Nashville Film Festival will screen more than 150 titles

More than 150 movies will screen across the city over the next week as part of the Nashville Film Festival.

Why it matters: The festival is a celebration of every genre and style, and will include showings of documentaries on big-name music acts, high-octane thrillers and Oscar-worthy dramas.

• Nashville-area creatives can also use the festival as a networking opportunity. Discussion panels featuring industry leaders will examine trends in filmmaking, screenwriting and musical scores.

What they're saying: "The diversity in this year's lineup, from comedy to drama to suspense, ensures the 55th festival has something for every film aficionado," programming director Lauren Thelen said in a statement.

State of play: Events begin Thursday and last through Sept. 25. Film screenings will take place across several theaters, including The Belcourt, Regal Green Hills and The Franklin Theatre.

Zoom in: Three documentaries that bookend the festival are Music City friendly.

• The opening night double feature includes "Rebel Country," a topical doc examining contemporary country music culture in Nashville. It also explores the roiling debate about racism and diversity within the genre.
• "Devo," a documentary on the 1980s rock band famous for the song "Whip It," is also screening on opening night.
• The festival will close with "This Is A Film About The Black Keys," which is (you guessed it) a documentary about the rock duo that relocated to Nashville .

👀 What we're watching: The festival's "centerpiece presentation" is the hotly anticipated comedy-drama "Saturday Night," which is based on the behind-the-scenes turmoil that took place in the 90 minutes before the first episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 1975.

• The film, directed by Jason Reitman, is already generating Oscar buzz. Its stars include Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons and an ensemble of promising up-and-comers playing "SNL" legends like Lorne Michaels, Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase.
• Variety praised the film's "superb ensemble, sizzling script and expert craftsmanship."

If you go: Festival passes and tickets to individual screenings are available online .

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