Once upon a time, there was a woman named Glenna. Everyday, she would bring platters of raw meat and cigarettes to her adult son Alex who lived in the basement. 

But Alex wasn’t like everyone else. Alex had tentacles and sharp teeth and lashed out at anyone who intruded into his basement lair. 

One day, Alex devoured Glenna’s husband. Because of that, Alex developed a taste for flesh and Glenna was forced to go out and find human victims to feed Alex’s new desire. 

Despite Glenna’s love for her son, she could not go through with killing and let his first victim go. So the police came and Alex, desperate and wounded, took his own life.

Poor Glenna

When her mutant son develops a taste for human flesh, a timid mother must find a victim to satisfy his ravenous appetite.

While conducting an exhaustive search for the right employee, a weary employer discovers that his latest applicant is a robot and must take him out before he is killed.

I'm Not a Robot

Desperate to find the perfect new employee during a job interview, a weary office manager discovers that his new recruit is not what he seems.

Inside a fruit-themed burlesque bar, time and space take a backseat to poetry and proverb.

With Pleasure

On a dark and stormy night, Robert and May are settling into a romantic evening on a getaway in upstate New York when they hear what sounds like a break-in happening downstairs. Robert goes downstairs to see what's going on. While he's downstairs, May hears noises and sees the door open on its own, followed by the sound of footsteps in the room, a rocking chair rocking with nobody in it and a creepy old music box opening. When Robert returns, he doesn't remember anything that happened downstairs. May tells him what happened while he was gone and the two decide it would be best to go back down together. The pair exit the room and we hear all kinds of sounds, crashes, screams, etc. Then Robert returns to the room alone, his face gashed and bruised. He begins to see the same exact things that may had described seeing in the room when he had initially gone down to investigate and realizes it's a pattern. He takes notes to keep a log of the discovery. Suddenly he hears May's screams outside the room, and opens the door to find May being held up in a doorway down the hall by some demonic force. He charges out of the room after her and the door closes yet again. We hear more noises, crashes and screams until this time, May, bruised with tattered clothes, returns alone. She finds the journal and discovers the pattern Robert was talking about, but this time when the door opens, there's a ghoulish girl in the doorway repeating "I don't remember." She floats into the room. May backs away terrified. Suddenly, it's as if the ghost girl sees her. The ghoulish figure turns to May, her mouth opens and a bone chilling scream echoes through the room. May falls back against the wall, but when she looks up the girl is gone, and once again, Robert re-enters the room. Robert once again doesn't remember what happened downstairs, but this time he is carrying a key, he just has no idea how he got it or what it is. While May is scolding him for not believing in ghosts, Robert notices the music box. They realize the little key might be able to unlock it. They put the key in the box and voila, it opens. The music is discordant and terrifying but when it plays, they hear footsteps approaching the door. Robert sees there's an inscription that reads "to my loving daughter, my you find comfort here even when I'm gone" and he and May deduce that this must be from the ghost girl's mother, who died trying to protect her from her abusive father. Robert decides firmly that the music box is good and the footsteps lead to a knock at the door. May doesn't want to answer it. Robert moves towards the door, compelled somehow by the power of the force behind the door. He is about to open it when May smashes the music box. The lights go out and May explains that the music box said "Love Daddy" below the inscription, meaning it must have been from the abusive father. At this moment the door creaks open and the ghost girl appears again, looking more ghostly and less scary. She tells them they must come with her so she can show them something. May doesn't want to do it, but Robert insists that in horror movies, when a not scary ghost insists that they're going to show you something, it's probably important "vision stuff" that will ultimately lead to them getting out of this mess. May agrees and they leave the room, following the ghost. The door closes and we hear what sounds like the most exciting part of any horror movie, except we don't get to see it, because we're stuck in the room. The door opens one last time and Robert and May enter. They still don't remember what happened. Suddenly the ghost girl appears in the rocking chair, looking radiant and fresh. She thanks them for saving her and says that she must pass on now, evaporating into thin air. Robert and May don't know what they did, but feel like they must have "done it" whatever it was. The lights go back on and phone service returns. To make sure everything is back to normal, Robert steps outside the room once more. He steps back in and remembers being outside the door, meaning the curse is broken. They leave the house in a hurry because who would want to sleep there after that, and they probably shouldn't be taking vacations anyway.

What Happened Downstairs?

While staying at an Airbnb in upstate New York, Robert and May find themselves in a haunted house. The problem is, they can't remember anything that happens downstairs. Strap in for a horror comedy that bends genre, while embracing its core.

Two hitmen bury a man in the desert during Christmas. However a short while later, one of them sees him walking around town. The hitmen must find the dead man and kill him for good this time.

Shallow Graves

Two hitmen bury a man in the desert, but when he starts walking around town, things get complicated.

A dark night. A car in a parking lot. Three science-freak geeks are the only survivors of an undetermined catastrophe. An opportunity to start Humanity from scratch. But between them differences arise about when to remove the helmet that serves as protection. Natural selection says that only those who adapt will survive. What if humans have become stupid?

Survivers

Natural selection says that only those who adapt will survive. What if humans have become stupid?

In 1952 while working on a nuclear test site, John discovers a small irradiated egg. As his boss uses John as a hasty human test subject in a fallout shelter, the egg hatches to reveal a mutated lizard that’s hungry and growing larger. Now John must work quickly to keep the atomic spawn from destroying his shelter while the threat of radioactive fallout looms outside.

The Atomic Spawn

On a nuclear test site in 1952, a lonely worker befriends an irradiated lizard.

Graveyard Shift Shorts: Time Is A Funny Thing

United States of America

Shorts: Time Is A Funny Thing

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A selection of festival films will be available from Monday, September 22nd through Monday, September 29th 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 or are included at no additional cost for certain badge holders.  For more information on accessing and optimizing Virtual Cinema content, please visit https://watch.nashfilm.org/help or contact festival@nashfilm.org.  

Welcome! The 56th 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.