Nashville Film Festival

This is my first year really diving into the Nashville Film Festival and boy do I love it! If you like movies, this is the place for you.
You can get all of your tickets ahead of time online or at the box office located by the first floor of the parking garage. This is exactly what we did. Mom Jovi next Saturday? Here I come! They also have nightly drinks available, food trucks, and Jeni’s ice cream. It’s all located on the first floor of the theater. It’s the perfect time to mingle with people who came from all over to show their movie or see a movie.
We are currently on movie 2 of 5. The first one was fantastic, Syl Johnson: Any Way The Wind Blows. If you are a music lover you must see it. The second, High-​Rise, was a little too out there for me, great cast though! I’m glad I saw it, but I definitely won’t be re-​watching it.
I know some will be hits and some will be misses, but I can’t wait to see the next three!

What’s better than viewing a short film you worked on with friends on the big screen?! Nothing!!!

Awarded one of my coveted 5-​star ratings!
One of the most enjoyable experiences I have had in Nashville. I mean, this is right up there with sitting behind the glass at a Predators game! A person at the festival told me that the atmosphere of openness and accessibility was how the big-​city, big-​name film festivals used to be. It’s unfortunate that things change and I understand that it is most likely a response to changing conditions at the festival sites.
I felt like I was a VIP with the access that I had to directors, producers, sponsors, writers, and generally anyone that had anything to do with the movies. Admission to the movies was $ 12, or $ 9 if you were wearing a rock n roll t-​shirt, which was not advertised very heavily. The Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 is not a new theater, which added to the ambiance when watching movies. Seats were comfy but a bit creaky at times.
Some of the movies/​events I enjoyed:
Musica Campesina — A new immigrant tries to get his feet on the ground in a new city (filmed in Nashville!)
10 Days to Nashville — Short documentary of a couples journey to their mecca — Nashville again!
Stranger Things — Trust and human connections are explored
Broke — The music industry is in flux and how one group is struggling to make it big
Gustavo Santaolla — Two-​time Academy Award winner who scored Brokeback Mtn and many other films
Terri — Social misfit develops a warm relationship and has a coming of age experience
Mercy Lounge — Closing party
I will be there next year!

I am downright shocked that the last (and only) review for the Nashville Film Festival is from early 2009! How could us Nashvillians not be Unilocaling from the top of our lungs about what a brilliant celebration this for our community.
I will preface that Unilocal is a sponsor for this year’s festival which is from April 14^th — 21^st so I have been on the NaFF train for awhile now but you must admit how absolutely lucky we are to have such a gem in our city.
I was impressed to learn that while I was doing my research, NaFF was originally founded in 1969 and is actually one of the longest-​running film festivals in the country. The name has been updated a few times but the mission has stayed consistently the same:
«Nashville Film Festival is a cultural arts institution that inspires, educates and entertains through an annual celebration of the art of motion pictures, year-​round events and community outreach.»
Can’t argue with that.
This year’s numerous industry panels, music showcases, and great parties have wooed me over as there is such an interactive element involved in addition to all of the screenings and premieres. I was lucky enough to attend the Opening Night Party where I was chattin’ it up with movie industry peeps from all over the world including Hollywood, NYC, and even Australia! Was it worth the worst hangover ever the next morning? Mos def.
All genres from drama, comedy, animation, and family to experimental, foreign, documentaries and short films are represented during the week! In addition, most budgets are accommodated ranging from their free ticket availability to going all out for a laminate pass.
TIP: Download the free NaFF application for your mobile and you are ready to head to the movies!

Oh man you wouldn’t believe how proud I am of our little city having such a great film festival! We really do have quite the lovely film community here in case you didn’t know and their greatest service to the city is hosting the film festival every year.
The festival is hosted annually in April at Green Hills Regal Cinemas. It features varied genres of independent film created by filmmakers hailing from all over the country. There are even children’s movies and workshops so there really is something for everyone. They usually show some great documentaries and one of my favorite things to catch are the animated shorts. It runs for about a week and takes over the first few theaters on the bottom level of Regal Green Hills.
They very often have discussion panels with the cast and crew after the bigger films which is a really cool way to get the ideas and purposes behind the movies. The majority of the people who work at the festival are volunteers who are there simply because they love and support it. You can buy passes to individual screenings or if there are a lot of movies you’d like to see, I’d suggest getting a festival pass which actually drops the price per movie down significantly.
Their website is a great resource, as it gets closer to April they start posting what films they’ll be showing along with descriptions of each. If you’re interested in attending the film festival (which I HIGHLY suggest) you should peruse their site to get a better idea of what to expect.