Founded in 1969 by Mary Jane Coleman, NashFilm was originally known as the Sinking Creek Film Celebration. Nearly 20 years later it was renamed the Nashville Independent Film Festival and, later, the Nashville Film Festival in 2003. It was voted one of “25 film festivals worth the entry fee” by MovieMaker Magazine and highlighted as One of the Best Film Festival Prizes by Film Festival Today. In 2019, USA Today named it one of the top 20 film festivals in the U.S.
NashFilm presents the best in World Cinema, American Indies, documentaries, and numerous short form programs by veteran masters, up-and-coming directors, and first-time filmmakers. NashFilm films have won the highest honors in the film world. Films screened in the past include 13 Assassins, (500) Days of Summer, Cyrus, Terri, Buck, Nowhere Boy, Project Nim and Academy Award nominees, I Am Love, Ajami, and Dogtooth.
With Academy Award qualifying status and numerous well-attended shorts programs, NashFilm has screened many prize-winning narrative and animated shorts.
NashFilm is also the place where many up-and-coming filmmakers get their first big break. Craig Brewer – Footloose, Hustle & Flow, and Black Snake Moon won his first award at NashFilm. Most recently, Clay Jeter received the Ground Zero Tennessee Spirit Award for Best Short Film and used the finishing funds to complete Jess + Moss, which then premiered at Sundance and was accepted for competition in Berlin before returning to NashFilm in 2011.
Distinctive Awards
With a strong commitment to independent and innovative filmmaking, NashFilm offers some truly unique awards. Filmmakers compete for cash and prizes valued at more than $100,000. Winners of the Short Documentary, Short Narrative and Short Animation competitions qualify for Academy Award consideration.
Recipients of recent Career Achievement Awards include Patricia Neal, Hal Holbrook, Kris Kristofferson, Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santoallala, Dolly Parton, and Academy Award-nominated documentarian Steve James.
One of the most exciting awards presented at NashFilm is The Mike Curb Career Achievement Award. Since 2010, it has been presented to A. R. Rahman, Clint Mansell, Gustavo Santaolalla, Paul Williams and Carter Burwell.