The Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) today announced the films selected for the New Directors competition for the 46th Nashville Film Festival, April 16 – 25th at Regal Green Hills Cinema.
“This group of new directors is really quite extraordinary,” said Brian Owens, NaFF Artistic Director. “The entries take on so many different obstacles with humor, sincerity and even a little fantasy in some cases - ranging from the politics of the Hungarian Revolution to the state of youth sports and even how family dynamics change as we get older.”
To be included in the New Directors category, the film must be the director’s first narrative feature. Films are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize as well as the Southwest Airlines Audience Awards.
All-Stars | USA (Director: Lance Kinsey) - ALL-STARS provides a hilarious commentary on the state of all youth sports today, spotlighting the parents’ blind ambitions and grand delusions as they strive to ensure that their nine-year-old prodigy be recognized as the elite athlete they imagine her to be, whether or not she possesses one of whit or actual athletic ability. Cast: Fred Willard, Angela Kinsey, Richard Kind, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Mike Hagerty, Illeana Douglas. Southeast US Premiere.
The Ambassador to Bern | Hungary (Director: Attila Szász) - A fictional account of the 1958 attack against the Hungarian embassy in Bern. Based on a true story about the aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian revolution. Cast: János Kulka, József Kádas, Rémusz Szikszai. Southeast US Premiere.
The Challenger | USA (Director: Kent Moran) - With the help of legendary boxing trainer, a struggling Bronx auto mechanic turns to boxing to save he and his mother from living on the streets. Cast: Kent Moran, Michael Clarke Duncan, S. Epatha Merkerson, Justin Hartley, Frank Watson, Ernie Sabella. Tennessee Premiere.
For the Plasma | USA (Director: Bingham Bryant, Kyle Molzan) - A digital-pastoral drama of friendship, landscape and technology. Cast: Erica Jennifer Hill, Anabelle LeMieux, Rosalie Lowe, James Mark Han, Ryohei Hoshi. Tennessee Premiere.
Homesick | Germany (Director: Jakob M. Erwa) - Ambitious cello student Jessica receives the invitation to an international contest. A great opportunity - but at the same time enormous pressure. Stress begins to gnaw on Jessica's everyday life and soon reality and imagination blur. Cast: Esther Maria Pietsch, Tatja Seibt, Matthias Lier, Hermann Beyer. North American Premiere.
Krisha | USA (Director: Trey Edward Shults) - When Krisha returns for a holiday gathering, the only things standing in her way are family, dogs and turkey. Cast: Krisha Fairchild, Bill Wise, Olivia Grace Applegate, Chase Joliet. Tennessee Premiere.
The Midnight Swim | USA (Director: Sarah Adina Smith) - Spirit Lake is unusually deep. No diver has ever managed to find the bottom, though many have tried. When Dr. Amelia Brooks disappears during a deep-water dive, her three daughters travel home to settle her affairs. They find themselves unable to let go. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Jennifer Lafleur, Aleksa Palladino, Beth Grant, Ross Partridge. Tennessee Premiere.
Molly Takes a Trip | USA (Director: Annika Kurnick) - When a mysterious man is a no-show to his own party, the shy bookish girl he invited spends a surreal night of emotional and sexual exploration with the other guests on a desolate island. Cast: Angela Gulner, Elsa Carette, Charlie V. Wilson, Geri-Nikole Love, Jake Mann, Ken Urbina. World Premiere.
Naz & Maalik | USA (Director: Jay Dockendorf) - Two closeted Muslim teens have their Friday afternoon ruined by FBI surveillance when their secretive behavior and small-time scheming start to look like violent radicalism. Cast: Curtiss Cook, Jr., Kerwin Johnson, Jr., Annie Grier, Anderson Footman, Bradley Custer, Ashleigh Awusie. Southeast US Premiere.
Radiator | United Kingdom (Director: Tom Browne) - Sooner or later we all become have to become parents to our parents. Cast: Gemma Jones, Richard Johnson. Tennessee Premiere.
Some Beasts | USA (Director: Cameron Nelson) - The physical tolls and harsh realities of Appalachia force a modern day Thoreau to decide if he truly belongs. Cast: Frank Mosley, Lindsay Burdge, Heather Kafka, Allison Bowden, Matt Sebas. Southeast US Premiere.
Songs She Wrote About People She Knows | Canada (Director: Kris Elgstrand) - Carol discovers how to lose friends and alienate people when she starts singing songs she wrote about people she knows. Cast: Arabella Bushnell, Ben Cotton, Matty Finochio, Marilyn Norry, Brad Dryborough. Southeast US Premiere.
Nashville Film Festival (NaFF), April 16 – 25, 2015, presented by Nissan North America, brings the world to Nashville in a 10-day celebration of film. NaFF celebrates the diversity of the human vision by curating diverse program segments. Founded in 1969 by Mary Jane Coleman, it is one of the oldest film festivals in the U.S. As an Academy Award Qualifying Event, NaFF garners notice from the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, MovieMaker Magazine, IndieWire, Variety, Billboard, New York and Script Magazine.
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