Nashville, Tenn. — The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm) today announced the 56th annual festival’s award winners, including the jury award for best films in each category and the winning scripts in the organization’s esteemed screenwriting competition. Rohan Kanawade’s semi-autobiographical feature debut “CACTUS PEARS” was named Best Narrative Feature, while Matt Finlin’s “MATTER OF TIME” earned the Best Music Documentary Feature award; “THE GAS STATION ATTENDANT,’ directed by Karla Murthy, received Best Documentary Feature honors, and Annapurna Sriram’s “F*CKTOYS” received Best New Directors Feature. Chrystal Grainger, Tom Pino, and Colleen Francis’ original song “The Weight” from the film “FAITHFUL DEFENDERS” earned the inaugural Stacy Widelitz Music in Film Award.
In the Academy Award® qualifying short film categories, “BEN’S SISTER,” directed by Emma Weinswig, was named Best Narrative Short, “RAT ROD,” directed by Carly and Jared Jakins, received the Best Documentary Short award and “ORDINARY LIFE,” directed by Yoriko Mizushiri, was named Best Animated Short.
Additionally, “OPRYLAND, USA: A CIRCLE BROKEN,” directed by Brandon Vestal, was awarded Best Tennessee Feature, and “YAJÑOPAVĪTA,” directed by Ford Cowan and Rahul Koul, received Best Tennessee Short. Screenwriting competition winners include: Kezmit White’s “HER WORD” named Best Drama Feature Script; Corbin Eaton and Michael Bentley’s “SNAKE OIL” and Missy Hernandez's “I DON’T DREAM IN SPANISH ANYMORE” earned Best Comedy and Best Horror Feature Script honors, respectively; the Best Tennessee Writer was awarded to Briana Cox for “TO THE FAMILY OF VERLEAN BANKS;” and additional honors for scripts were awarded in categories including Best Short Script, Best Half Hour Pilot Script and Best Hour Pilot Script.
Juries in each festival category named their best films and honorable mentions for the 2025 Nashville Film Festival during an awards ceremony held at the Hilton Nashville Green Hills on Sunday, September 21, hosted by Nashville Film Festival Director of Programming Lauren Thelen. Winners of the Short Documentary, Short Narrative and Short Animation competitions are eligible for Academy Award® consideration. The complete list of film and script award winners can be found below.
“This year’s festival showcased an extraordinary range of voices, visions and stories from around the world and right here in Tennessee,” said Lauren Thelen, NashFilm’s Programming Director. “Our award winners represent the bold creativity, technical excellence and emotional depth that make film such a powerful art form. We’re thrilled to honor these filmmakers and screenwriters, and we look forward to seeing the impact their work will have well beyond our festival.”
The 56th Nashville Film Festival winners are as follows:
- Stacy Widelitz Music in Film Award: “The Weight” from FAITHFUL DEFENDERS | Music and Lyrics by Chrystal Grainger, Tim Pino and Colleen Francis
- Best Narrative Feature: CACTUS PEARS | Dir. Rohan Kanawade
- Best Documentary Feature: THE GAS STATION ATTENDANT | Dir. Karla Murthy
- Best Music Documentary Feature: MATTER OF TIME | Dir. Matt Finlin
- Best New Directors Feature: F*CKTOYS | Dir. Annapurna Sriram
- Best Tennessee Feature: OPRYLAND, USA: A CIRCLE BROKEN | Dir. Brandon Vestal
- Best Narrative Short: BEN’S SISTER | Dir. Emma Weinswig
- Best Documentary Short: RAT ROD | Dir. Carly Jakins and Jared Jakins
- Best Animated Short: ORDINARY LIFE | Dir. Yoriko Mizushiri
- Best 'Edge' Short: LLOYD-WONG, UNFINISHED | Dir. Leslie Loksi Chan
- Best Graveyard Shift Short: STOMACH BUG | Dir. Matty Crawford
- Best Tennessee Short: YAJÑOPAVĪTA | Dir. Ford Cowan and Rahul Koul
- Best Tennessee Student Short: HAIL MARY | Dir. Zachary Fields, Carter Coleman and Dylan Stanley
- Best NextGen Student Short: TRIFE | Dir. Christian Yosef
- Best Music Video: EAST OF THE SUN | Dir. Willow Nichols
- Best Episodic: BULLDOZER | Created by Joanna Leeds
The Nashville Film Festival Screenplay Competition winners are as follow:
- Best Drama Feature Script: HER WORD | Written by Kezmit White
- Best Comedy Feature Script: SNAKE OIL | Written by Corbin Eaton and Michael Bentley
- Best Horror Feature Script: I DON’T DREAM IN SPANISH ANYMORE | Written by Missy Hernandez
- Best Genre Feature Script: THE LOVE OF NICK CHOPER | Written by Kavis Peak
- Best Short Script: HOOK ‘EM HORNS | Written by Tyler Totten
- Best Half Hour Pilot Script: ACCESS VILLAGE | Written by Brian Koukol
- Best Hour Pilot Script: TALES OF THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC | Written by Patrick Groff
- Best Tennessee Writer: TO THE FAMILY OF VERLEAN BANKS | Written by Briana Cox
The 56th Nashville Film Festival continues through Wednesday, September 24, with screenings of the award-winning films playing at Regal Green Hills on Monday, September 22, in a “Best of the Fest” series. This year’s event closes with a 6 p.m. screening at the historic Belcourt Theatre of Bill Condon’s “KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN,” a Technicolor thriller following a political prisoner named Valentín sharing a cell with a man named Molina as Molina recounts a Hollywood musical plot, and a closing night party celebration at Electric Jane.
About the Nashville Film Festival
The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm) is a globally recognized nonprofit organization and cultural event presenting the best in world cinema, American independent films and documentaries by veteran masters, up-and-coming directors, and first-time filmmakers. With Academy Award® qualifying status, the Nashville Film Festival celebrates innovation, music and the many voices of the human spirit through the art of film. Originally founded in 1969, the Nashville Film Festival is one of the first film festivals in the United States and will host its 56th festival from September 18-24, 2025. For a glimpse of what to expect at this year’s event, view this video to see highlights from the 2024 festival. For more information, visit www.nashfilm.org.
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