The Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) should be high on the to-do list for everyone in town this April.
With so many activities, concerts and other opportunities abounding in Nashville, it is easy to overlook this event that takes place virtually in Lipscomb’s backyard.
But this year, Lipscomb University is sponsoring a film– Fambul Tok. Because of Lipscomb’s partnership with the film festival, students can get in, with their ID, to any weekday matinee screening of a movie for free.
Students can also attend panel discussions for free. They simply need to arrive at the location of the panel, and, if there are still seats available five minutes prior to the discussion, they can get in free.
The NaFF, April 14-21, is a cultural arts institution that inspires, educates and entertains through an annual celebration of the art of motion pictures, year-round events and community outreach.
NaFF 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.
The festival has been held at the Regal Green Hills Cinema 16 since 1999. Since 2004, the festival has doubled in attendance to 23,000 and screens more than 250 films from 48 nations around the world.
Gustavo Santaolalla headlines an impressive and diverse list of panelists for this year’s festival. He is the two-time Academy Award-winning composer of the scores of Brokeback Mountain and Babel.
Michael Uslan will also be involved with this year’s events. Uslan is the executive producer of 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, along with every other Batman movie since the original Tim Burton adaptation 22 years ago.
There will be a free screening on Saturday, April 23 of Bhutto, which recounts the life of Benazir Bhutto, the first woman in history to lead a Muslim nation. She was assassinated when she returned to Pakistan to help her country.
Legendary Nashville songwriter Kris Kristofferson – “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Help Me Make it Through the Night” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down”—who went on to star in films like “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” “Cisco Pike,” “A Star is Born” and “The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea” will receive the 2011 Career Achievement Award.
That will take place before Friday’s 7 p.m. screening of “Bloodworth,” in which he stars with Chely Wright, Monte Hellman and Will Gray.
NaFF Artistic Director Brian Owens visited the Hispanic Cinema class, studying the history of the documentary. Students in this class will be volunteering at the festival as a service aspect to the class.
Tickets for the festival are now on sale. A complete list of panelists, films to be shown and ticket prices can be found on www.nashvillefilmfestival.org.