Nashville Film Festival presented by Nissan Returns April 19-26

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — After breaking its attendance record last year by close to 15% and its ticket sales total by more than 1,500, the 43rd edition of the Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) presented by Nissan will return to the Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 on April 19-26 for eight days of studio and independent releases, international films, panels, workshops, music performances and more. Competition for the more than 200 film slots for the Festival will be stiffer than ever, with NaFF receiving 2,839 entries — a 20% increase over 2011 — representing 101 countries.

“Every year, not only only have our entries increased, but so has the number of countries they are coming from, and this year the response to our call for entries has truly been overwhelming,” says Brian Owens, NaFF artistic director. “It’s going to be difficult to cull these submissions down, but our challenge is your benefit. These are truly going to be some of the best films this world has to offer.”

NaFF, recently named one of the top ten film festivals in the United States by the Brooks Institute, enters 2012 on the prestige of several of its 2011 selections going on to significant acclaim. At the Oscar nominations announced yesterday, two films that played and won awards at the 2011 festival received nods. Director Marshall Curry’s “If a Tree Falls,” winner of the Documentary Channel Grand Prize in the Documentary Competition, was nominated in the Documentary Feature category. William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg’s film “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” a winner of the Special Jury Prize for Imaginative Storytelling, was nominated in the Short Film (Animated) category.

Also of note:  Two films that played NaFF 2011 were recognized with NAACP Image Awards nominations. Director Justin Chadwick’s “The First Grader,” the NaFF 2011 Southwest Airlines Audience Award winner for best narrative feature, was nominated in the Motion Picture, Independent Motion Picture, Acting and Writing categories, while director Alrick Brown’s “Kinyarwanda” picked up nods in the Independent Motion Picture, Writing and Directing categories. Across the pond, The London Critics Circle named director Andrew Haigh the Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year for “Weekend,” the winner of the Bridgestone Grand Jury Prize for the top narrative feature at NaFF 2011. Craig Roberts of NaFF 2011 opening selection “Submarine” was named Breakthrough Performer of the Year. Nominations for the BAFTA awardsinclude nods for NaFF 2011 selections “Submarine” (Outstanding Debut by a British writer, Director or Producer – Richard Ayoade) and “Project Nim” (Documentary).

“The success bestowed on last year’s selections by critics and award committees speaks to the quality of our programming,” adds Ted Crocket, NaFF interim director. “Think about all those film lovers out there that can say, ‘I saw it at the Nashville Film Festival first!’“

Franklin, Tennessee-based Nissan North America returns for the second year as the title sponsor of the Festival.  As celebration of Nissan’s sponsorship, NaFF will be auctioning off a new 2013 Nissan Altima in an online auction beginning at $1 with no reserve. More information will be posted soon to nashvillefilmfestival.org. Additional confirmed sponsors for the 2012 Nashville Film Festival presented by Nissan include Liberty Party Rental, Lipscomb, Nashville Pride, Nashville Public Television, Nashville Scene, Nowplayingnashville.com, Production Solutions Group, SAG, Scarritt Bennett, Southwest Airlines, Stella, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Agile ticketing, Trivia Time, Watkins College of Art, Design & Film, Women in Film & Television, The Arts Company, The Art Institute of Tennessee, ASCAP, Dell, Inc., BMI, Comcast, Curb Records, Entrée Nashville, FMSMF, Gardens of Babylon, Graffiti, Ground Zero Post, Lamar Advertising and Regal Entertainment Group.

Films in competition will be announced in late February/early March. Special presentations, panels, workshops and other events will be announced shortly after. Tickets will go on sale in early April. Media credential requests for the Festival are currently being accepted at nashvillefilmfestival.org/press.

Nashville Film Festival is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and receives funding from the NEA, the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, The Brooks Fund, The Frist Foundation and The Memorial Foundation.