The Nashville Film Festival award winners have been announced, and they include The Black Sea and Sugarcane.

Directed by Crystal Moselle and Derrick B. Harden, The Black Sea won Best Narrative Feature. Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s Sugarcane won Best Documentary Feature.

Other winners include Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted by Isaac Gale and Ryan Olson, which won Best Music Documentary, and Titus Kaphar’s Exhibiting Forgiveness won Best New Directors Feature.

In the shorts categories, “Dreams Like Paper Boats” directed by Samuel Suffren won Best Narrative Short, while “Shotplayer” directed by Sam Shainberg won Best Documentary Short award and “Wander to Wonder” directed by Nina Gantz won Best Animated Short. 

Winners of the Screenplay Competition include A.D. Smith’s R.E.G.G.I.N. for Best Drama Feature Script; Elizabeth Baquet’s Bass Champs and Jason Kaleko’s Edgeplay for Best Comedy and Best Horror Feature Script respectively; and the Best Tennessee Writer went to Phillip Charles for I Am. 

“The festival has been an incredible journey of creativity and celebration leading up to the highly anticipated awards ceremony, and we’re excited to honor the winning films and visionary creators selected from over 150 outstanding entries at our 55th festival,” said Director of Programming Lauren Thelen.

“For over 50 years, we’ve proudly supported the success of filmmakers, and we remain committed to fostering connections within Nashville and beyond, continuing to inspire and champion the creative community for years to come.” 

“We are so proud to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the filmmakers and screenwriters at the 55th Nashville Film Festival,” said Jason Padgitt, executive director of NashFilm. “It’s inspiring to experience such a vibrant collection of people and stories that are shaping and enriching our city’s cultural landscape.” 

The winners were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Hilton Nashville Green Hills on Sunday, Sept. 22 hosted by Thelen. Winners of the Short Documentary, Short Narrative and Short Animation competitions are now qualified for Academy Award consideration. 

See the full winners’ list below and find out more about the festival here.

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55th Nashville Film Festival Award Winners, Including Sugarcane and The Black Sea

Best Narrative Feature: THE BLACK SEA | Dir. Crystal Moselle, Derrick B. Harden

Best Documentary Feature: SUGARCANE | Dir. Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie

Best Music Documentary Feature: SWAMP DOGG GETS HIS POOL PAINTED | Dir. Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson

Best New Directors Feature: EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS | Dir. Titus Kaphar

Best Tennessee Feature: A MAN CALLED HURT: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT | Dir. Jamison Stalworth, Alex Oliver

Best Narrative Short: DREAMS LIKE PAPER BOATS | Dir.  Samuel Suffren

Best Documentary Short: SHOTPLAYER | Dir.  Sam Shainberg

Best Animated Short: WANDER TO WONDER | Dir. Nina Gantz

Best ‘Edge’ Short: MAST-DEL | Dir. Maryam Tafakory

Best Graveyard Shift Short: UNIVERSE 25 | Dir.  David Tappan

Best Tennessee Short: FIRST NIGHT | Dir. Haneol Lee

Best Tennessee Student Short: WHAT SCARES A DINOSAUR | Dir. Tanner McAfee

Best NextGen Student Short: DON’T YOU DARE FILM ME NOW | Dir. Cade Featherstone

Best Music Video: CHAPPELL ROAN – CASUAL | Dir. Hadley Hillel

Best Episodic: NEO-DOME | Created by Matt Pfeffer and Mark Pfeffer

The Nashville Film Festival Screenplay Competition winners are as follow:

Best Drama Feature Script: R.E.G.G.I.N. | Written by A.D. Smith

Best Comedy Feature Script: BASS CHAMPS | Written by Elizabeth Baquet

Best Horror Feature Script: EDGEPLAY | Written by Jason Kaleko

Best Genre Feature Script: THE MOST MARVELOUS MAN IN THE WORLD | Written by Khris Burton and Colin Scott

Best Short Script: HOOD | Dir. Dante Desmond

Best Half Hour Pilot Script: ANDI LAKE HAS THINGS TO DO | Written by Teri Elam

Best Hour Pilot Script: DISPLACEMENT | Written by Toby Marks

Best Tennessee Writer: I AM | Written by Phillip Charles 

Main Image: A still from Sugarcane, Nat Geo Documentary Films