The 56th Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm) announced the award winners, with Rohan Kanawade’s semi-autobiographical feature debut Cactus Pears winning Best Narrative Feature, and The Gas Station Attendant directed by Karla Murthy, winning Best Documentary Feature.
Other top prizes went to Matt Finlin’s Matter of Time for the Best Music Documentary Feature award; 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 (2025) 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.
“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 continues through Wednesday, September 24, closing with 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.
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
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