennessee Screenwriter Short: The Holler | Drew Maynard Thriller/Horror Short: Behind You | Nathan Ludwig Thriller/Horror Short: Memento Mori | Stuart Creque Thriller/Horror Short: The Ants Go Marching | Charles Dillon Ward Young Screenwriter Short: Family Portrait | Michael Flynn Young Screenwriter Short: Outpost Bravo | Joshua Taylor
TELEPLAY (FINALISTS) Drama Pilot: Ordnung | Aaron Rollins Drama Pilot: The Girl From Here | Jackson Wickham Drama Pilot: Valleywood | Grete Heinemann Comedy Pilot: Cherub Court 'I smite you' | Sam Boseley Comedy Pilot: Foxy Naught | Karen Rouse Comedy Pilot: Roomies | Kristin Cantrell
2014 Screenplay Competition Semi-Finalists
FEATURE SCREENPLAY (SEMI-FINALISTS) Action/Adventure Feature: Storm Dragons | Leonardo Reis Action/Adventure Feature: Buck McAlister and The Hand of God | Nick Mertens Action/Adventure Feature: Buried South of Galatians | Stephen Hoover Action/Adventure Feature: Death At A Distance | Martin Bernard Foley Action/Adventure Feature: In Debt Deep | Andrew Brown Action/Adventure Feature: Survival of the Fittest | Jeff Affrunti Action/Adventure Feature: The Future Force | Ed Vela Action/Adventure Feature: The Myth of the Western Dragons | John T. Frederick Action/Adventure Feature: Underground Light | LeAnn Morris Action/Adventure Feature: Will Powers | Andrew Eisen Animation Feature: Lost Dog | Jeff DeVuono Animation Feature: Tank's | Randall C Willis Animation Feature: The Princess Honeybee | James McFarlane Comedy Feature: Adult Education | James Watts Comedy Feature: Ain't That A Kick In The Head | Robert N. Skir Comedy Feature: Blind as a Batshit Crazy | Stacey Davis Comedy Feature: Death At The Party | Justin Marshall Comedy Feature: Easy Boy | Alana Harrison and Drew Callander Comedy Feature: Foreign America | Nahreen Tarzi Comedy Feature: Grain | Benjamin Skipworth Comedy Feature: hAPPy | Sam Friedlander Comedy Feature: Headless | John T. Frederick Comedy Feature: Home Cooked | Roi Tamkin and Leanna Adams Comedy Feature: Ladies In Black | Erica Warnock Comedy Feature: Male Order | Amanda Darling Comedy Feature: Man at the Top | Larry Shulruff Comedy Feature: Mel's Baby | Barbara Albers Jackson Comedy Feature: Misfortune Cookie | Amanda Darling Comedy Feature: Miss 'n You | Larry Postel Comedy Feature: Moving Mama | Gail Jenner and Patricia Peterson Comedy Feature: Potty Mouths | Clint Fletcher Comedy Feature: Super/Market | David Paster Comedy Feature: The Replacement | Mark Simborg Comedy Feature: Too Cool for School | Chuck Zigman Comedy Feature: Touchdown | Ela Their Drama Feature: "D. T." | Ken Comer Drama Feature: Albert & Kim | Bob Saenz and Tom Donald Drama Feature: Chasing Death | Andrew Mescher Drama Feature: Children of Honor | Amanda Darling Drama Feature: Deadline | Kevin Rrexroat Drama Feature: Elvis & Jesse | Gary Porpora Drama Feature: Evening at Lincoln's Feet | Denis Whitburn Drama Feature: Hacktivist | Chip Taylor Drama Feature: Hellbent | Tjardus Greidanus Drama Feature: Jihad | Ross Durbin Drama Feature: Le Mécano | Lukas Hassel Drama Feature: Little Silver Heart | Lonas Taylor Drama Feature: Neighbors (The Feature) | Rachel Goldberg and Jonathan Pope Evans Drama Feature: Nightshade | Linda Wiley Drama Feature: Off White | Michelle Davidson Drama Feature: Purple Passages | Annie Kananack Drama Feature: The Evolution | Colin Garvey Drama Feature: The Executioner | Danielle Barros Drama Feature: The Lonely Road | Nicole Donadio Drama Feature: The Trade | C.M. Robinson Drama Feature: The Translation | David Abram Drama Feature: Urban Scenes/Creole Dreams | David Rousseve Drama Feature: Vulture's Row | Alfred Thomas Catalfo Family Feature: Coincidental Miracles | Heather Hughes and Kate Wharton Family Feature: The Key to Nede - An Adventure Begins | Karisa Ewinger Family Feature: The Spirit Flyer | Jonathan Vermeer and Bart Morse Family Feature: Yes, Bub | Elisabeth Annacone Historical Feature: Billy | Peter Meech Historical Feature: More Precious | LeAnn Morris Historical Feature: Newton's Laws of Emotion | Eugene Ramos Historical Feature: The Poem | Dawn Wise Historical Feature: Urban Scenes/Creole Dreams | David Rousseve Inspirational Feature: Be My Eyes | Dustin Stevens Inspirational Feature: Bring it Home | Kari Redmond and Ben Davies Inspirational Feature: William, Will You Dance? | Mary Huckstep Music Inspired Feature: Dead Man Blues | Jefferson McClure Music Inspired Feature: Man at at the Top | Larry Shulruff Music Inspired Feature: Soup Sandwich | Sabrina Siebert Sci-Fi Feature: Heroman | Timucin Leflef Sci-Fi Feature: Project Guile | Dustin Kahia Sci-Fi Feature: The Beginning | Elise Carr and Dennis Carr Sci-Fi Feature: Time and Again | Stuart Creque Sci-Fi Feature: Home World | Joshua Sall Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: Driving Top Down | Elvis Wilson Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: The Acadian | David Vincent Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: The Sound of the Sword | Ryan Estabrooks and Amber Bartlett Tennessee Screenwriter Feature: The Vilification of Ruth Dunn | Taylor Albertson Thriller/Horror Feature: Horror Comic | Stephen Hoover Thriller/Horror Feature: Miss Diagnosis | Derek Dubois Thriller/Horror Feature: Raven Nichols | Heather Ostrove Thriller/Horror Feature: Ship of the Dead | Robert Kois Thriller/Horror Feature: Sold | Allen C. Gardner Thriller/Horror Feature: Spooks | Danny Nowlin Thriller/Horror Feature: Stay In Shadow | Daniel Stawanski and David Weston Thriller/Horror Feature: The Latchkey Child | Rupinder Malhotra and Aaron Ber Thriller/Horror Feature: The Righteous Man | Andrew Mescher Thriller/Horror Feature: Vulture's Row | Alfred Thomas Catalfo
SHORT SCREENPLAY (SEMI-FINALISTS) Action/Adventure Short: Celara Electric | Lee McQueen Action/Adventure Short: The Ten Mile | Tarp Jones Animation Short: Lily, the Saddest Girl in the World | Darren Barker Animation Short: The Dreamscape Aquarium | David Serra Animation Short: The Hunter | Wade Ballance Comedy Short: If You Go There | Stacy Alynn Comedy Short: Power Wash | Linda Rumney Comedy Short: The Bride of Frankie | Devi Snively Drama Short: Cocaine Eyes | Alexander Briley Drama Short: Little Hands | Ross Knight Drama Short: Mean Creek | Dan Goforth Drama Short: Pike Dream | Nicola Hosking Drama Short: Shylock '35 | Jeffrey Rubin Drama Short: Tata | Markus Mueller Drama Short: The Bravest, the Boldest | Moon Molson and Eric Fallen Drama Short: The Dead Shift | C.J. Wells Drama Short: The Lost Cause | Jeffrey Rubin Drama Short: You're a Good Guy, Eli | Cornelius Murphy Drama Short: Willie | Patricia Holt Family Short: Escape | Dianna Zimmerman and Brad Jost Family Short: Pipe Dream | Sundae Jahant-Osborn Family Short: The Barking Spider | Robert Gately and Lois Gately Historical Short: Scorched Earth | Skye Lynch Inspirational Short: Long Distance Call | Sussu Laaksonen Inspirational Short: Shit-house Crazy | Julie Akeret and Will Daniel Inspirational Short: The Two In Waiting | Anton Stroganov Music Inspired Short: A Certain Romance | Anthony Cawood Sci-Fi Short: Every Lady Has A SilverLining | Tishehma Jones-AlAmin Sci-Fi Short: In a Forest | Ryan Sprague Tennessee Screenwriter Short: Mulligan | Caleb Stallings Tennessee Screenwriter Short: The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention | Melissa Sweazy Tennessee Screenwriter Short: The Holler | Drew Maynard Thriller/Horror Short: Behind You | Nathan Ludwig Thriller/Horror Short: Memento Mori | Stuart Creque Thriller/Horror Short: The Ants Go Marching | Charles Dillon Ward Young Screenwriter Short: Family Portrait | Michael Flynn Young Screenwriter Short: Outpost Bravo | Joshua Taylor Young Screenwriter Short: An Opportunity | Abby Keith
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION These carefully selected films reveal truths about the world we live in, and tell stories of courage, hilarity, hardship, and rebellion.
After Tiller | directed by Martha Shane, Lana Wilson | USA | 85 min Fall and Winter | directed by Matt Anderson | USA | 98 min Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story | directed by Brad Bernstein | USA | 98 min GMO OMG | directed by Jeremy Siefert | USA | 90 min The Guerilla Son | directed by David Herdies, Zanyar Adami | Sweden | 58 min I Am Divine | directed by Jeffrey Schwarz | USA | 85 min Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp | directed by Jorge Hinojosa | USA | 89 min Lunarcy! | directed by Simon Ennis | Canada | 80 min Magic Camp | directed by Judd Ehrlich | USA | 85 min McCullin | directed by David Morris, Jacqui Morris | UK | 90 min Persistence of Vision | directed by Kevin Schreck | USA | 83 min Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself | directed by Tom Bean | USA | 89 min Remote Area Medical | directed by Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman | USA | 81 min A River Changes Course | directed by Kalyanee Mam | Cambodia | 84 min These Birds Walk | directed by Omar Mullick | Pakistan | 71 min Words of Witness | directed by Mai Iskander | Egypt / USA | 71 min
KURDISH FEATURE SEGMENT NaFF, in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, screened the 15 Kurdish films during a three day Celebration of Kurdish Films on April 19, 20, and 21, and offered a reception for dignitaries, opening and closing night parties, plus master classes and panel discussions for filmmakers led by members of the Academy’s International Outreach Committee.
Eyub Ramazan, General Manager for Arts, Culture and Youth, Duhok hopes “the event will build a bridge of collaboration between the American and Kurdish filmmakers.” Additionally, Ramazan underscored the importance of the event, “for the Kurdish community in Nashville to see the level their cinema has reached nowadays.” Nashville-Kurdish organizer, Govand Akreyi-Wani said “The Kurds have been an oppressed people. To see films by our people in our own language here in Nashville – it is just a big door opening for us.”
The Celebration of Kurdish Films is a natural result of NaFF’s outreach efforts conducted with support from the Academy. In 2008, NaFF was awarded a $75,000 multi-year festival grant to expand its reach to Nashville’s diverse populations. NaFF has also been named an Academy Award® Short Film Qualifying Festival, which enables short films that win at NaFF to be given automatic Academy eligibility.
"The Academy is proud to work with NaFF to bring Kurdish films and filmmakers to the U.S., and in particular to Nashville, with its vibrant and growing local Kurdish audience,” said Academy Director of Exhibitions and Special Events, Ellen Harrington. “This is also a logical extension of the Academy's International Outreach work, in particular our projects in the Middle East. We are happy to partner with important film festivals, like NaFF, who honor, as we do, the courageous and passionate movies being made by filmmakers around the world."
If You Die, I Will Kill You | directed by Hiner Saleem | France | 95 min Rhino Season | directed by Bahman Ghobadi | Kurdistan, Iran & Turkey | 88 min Trattoria | directed by Soleen Yusef | Germany | 43 min Where is the Land? | directed by Hushyar Z. Nerwayi | Kurdistan, Iraq | 81 min Kick Off | directed by Shawkat Amin Korki | Kurdistan, Iraq | 81 min In the Lion’s Den | directed by Fekri Baroshi | Kurdistan, Iraq | 90 min The Guerilla Son | directed by David Herdies, Zanyar Adami | Sweden | 58 min
MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY FEATURE COMPETITION These documentary films about music and musicians cover a full range of musical genres: from rock and roll and hip hop, to boys’ choirs and classic country.
Beware of the Dogs | directed by Jeff Kennedy | USA | 73 min | World Premiere Die Thomaner – A Year in the Life of the St. Thomas Boys Choir Leipzig | directed by Günter Atteln, Paul Smaczny | Germany | 114 min FOLK | directed by Sara Terry | USA | 100 min | World Premiere Good Ol’ Freda | directed by Ryan White | USA | 89 min Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts | directed by Jeremy Dylan | USA | 93 min A Lovely Day | directed by Kerri Gawryn | USA | 81 min Muscle Shoals | directed by Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier | USA | 102 min Music Wood | directed by Maxine Trump | USA | 81 min This Ain’t No Mouse Music! | directed by Chris Simon, Maureen Gosling | USA | 97 min Very Extremely Dangerous | directed by Paul Duane | Ireland | 85 min Viva Cuba Libre: Rap is War | directed by Jesse Acevedo | Cuba / USA | 74 min We Always Lie To Strangers | directed by AJ Schnack, David Wilson | USA | 110 min
BRIDGESTONE NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION The Nashville Film Festival has become one of the premier showcases for the best new work of American and international filmmakers. The festival screens films that represent the creative risk filmmakers take to tell powerful and important stories in innovative ways.
3 | directed by Pablo Stoll | Uruguay | 115 min All the Light in the Sky | directed by Joe Swanberg | USA | 79 min Breakfast With Curtis | directed by Laura Colella | USA | 82 min The Cold Lands | directed by Tom Gilroy | USA | 100 min The History of Future Folk | directed by John Mitchell, Jeremy Kipp Walker | USA |85 min I Used to Be Darker | directed by Matthew Porterfield | USA | 90 min If You Die, I Will Kill You | directed by Director: Hiner Saleem | France | 95 min Il Futuro | directed by Alicia Scherson | Italy | 94 min The Land of Eb | directed by Andrew Williamson | Marshall Islands / USA | 87 min The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had With My Pants On | directed by Drew Denny | USA | 95 min Pit Stop | directed by Yen Tan | USA | 80 min Some Girl(s) | directed by Daisy von Sherler Meyer | USA | 90 min The Sunshine Boys | directed by Tae-gon Kim | South Korea | 83 min A Teacher | directed by Hannah Fidell | USA | 71 min Tey | directed by Alain Gomis | Senegal / France | 86 min This Is Martin Bonner | directed by Chad Hartigan | USA | 83min
NEW DIRECTORS FEATURE COMPETITION In 2013, women filmmakers made great strides as there were more women filmmakers entered than ever before in NaFF’s history. “I’m excited that we have so many outstanding women filmmakers this year,” said Artistic Director, Brian Owens. “Over all we have about 30% representation, compared to fewer than 10% in previous years.” Owens joined the Nashville Film Festival in 2008. This year’s NaFF is his 6th Nashville Film Festival as Artistic Director.
Ape | directed by Joel Potrykus | USA | 86 min Boy Eating the Bird's Food (To agori troei to fagito tou pouliou) | directed by Ektoras Lygizos | Greece | 80 min Detroit Unleaded | directed by Rola Nashef | USA | 90 min The Discoverers | directed by Justin Schwarz | USA | 104 min Flicker (Flimmer) | directed by Patrik Ecklund | Sweden | 100 min The Go Doc Project | directed by Cory James Krueckeberg | Sweden | 75 min It Felt Like Love | directed by Eliza Hittman | USA | 82 min Nairobi Half Life | directed by Tosh Gitonga | Kenya / South Africa | 96 min One Small Hitch | directed by John Burgess | USA | 105 min Out in the Dark | directed by Michael Mayer | Israel | 96 minPicture Day | directed by Kate Melville | Canada | 93 min This Is Where We Live | directed by Josh Barrett, Marc Menchaca | USA | 92 min Trattoria | directed by Solleen Yusef | Germany | 45 min | Part of a celebration of Kurdish Cinema
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS These feature-length film events include Opening and Closing Night celebrations, and film favorites from the latest Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals.
Mud | directed by Jeff Nichols | USA | 130 min | Opening Night Film Unfinished Song | directed by Paul Andrew Williams | UK | 93 min | Closing Night Film Dead Man’s Burden | directed by Jared Moshe | USA | 93 min Kon-Tiki | directed by Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg | Norway | 118 min | Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film The Kings of Summer | directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts | USA | 93 min Sightseers | directed by Ben Wheatley | UK | 88 min The Spectacular Now | directed by James Ponsoldt | USA | 95 min Stories We Tell | directed by Sarah Polley | Sweden | 108 min
Short Films
Nashville, TN - The Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) features short films from 35 countries, in categories ranging from narrative, experimental, animated, young filmmakers, and Tennessee shorts.
The Festival features 168 short films this year, including works by Shia LaBeouf, Joan Chen, Albert Maysles, and Morgan Spurlock. Short films for the 2013 NaFF, presented by Nissan, were selected from a record breaking 2156 shorts submitted. NaFF is one of only 24 film festivals in the United States designated as an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short films. Winners of the narrative and animation short competitions are automatically qualified for Academy Award consideration.
“Because of our Academy Award qualifier status, we tend to receive an impressive amount of short film entries each year,” said Artistic Director, Brian Owens. “This year we had more submissions than ever before. The films we selected represent every corner of the world, from the United Kingdom, Israel, and Spain to Slovenia, China, and Iraq. It will be like a mini World Cinema category with ten times as many films!”
The Nashville Film Festival, like other major film festivals such as Sundance and Tribeca, is open to the public. Tickets may be purchased to any of 200 events, including films, panel discussions, and parties. NaFF brings in filmmakers, celebrities, and industry insiders to mingle with people who enjoy film on the big screen.
ANIMATION SHORTS COMPETITION (Winning short is eligible for Academy Award consideration)
Aeolian | directed by Tom Shrapnel and Cameron Lowe | UK Attack of the 50 Foot Hero | directed by Sierra Lewis and Trent Correy | USA The Bathhouse | directed by Jisoo Kim | USA Beethoven's Wig | directed by Denny Silverthorne and Alex Hawley | Canada Bite of the Tail | directed by Song E. Kim | USA The Country of Wolves (Amaqqut Nunaat) | directed by Neil Christopher | Canada Eyes on the Stars | directed by Mike Rauch and Tim Rauch | USA Facundo the Great | directed by Mike Rauch and Tim Rauch | USA A Family Man | directed by Mike Rauch and Tim Rauch | USA Feral | directed by Daniel A. Sousa | USA Firefly and the Coffee Machine | directed by John Michael Wilyat | USA Flamingo Pride | directed by Tomer Eshed | Germany Flawed | directed by Andrea Dorfman | Canada Hu’s Game | directed by Shaun Seong-young Kim | South Korea In Hanford | directed by Chris Mars | USA Making It | directed by Mike Rauch and Tim Rauch | USA Marcel, King of the Tervuren | directed by Tom Schroeder | USA Marking the Distance | directed by Mike Rauch and Tim Rauch | USA Noodle Fish | directed by Jin man Kim | South Korea Oh Sheep! | directed by Gottfried Mentor | Germany Oh Willy… | directed by Sunil Narkar | Belgium Pasteurized | directed by Nicolás Villarreal | Argentina Princess' Painting | directed by Johannes Weiland | Germany Rising Hope | directed by Milen Vitanov | Germany Room on the Broom | directed by Max Lang and Jan Lachauer | UK Run Out | directed by Michael Haas and Thomas Schienagel | Germany Sleight of Hand | directed by Michael Cusack | Australia Woody | directed by Stuart Bowen | Australia Zing | directed by Kyra Buschor and Cynthia Collins | Germany
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION The Battle of the Jazz Guitarist | directed by Mark Columbus | USA Blank Canvas | directed by Sarah Berkovish | USA Child 31 | directed by Charles Kinnane | Malawi / Kenya The Children Next Door | directed by Doug Block | USA The Cleanest Pig | directed by David White and Paul Wedel | USA Fire with Fire | directed by Ross Kaufman | USA Georgena Terry | directed by Amanda Zackem | USA Good Karma $1 | directed by Berger Jason and Laslett Amy | USA Home | directed by Thomas Gleeson | New Zealand I think this is the closest to how the footage looked | directed by Yuval Hameiri and Michal Vaknin | Israel The King of Instruments | directed by Ryan Cockrell | USA Londoners | directed by Joseph Ernst | UK The Melungeons | directed by Ian Cheney and Thomas Schienagel | USA Mr. Christmas | directed by Nick Palmer | USA Real Vs. Barcelona | directed by Tofan Abubaker | Iraq Reed | directed by Dorian Warneck | USA Reporting on the Times: The New York Times and the Holocaust | directed by Emily Harrold | USA The Secret of Trees | directed by Albert Maysles | USA Self-Portrait with Cows Going Home and Other Works | directed by Rebecca Dreyfus | USA Stone Melody | directed by Parvis Rostami | Iran A Story for the Modlins | directed by Sergio Oksman | Spain Tailings | directed by Sam Price-Waldman | USA Techistan | directed by Senain Kheshgi | USA Unwieldy Beast | directed by Brandon Loper | USA Veronika | directed by Mark Michel | Germany We Are Water Spirit | directed by Dove Joans | USA When I Grow Up | directed by Sharon Arteaga | USA The Whistle | directed by Grzegorz Zariczny | Poland You Don't Know Jack | directed by Morgan Spurlock | USA
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS COMPETITION Bishopric | directed by Robert Todd | USA Blood Film | directed by Laura Salmon and Kevin Walker | USA Brad's Book | directed by Bradly Dever Treadaway | USA The Capsule | directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari | Greece Dangerous Light | directed by Robert Todd | USA Deep Red | directed by Esther Urlus | Netherlands Division | directed by Johan Rijpma | Netherlands Hotel Room | directed by Bernd Oppl | Austria Mountain in Shadow | directed by Lois Patino | Spain Passage | directed by Robert Todd | USA Rauch und Spiegel (Smoke and Mirrors) | directed by Nick Moore | Australia Reconnaissance | directed by Johann Lurf | Austria Salmon | directed by Alfredo Covelli | Israel Summer Light: Friday | directed by Robert Todd | USA Workers Leaving the Factory (Again) | directed by Katharina Gruzei | Austria
KURDISH SHORTS SEGMENT Cheers to You | directed by Soleen Yusef | Germany | 20 min Real vs. Barcelona | directed by Tofan Abubaker | Kurdistan, Iraq | 16 min Stone Melody | directed by Parviz Rostami | Kurdistan, Iran | 11 min Bicycle | directed by Rizgar Hussein | Kurdistan, Iraq | 17 min Ghi Ghoo | directed by Iraj Mohammadi Zarimi | Kurdistan, Iran | 15 min Dalya | directed by Shakhawan Abdullah | Kurdistan, Iraq | 15 min The Other Ones | directed by Hisham Zaman | Norway | 18 min Silence | directed by L. Rezan Yesilbas | Kurdistan, Turkey | 15 min
NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION (Winning short is eligible for Academy Award consideration)
.sub | directed by Jossie Malis Alvarez | Spain Alaska is a Drag | directed by Shaz Bennett | USA America 101 | directed by Richard Speight Jr. | USA Behind the Mirrors | directed by Julio O. Ramos | Peru Bicycle (Paysikil) | directed by Rizgar Hussein | Iraq BKA 49-77 | directed by Jan Pavlacky | Czech Republic Boneshaker | directed by Frances Bodomo | USA Boop Beep | directed by Murphy Gilson | USA Chalk | directed by Martina Amati | USA Cheers to You | directed by Soleen Yusef | Germany The Companion (El Accompañante) | directed by Alvaro Delgado Aparicio | Peru The Cub | directed by Riley Stearms | USA A Curious Conjunction of Coincidences | directed by Joost Reijmers | Netherlands Dalya | directed by Shakhawan Abdellah Qazi | Iraq The Date (Treffit) | directed by Jenni Toivoniemi | Finland Dear Hunters | directed by Zack Bornstein and David Shuck | Czech Republic The Devil's Ballroom | directed by Henrik Martin K. Dahlsbakken | Norway / Greenland Doppelgänger | directed by Julian Rojas | Brazil Drawn from Memory | directed by Marcin Bortkiewicz | Poland Dva | directed by Mickey Nedimovic | Germany The English | directed by Deborah Tiso | UK Ex Mime | directed by Mathijs Geijskes | Netherlands Father/Son | directed by Bryan Reisberg | USA First Time Phone Sex | directed by Phil Donohue | USA Fishing without Nets | directed by Cutter Hodierne | Kenya The Foreigner | directed by Alethea C. Avramis | Greece Gasp | directed by Eicke Bettinga | Germany GhiGhoo | directed by Iraj Mohammadi Razini | Iran Harry Grows Up | directed by Mark Nickelsburg | USA Hatch | directed by Christoph Kuschnig | Austria Hospitals | directed by Priscilla Anany | Ghana Howard Cantour.com | directed by Shia LaBeouf | USA In the Still of the Night | directed by Alexander Rönnberg | Sweden Indoor | directed by Simon Atkinson and Adam Townley | UK It's Not a Cowboy Movie | directed by Benjamin Parent | France Kiruna-Kigali | directed by Goran Kapetanovic | Sweden The Last Border | directed by Daniel Butterworth | Germany Late Spring | directed by Zachary Kerschberg | Tunisia Life Doesn't Frighten Me | directed by Stephen Dunn and GB Shannon | Canada Lunch Date | directed by Sasha Collington | UK Miracle Boy | directed by Jake Mahaffy | USA Music for One X-Mas and Six Drummers | directed by Ola Simonson and Johannes Stjärne | Sweden The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars | directed by Edoardo Ponti | Italy The Op Shop | directed by Lee Rogers | Australia The Other Ones | directed by Hisahm Zaman | Norway The Other Side | directed by Khen Shalem | Israel The Padlock | directed by Ettore Nicoletti | Italy The Pale of Settlement | directed by Jacob Sillman | USA Palimpsest | directed by Michael Tyburski | USA Paulie | directed by Andrew Nackman | USA Peter at the End | directed by Russ Lamoureux | USA Physics | directed by Claire Oakley | UK The Queen of My Dreams | directed by Fawzia Mirza | USA Return (Hazara) | directed by Shay Levi | Israel The Return (Kthimi) | directed by Blerta Zeqiri | Kosovi Reza Hassani Goes to the Mall | directed by Sara Zandieh | USA Shanghai Strangers | directed by Joan Chen | China Silent (Sessiz) | directed by L. Rezan Yeşilbaş | Turkey Stigma | directed by Phill Schwartz | USA Suspended | directed by Damian Walshe-Howling | Australia Teacher of the Year | directed by Chris Modoono | USA That Which Once Was | directed by Kimi Takescu | USA Ticking | directed by Chris New | UK UFO in Piekary | directed by Konrad Aksinowicz | Poland Valse Favorite | directed by Deborah Helpert | France Watermelon | directed by Tato Kotetishvili | Poland Whakatiki: A Spirit Rising | directed by Louise Leitch | New Zealand What the Eye Doesn't See | directed by Natalia Mateo | Spain The White Seagull | directed by Max Strebel | USA Who's Afraid of the Big Black Wolf | directed by Janez Lapajne | Slovenia A Wonderful Day | directed by Ariel Weisbrod and Yossi Meiri | Israel A World for Raul | directed by Mauro Mueller | Mexico Yardbird | directed by Michael Spiccia | Australia Zombie | directed by David Moreno | Spain
TENNESSEE FIRST SHORTS COMPETITION Another Corner | directed by Josh Harrell | USA Brother's Keeper | directed by Robert L. Poole | USA Cleaner Than Most | directed by Jennifer Bonior | USA George | directed by Josh Link | USA Pretty Monsters | directed by Ryan Parker and GB Shannon | USA Still Here | directed by Tyler Evans and David Lavender | USA Whether You Like It or Not | directed by Wes Edwards | USA Wild Sands | directed by Warren Lewis Allen and William Scott Stewart | USA
YOUNG FILMMAKERS SHORTS COMPETITION Lunch Bag Haven / USA (Director: Watkins Pre-College Film Students | USA Memories / Canada (Director: Joseph Procopio | Canada The Painted Girl / USA (Director: Ben Kadie | USA The Purple Story / Poland (Director: Mateusz Mądry | Poland The Red Box | directed by Max Moore and Hannah Bowman | USA Rivals | directed by Natasha Lasky | USA Siren | directed by Charles Blecker | USA Sweet Dreams | directed by Clio Gevirtz | USA Wait in Silence | directed by Kira Bursky | USA
Nashville Film Festival 2013 Winners Announced
Nashville, TN-- The Nashville Film Festival is coming to a close, and tonight the winners were announced at the Greenhouse Bar awards ceremony. Artistic Director Brian Owens presented the awards.
Taking the big prizes, with two awards each, were Breakfast with Curtis, directed by Laura Colella, This is Martin Bonner, directed by Chad Hardigan, and Nairobi Half Life, directed by David “Tosh” Gitonga. The winner of the Bridgestone Narrative Competition was the opening Kurdish film If You Die, I Will Kill You, directed by Hiner Saleem.
The 2013 Nashville Film Festival hosted a total of 263 films from 50 countries, in categories ranging from Narrative Feature, Documentary, Short Films, Music City, New Director, Special Presentations, Graveyard Shift, Tennessee First, World Cinema, and for the first time, a special Kurdish category was added as part of a mini 3-day Celebration of Kurdish Film. All of the films were selected from over 3,000 submissions, a record number for NaFF.
Feature Film Awards
BRIDGESTONE NARRATIVE COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: If You Die, I Will Kill You, directed by Hiner Saleem Honorable Mention: Breakfast With Curtis, directed by Laura Colella Best Actor: Paul Eenhoorn in This is Martin Bonner Best Actress: Jane Adams in All the Light in the Sky
Louis LeQuire Award for Best Screenplay: Pit Stop, written by Yen Tan, David Lowery Best Use of Music: 3 - Sebastián, Del Muro Eiras Original Song: “The One That Got Away” by Neil Oldham, from I Used to be Darker Special Jury Prize for Promising Actor: Silas Yelich in The Cold Lands Special Prize Best Ensemble: Cast of Breakfast with Curtis
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Far Out Isn’t Far Enough - The Tomi Ungerer Story, directed by Brad Bernstein Honorable Mentions (tie): Plimpton!, Starring George Plimpton as Himself directed by Tom Bean and Luke Poling Honorable Mentions (tie): After Tiller, directed by Martha Stone and Lana Wilson Special Jury Prize for Vigilance in Filmmaking: These Birds Walk, directed by Bassam Tariq and Omar Mullick
NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Nairobi Half Life, directed by David “Tosh” Gitonga Honorable Mention: Out in the Dark, directed by Michael Mayer Best Actor: Joseph Wairimu in Nairobi Half Life Best Actress: Gina Piersanti in It Felt Like Love Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble: Cast of This is Where We Live
GIBSON MUSIC FILMS/MUSIC CITY COMPETITION Grand Jury Prize: Die Thomaner: A Year in the Life of the St. Thomas Boys Choir Leipzig, directed by Günter Atteln Honorable Mention: Muscle Shoals, directed by Greg “Freddy” Camalier Special Jury Prize for Cultural Significance: This Ain’t No Mouse Music, directed by Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling
GROUND ZERO TENNESSEE SPIRIT AWARDS Feature: Nashville 2012, directed by Jace Freeman & Sean Clark Short Narrative: Wild Sands, directed by Warren Lewis Allen and William Scott Stewart Documentary: Another Corner, directed by Josh Harrell
Short Film Awards
Best Live Action Short: Hatch, directed by Christoph Kuschnig Live Action Short - Honorable Mention: Peter at the End, directed by Russ Lamoureux Best Animated Short: Oh, Willy, directed by Sunil Narkar Animated Short - Honorable Mention: Noodle Fish, directed by Jin Man Kim Best Documentary Short: A Story for the Modlins, directed by Sergio Oksman Documentary Short - Honorable Mention: I Think this is the Closest to How the Footage Looked, directed by Yuval Hameiri and Michal Vaknin Best Experimental Short: Workers Leaving the Factory (Again), directed by Katharina Gruzei Experimental Short - Honorable Mention: Salmon, directed by Alfredo Covelli Best Student Short: I Think this is the Closest to How the Footage Looked, directed by Yuval Hameiri and Michal Vaknin Student Short - Honorable Mention: Behind the Mirrors, directed by Julio O. Ramos Watkins Young Filmmaker Shorts: The Purple Story, directed by Mateusz Madry
OTHER SPONSORED AWARDS Mike Curb Career Achievement Award in Film Music: Clint Mansell Film Musician Secondary Market Fund (FMSM) Award: This is Martin Bonner, directed by Chad Hardigan and composed by Keegan DeWitt NPT Human Spirit Award: Remote Area Medical, directed by Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman Women in Film & Television Award: Words of Witness, directed by Mai Iskander Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Award: A Lovely Day, directed by Kerry Gawryn
Nashville Film Festival (NaFF), April 18 – 25, 2013, presented by Nissan, brings the world to Nashville in an 8-day celebration of film. Attended by filmmakers and industry insiders, and open to the public, NaFF screens more than 200 films from nearly 50 countries. NaFF celebrates the diversity of the human voice and vision by curating program segments to include Latino, Black, GLBT, Jewish and Kurdish films. Founded in 1969 by Mary Jane Coleman, it is one of the oldest (44-years) film festivals in the U.S. As an Academy Award Qualifying Event, NaFF draws filmmakers and celebrity guests to its red carpet at the Regal Green Hills Stadium 16. The Festival annually garners notice from the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal online, MovieMaker Magazine, Film Festival Today, IndieWire, Variety, Billboard, New York and Script Magazine.
Feature Films
Penelope Bartlett
Matt Bach
Rod Blackhurst
Daisy Blackwell Hutton
Andrew Borden
Alex Bowen
Christina Campagnola
Charleene Closshey
Naia Cucukov
Jeremy Culver
Motke Dapp
John J. Dessler
Justin Harvey
Gill Holland
Andrew Hunt
Demetria Kalodimos
Jim Logrando
Erik Lokkesmoe
Brian Loschiavo
Leonard Maltin
Gerry Maravilla
Nora May
Daniel McCoy
Austin Mendez
Carey Nelson Burch
Brian Nossokoff
Brian Owens
Mike Pecci
Andy Peterson
Morgan Pichinson
Alicia Richards
Dr. Nancy McGuire Roche 
Alex Sera
Ryan Smith
Bob Zeglarski
Grand Jury Prize - Prison Logic, directed by Romany Malco (USA) 
Grand Jury Prize - Minding the Gap, directed by Bing Liu (USA) 
Grand Jury Prize - Thunder Road, directed by Jim Cummings (USA) 
Grand Jury Prize - Mickey Reece's Alien, directed by Mickey Reece (USA) 
Grand Jury Prize - Rukus, directed by Brett Hanover (USA) 
Grand Jury Prize - The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, directed by Benjamin Renner & Patrick Imbert (France)
Grand Jury Prize - The President's Visit, directed by Cyril Aris (Lebanon / Qatar) - Academy Award Qualified 
Grand Jury Prize - Weekends, directed by Trevor Jiminez (Canada) - Academy Award Qualified 
Grand Jury Prize - '63 Boycott, directed by Gordon Quinn (USA) - Academy Award Qualified 
Grand Jury Prize - Green Screen Gringo, directed by Douwe Dijkstra (Netherlands / Brazil) 
Grand Jury Prize - Schoolyard Blues, directed by Maria Eriksson-Hecht (Sweden) 
Grand Jury Prize - Socks on Fire: Uncle John and the Copper Headed Water Rattlers, directed by Bo McGuire (USA) 
Grand Jury Prize - Best TN Narrative - Hunter, directed by Hilary Bell (USA) 
Grand Jury Prize - The Hitchhiker's Guide to Suburbia, directed by Alex Alford & Zak Denley (US
Jake Basden
Aaron Bleyaert
Wendy Calhoun
Naia Cucukov
Babacar Diene 
Patrick Ewald
Daisy Hamilton
Andrew Hunt
Melissa Lummus
Michael Meyer
Melanie Miller
Travis Nicholson
Andreas Olavarria
Leslie Pirritano
Robin Prybil
Bob Raines
Ben Rittenhouse
SHEL
Dawn Solér 
Dominick Spina
Beau W. Stapleton, Esq.
Luke Taylor
The 48th Nashville Film Festival named winners across multiple categories at three ceremonies at Regal Hollywood 27, the festival's flagship theater. The big winner was Ian MacAllister McDonald's Some Freaks, which took home the Grand Jury Prize in the Narrative Competition as well as Best Actress for Lily Mae Harrington and Best Music. The winning short films in the Narrative, Animated and Documentary Shorts competitions were all qualified to submit to the 2018 Academy Awards, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements. The selection included 303 films representing 56 nations chosen from over 5,500 entries from 125 nations.
TENNESSEE FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION
ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION
GRAVEYARD SHIFT SHORTS COMPETITION
Finalists
