Nashville Film Festival will screen more than 150 titles
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The Belcourt Theatre, one of several venues hosting events for the Nashville Film Festival. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images
More than 150 movies will screen across the city over the next week as part of the Nashville Film Festival.
Why it matters: The festival is a celebration of every genre and style, and will include showings of documentaries on big-name music acts, high-octane thrillers and Oscar-worthy dramas.
- Nashville-area creatives can also use the festival as a networking opportunity. Discussion panels featuring industry leaders will examine trends in filmmaking, screenwriting and musical scores.
What they're saying: "The diversity in this year's lineup, from comedy to drama to suspense, ensures the 55th festival has something for every film aficionado," programming director Lauren Thelen said in a statement.
State of play: Events begin Thursday and last through Sept. 25. Film screenings will take place across several theaters, including The Belcourt, Regal Green Hills and The Franklin Theatre.
Zoom in: Three documentaries that bookend the festival are Music City friendly.
- The opening night double feature includes "Rebel Country," a topical doc examining contemporary country music culture in Nashville. It also explores the roiling debate about racism and diversity within the genre.
- "Devo," a documentary on the 1980s rock band famous for the song "Whip It," is also screening on opening night.
- The festival will close with "This Is A Film About The Black Keys," which is (you guessed it) a documentary about the rock duo that relocated to Nashville.
👀 What we're watching: The festival's "centerpiece presentation" is the hotly anticipated comedy-drama "Saturday Night," which is based on the behind-the-scenes turmoil that took place in the 90 minutes before the first episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975.
- The film, directed by Jason Reitman, is already generating Oscar buzz. Its stars include Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons and an ensemble of promising up-and-comers playing "SNL" legends like Lorne Michaels, Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase.
- Variety praised the film's "superb ensemble, sizzling script and expert craftsmanship."
If you go: Festival passes and tickets to individual screenings are available online.