“We are continually impressed by the incredible storytelling submitted in the Tennessee First Competition and thrilled to highlight these films as part of our all-star lineup,” said Brian Owens, Nashville Film Festival’s Artistic Director.
Below are the 2018 selections in the category:
Tennessee First
Other Versions of You (World Premiere) – Diggsy has been in love with Suzette since he was 9 years old. After she marries someone else, he encounters a mysterious stranger who offers him a key that can open doors into parallel universes. This unexpected journey leads him on a quest filled with surprises, awkward encounters, and the possibility of finding the perfect version of a Suzette who will love him back. Cast: Kristopher Wente, Sara Antonio, CJ Perry, Brittany Belland, Miroslav Barnyashev, Eddie George. Director: Motke Dapp, Producers: David Perry, Ryan Hartsock, Motke Dapp (USA)
Rukus (Tennessee Premiere) – A hybrid of documentary and fiction, RUKUS is a queer coming of age story set in the liminal spaces of furry conventions, southern punk houses, and virtual worlds. Cast: Brett Hanover, Alanna Stewart, Andrew Gafford, Dylan Thompson, Morgan Fox, Rukus, Director: Brett Hanover, Producer: Brett Hanover (USA)
Stage 5 (Southeast US Premiere) – When Andrew, a down-on-his-luck alcoholic with kidney failure, wakes up in a hospital room with the up-and-coming comic Zeke by his bedside, his life is changed forever. With no money and no family, he moves into the 601 House, a halfway home for the sick who can’t afford to take care of themselves. But as Zeke and Andrew grow closer, life throws a curveball that just can’t be hit. Cast: Nate Shumate, Silas Green, Johnathan Gorman, Kayla Chase Stephen. Director: Alex Westrick, Producers: Alex Westrick, Jeffry Lawrence, Mike Wargo (USA)
Straight Up: Kentucky Bourbon (World Premiere) – Straight Up: Kentucky Bourbon explores the deep history of the Bourbon Capital of the World from its origins on the banks of the Ohio River to Bourbon St. Director: Eric Byford, Producers: Eric Byford, Cary Ann Fuller, Dustin Tittle (USA)
Strategy and Pursuit (Southeast US Premiere) Complicated dynamics between lovelorn friends spark a disturbing chain of events. Cast: James J. Fuertes, Tiffany Montgomery, Parker Arnold, Emily Landham, Brian McPherson, Leslie Mills, Director: Matt Riddlehoover. Producers: Lesle
Television Pioneer: The Story of Ross K. Bagwell, Sr. – Ross K. Bagwell, Sr. pioneers part of the cable television industry in a place Hollywood would have never thought was possible: Knoxville, Tennessee. Cast: Ross K. Bagwell, Sr., Sue Bagwell, Dee Bagwell Haslam, Ken Lowe, Stephen Land, Carmita Wright, Director: Kristen Dye, Producer: Kristen Dye, Dee Bagwell Haslam, Robert B. Lundgren, Lori Golden-Stryer (USA)
Triumph (Southeast US Premiere) – Narrated by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, TRIUMPH is not a “sports” film as much as it is a unique window on America’s civil rights movement that chronicles Nashville native Perry Wallace’s evolution from a reluctant “pioneer” in the final throes of the “Jim Crow” era to a determined “game-changer,” whose actions altered the way of life throughout the South. Cast: Perry Wallace, Forest Whitaker, Rev. James Lawson, Andrew Young, Former US Attorney Eric Holder, Dr. Harry Edwards. Director: Richard Gentile, Producer: Richard Gentile, Nicholas Zeppos, Bruce Johnson (USA)
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