Focus is on ‘Tennessee First’ for Opening Day of Nashville Film Festival presented by Nissan

Films shot in Tennessee or by Tennessee filmmakers will kick off Festival on April 19; 1010Films to partner with Festival on ‘This Film Rocks’ Competition.

“Pulling together Tennessee films for the opening day is both a great way to kick off things and a testament to the growing quality of feature films being shot here and by our filmmakers,” said Brian Owens, NaFF artistic director. “Shorts submissions have always been strong, but I don’t recall, in my time programming, this many local films or films by local filmmakers. Together with films that have a connection to the state, such as ‘Beauty is Embarrassing,’ ‘Super Zeroes,’ and ‘Romance of Loneliness,’ and Tennessee is very well represented.”

Also announced, 1010Films.com has partnered with NaFF on the first ever THIS FILM ROCKS Competition. The seven day competition challenges filmmakers to select a musical artist or band that inspires them and to create a riveting, inspirational, intriguing, can’t-take-our-eyes-off-of-it, documentary about the artist/band. In addition to the documentary, filmmakers will have seven days to write, produce and record an original song with the artist/band that will be included in the film. The catch … at the start of the competition, teams will be given one original lyric written by a major Nashville recording artist. This lyric must be included in the song.  A total of 12 teams will be accepted to the competition on a first come basis starting March 20. Visit thisfilmrocks.com or nashvillefilmfestival.org at that time for more information.

A list of Tennessee First features follows. A complete list of previously announced feature films in competition and non-competition categories, as well as animated, narrative and documentary shorts, is available now at nashvillefilmfestival.org. Panels, jurors, music showcases and a complete schedule will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Tickets for the festival, which runs April 19-26 at the Regal Green Hills Cinemas, go on sale to the general public on April 12. Members of the media wishing to apply for media credentials may do so now at nashvillefilmfestival.org/press > “Apply for Media Credentials.”

Nashville Film Festival is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and receives funding from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Franklin Brooks Philanthropic Fund and William N. Rollins Fund for the Arts of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Ann & Lance Krafft Charitable Lead Trust, The Memorial Foundation, Nashville Metro Arts Commission, Tennessee Arts Commission, and its generous patrons and sponsors.

Tennessee First Features

Erasing Hate
(Bill Brummel / USA / 93 min.)
Go inside the world of Bryon Widner, a former skinhead “pit bull,” as he undergoes painful treatments to remove the physical representation of the hate he had exhibited to the world for more than half his life. THEATRICAL WORLD PREMIERE.

5 Days in Denver
(Todd Cassetty / USA / 112 min.)
Protesters. Police. Pepper Spray. For 5 days in 2008, a group of protesters calling themselves Re-create 68 took to the streets of Denver to dissent against the American government at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Defying federal court orders, riot police and bad press, this motley assemblage of men and women ranging in age from 21 to 71, set out to ‘re-create the spirit of the sixties’ and exercise their version of democracy with their voices and bodies as their only political capital. 5 DAYS IN DENVER is an immersive journey through the modern protest experience in America. From arrests during the DNC to the weeks of planning leading up to the many marches and status-quo disruptions, this documentary embeds you in the life of the unconventional patriot. SOUTHEASTERN PREMIERE.

He Ain’t Heavy
(Jeff Obafemi Carr / USA / 117 min.)
He Ain’t Heavy is an explosive, fly-on-the-wall look into the ultra-secretive world of hazing in a prestigious African-American fraternity. Through an intense process of interview and selection, five young college students are thrust together and introduced to the underground world of physical, intellectual, emotional and psychological trial-by-fire that is the pledging process.  A graduate film student, Thomas “Doc” Hayes, using digital video, cell phones, and campus security cameras, compiles a behind-the-scenes look at the pledge process for the inner-circle of the chapter to reflect on for fun. All seems to be going well until one fateful morning, when one of the pledges collapses and dies, threatening to expose secrets that have been tightly held for generations. When Doc is threatened by the brotherhood, what began as project to support black fraternity life suddenly becomes the tool that may very well dismantle the system forever. This found footage feature exposes rituals that have never before been captured on film. Based on true events. WORLD PREMIERE.

Hell or High Water: The Story of the Nashville Rollergirls
(Deja Brandeis  / USA / 91 min.)
This inspirational story follows the Nashville Rollergirls through the loss of their practice space, the move to a new game venue, injuries, relocation of key players, huge financial pressures, and even an epic flood. Ever the underdog, and with a burning in their bellies, the Nashville Rollergirls seek to prove themselves at every turn. And nothing will prevent them from achieving the goals they set. On a quest to succeed athletically on the national stage, and to keep their skater-owned and operated organization afloat, the Nashville Rollergirls, in true Nashville spirit, refuse to accept ‘no’, ‘can’t’, or ‘won’t’. And in true roller derby spirit, they bring ‘do-it-yourself’ to the next level. WORLD PREMIERE.

Late Summer
(Ernie Park/ USA / 58 min.)
The love and loss between a parent and child. Nadia resists going to college so she can stay home with her mother. WORLD PREMIERE.

Many Monsters of Sadness
(Motke Dapp / USA / 90 min.)
Eleanor and her friends discover a mysterious box that many of them think has the ability to grant wishes. As every ‘granted wish’ is fulfilled, something horrible happens in return. As disappearances and mysterious gifts pile up, Eleanor begins to understand it’s up to her to find a way to end the greed-fueled darkness consuming her once happy life. WORLD PREMIERE.

Music City Underground
(Houston Mathews / USA / 112 min.)
Music City Underground is a documentary/concert film showcasing the wide-ranging talents of Nashville’s underground music community. Featuring performances of 11 independent local artists, all shot in a historic Nashville studio in only one day. WORLD PREMIERE.

Nashville Tennessee Hip-Hop Producers and M.C.’s
(Anthony Haynes / USA / 72 min.)
Nashville Tennessee Hip-Hop Producers and M.C.’s is a look into Music City’s underground genre. It addresses the past, present, and future of hip-hop from both a local and a general viewpoint. WORLD PREMIERE.

Street Paper
(Christoper Roberts/ USA / 70 min.)
By sharing personal stories, street newspapers attach lives, faces and hearts to the idea of homelessness. These publications allow a bridge connecting the gap between the very poor and the rest of society by helping them understand the issues that concern homeless individuals. For many homeless people, this opportunity gives them a chance to get back on their feet and the real possibility of securing housing.“Street Paper” looks at the lives of the lives of the founders, vendors and writers of Nashville’s homeless newspaper, The Contributor,  as it experiences exponential growth during September 2010. WORLD PREMIERE.

Welcome to Nash Vegas
(Julie Dove, Martin Desmond Roe / USA / 60 min.)
Some people are born to blend in the crowd and others spend their life trying to stand out. How can someone work so hard and sacrifice so much knowing being talented isn’t even a guarantee of success? Nash Vegas explores the ups and downs of fame in the lives of country music artists and the people who help make their dreams come true. WORLD PREMIERE.

Added Tennessee First Short

Worm – 48 hr festival winner
(Doug Mallette / USA / 8 min.)
A lonely dog fanatic is delivered his first Fantasites, a recreational parasite used to induce wild fantasies. But when his ‘Economy’ Fantasites are trumped by his neighbor who’s been buying the ‘Premium,’ he starts to switch the deliveries, and finally gets to live out his craziest dreams… for a while at least.