‘The First Grader, ‘Wish Me Away’ and ‘Most Valuable Players’ Grab Audience Awards as Nashville Film Festival presented by Nissan Closes with Attendance Record

Diverse Lineup Boosts 42nd Edition of Longest-Running Festival in the South

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — “The First Grader,” “Wish Me Away” and “Most Valuable Players” walked away with the two major audience awards, the latter two tying, when the winners were announced tonight at the Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) presented by Nissan closing night party at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville. Director Justin Chadwick’s “The First Grader,” the inspiring based-on-a-true story of an 84-year-old man who went back to primary school in Kenya, snagged the Southwest Airlines Audience Award for best narrative feature. “Wish Me Away,” the coming-out documentary of country singer Chely Wright by directors Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf, tied with “Most Valuable Players,” director Matthew D. Kallis’ film about high school theatre troupes vying for the Freddy Awards, for the Documentary Channel Audience Award for best documentary. A new addition this year, the Graveyard Shift Audience Award went to “The Troll Hunter” by director André Øvredal.

The opening night sellout of five screenings and a ticket sale record proved prescient, as the Festival went on to break its all-time ticket and attendance record. Attendance peaked at more than 26,000, a 14.7% increase over last year. Ticket sales for films and panels, which broke a record with two days left in the Festival, stood at 19,130 mid-afternoon today, an increase over last year’s total sales of 17,529.

“The community really embraced our programming this year,” said Sallie Mayne, executive director of the Festival. “All signs point to several things, most importantly our partnership with Nissan and other community partners, and (artistic director) Brian Owens’ strongest and most diverse scheduling yet, which appealed to a wide swath of the region. And I think we were our most accessible, with several free panels and screenings, an iPhone app, and an increased focus on our website and social media channels, which we kept updated and buzzing throughout the Festival.”

The 42nd Nashville Film Festival opened on April 14 at the Regal Green Hills Theatres with sold-out houses for the Shane Dax Taylor helmed “Bloodworth,” starring Kris Kristofferson, and Richard Ayoade’s “Submarine.” The next night, following the sneak preview of “Wish Me Away,” with Wright in attendance, “Bloodworth” screened again, with Kristofferson and Emmylou Harris present. Harris honored him with the NaFF Career Achievement Award. The Festival ended tonight, with a sellout of the Azazel Jacobs-directed comedy “Terri” starring Jacob Wysocki — with both director and actor in attendance — and performances at the Mercy Lounge by The Casualty Process (straight from Tehran) and Will Gray (in town with his documentary “Broke*”). At the party, it was also announced that Carlene Webb was the winner of the first NaFF Pitchin’ It! contest, where participants competed to deliver the best concise screenplay pitch. In between Opening and Closing Night, festivalgoers caught World Premieres, among others, of Sam Jaegar’s “Take Me Home,” and “Better Than Something: Jay Reatard,” by Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz, sold-out screenings of dozens of films, including Cindy Meehl’s “Buck” and Clay Jeter’s “Jess + Moss,” as well as conversations with composer Gustavo Santaolalla and producer Michael Uslan, panels with music supervisors, and music showcases and after-parties throughout the city.

A complete list of previously announced jury prizes is available at nashvillefilmfestival.org.