Jesse Corwood is a 31-year-old man living with his mother in Portland, New York. Obsessed with music and driven by a desire to create, but lacking a thriving local scene, Jesse records numerous songs by himself, invents 17 fictional bands, and meticulously documents their imaginary stories in his notebooks. Jesse's plan works when Rolling Stone takes interest in his label, Portland Records, but he struggles to maintain the illusion when the magazine requests photos and interviews with the bands. To keep his story going, Jesse attempts to enlist local teenagers to pose as his bandmates, causing suspicion and tension with his mother, Marsha, as well as the local school principal. As the situation spirals out of control, Marsha finally confronts Jesse about his delusions and their consequences. As a result, Jesse finds himself involuntarily committed to a mental institution, where he begins to dream up new stories and an escape.

Portland Is The New Portland

A lonely musician in a small town creates a thriving underground music scene by inventing and posing as a multitude of bands. When Rolling Stone Magazine takes notice, his life unravels as he struggles to maintain the facade of his fictional bands.

In a village near the southern Chinese city of Chaozhou, a boy has spent the summer with his grandfather. As the last day of the holidays approaches, he gathers together his hard-earned savings to fulfil a dream: he has long yearned for a city hairstyle. But the gap between expectation and reality is large. This story of a boy who bids farewell to his childhood and embarks on a journey towards self-discovery transcends the boundaries of a small village and resonates with universal themes such as growing up and the unpredictable nature of life.

A Summer's End Poem

Shortly before the end of the summer holidays, a country boy spends his savings on his dream of a city hairstyle – with surprising results. A story about bidding farewell to childhood and the poetic end of a summer.

Loveland

When a woman mysteriously disappears from the production of America’s favorite dating show LOVELAND, one contestant becomes obsessed with uncovering what happened to her — jeopardizing the one thing she came for: happily ever after.

A young woman navigates a surreal audition process where her boundaries are tested in pursuit of a coveted spot in an elite acting program.

Rapt

A young woman navigates a surreal audition process where her boundaries are tested in pursuit of a coveted spot in an elite acting program.

Breakthroughs don’t come easy. Especially for up-and-coming actress Anna. Rejected from her most recent audition, Anna returns home to find that herdad has already made other plans for her life. Her last chance: playing the victim in training exercis-es for the local fire department. Whether she is rescued from car wrecks or placed under toppledtrees, Anna gives it everything she’s got, becausea job at the local bank seems utterly unthinkable.

Hollywood

For would-be actress Anna, success is a long time coming. When she’s cast as a victim in train- ing exercises for the local fire department, Anna screams for her life and her career, as her dad sees little avail in his daughter’s lofty aspirations.

United States of America

Narrative Shorts Program: Please I'm a Star! 

Virtual Admission

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A selection of festival films will be available from Monday, September 23rd through Monday, September 30th for at-home viewing.  Please note that not all films screening in-person will be made available in the Virtual Cinema and in limited cases, geo-based restrictions may apply to some viewers outside of Tennessee or the United States. Tickets for virtual film screenings can be purchased individually for $14 or are included at no additional cost for certain badge holders.  For more information on accessing and optimizing Virtual Cinema content, please visit Eventive FAQs or contact festival@nashfilm.org..  

Welcome! The 55th Nashville Film Festival includes films ranging in genres from narratives, documentaries, animation, horror and much more!

Here's what's coming up soon. Can't make it? No worries. Many live streams will be available for on-demand viewing as well.