The Event: nashville Film Festival Story by JT Landry April 2007. More than 20,000 attendees, 215 films, 119 filmmakers, 44 actors and documentary subjects, 15 panelists, 32 jurors, 44 represented countries, and eight world film premieres. In Nashville. That's right. Every April, filmmakers and film enthusiasts from across the world converge at the Regal Cinemas Green Hills 16 theater for middle Tennessee's own Nashville Film Festival (NaFF). And while 2007 proved to be perhaps the most successful year in festival history yet, this year's festival, beginning April 17 and running through April 24, is shaping up to be even better, with a slate of exciting film screenings, question and answer sessions with filmmakers, panel discussions, events and parties. The Nashville Film Festival has a rich and impressive history beginning in 1969, when the festival made its debut as the Sinking Creek Film Festival. In the 39 years since, the festival has emerged as not only the longest-running film festival in the South, but the third-longest running in the country. It has established a highly respected reputation along the way for presenting wide variety of independent films, along with related panels and events.    Those related events and panels are perhaps what make the Nashville Film Festival so special. Rather than simply screening the films, the festival consistently strives to give attendees a full, well-rounded, immersion in the subject matter of the films, often reaching out to various community groups to create special events that further enhance the filmgoing experience, turning the festival into a truly, community inclusive, interactive happening. “The heart of the experience is the film itself, but then we look for partnerships with other arts and business organizations as well as community groups to create something special,” explains Festival Executive Director Sallie Mayne. “The festival attendees are not merely coming to just watch a film, but to experience and participate in an exciting event.” For instance, at last year's festival, the film The Last Bandoneon, a documentary chronicling the main instrument utilized in Tango music, was accompanied by a Tango & A Movie reception featuring an appearance by the filmmaker Alejandro Saderman as well as a live tango presentation presented in partnership with Tango Nashville. This year proves to be no different, with exciting experiences accompanying a diverse slate of films that have been carefully selected from more than 1,600 entries by more than 100,000 filmmakers. According to Brian Gordon, artistic director of the festival, the festival’s program has been selected and organized based on a few key ideas. “It’s purpose is to create a diverse selection encompassing everything from purely entertaining films to more challenging films, while consistently looking for ways that the festival can reach out to different communities in the area through selected films,” Gordan explains. What to expect this year… Highlights abound among the feature films, documentaries, and short films being shown at this year's festival. Kicking things off on April 17 is the Opening Night screening of Steven Schachter’s The Deal, a new comedy about Hollywood, starring William H. Macy, Meg Ryan, and LL Cool J. Other feature films of note include Crossing the Dust, directed by a Kurdish filmmaker and filmed in Northern Iraq. The Festival hopes to reach out to middle Tennessee's fast-growing Kurdish community with this tale of two Kurdish rebel soldiers who find an abandoned five-year-old Iraqi boy and set off to find his parents. August the First is an award-winning film that tells the story of what happens when a long-absent Nigerian father of an African American family suddenly shows up at his youngest son's college graduation. First-time director Lanre Olabisi will be attending the screening.    Non-music documentaries showing this year include American Teen, a film by Nanette Burstein chronicling seniors’ 2005-2006 school year at Warsaw Community High School in Indiana. The film was a sensation at the Sundance Film Festival. Jump!, in the spirit of the smash spelling bee documentary Spellbound, trails jump rope contestants across the U.S. as they progress through the regional and national jump roping championship. The screening should be made extra special by the appearance of director Helen Hood Scheer and a possible appearance by one of the jump rope teams featured in the movie. Mountain Top Removal is an environmental documentary with a soundtrack featuring songs by local favorite, Jim Lauderdale. Of course, music documentaries are in no short supply at this year’s festival. Anita O'Day - The Life of a Jazz Singer covers the life of one of jazz's finest female vocalists. The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice is a bio of Wanda Jackson, the First Lady of Rockabilly. Throw Down Your Heart lets you journey alongside famed musician Bela Fleck as he travels through the African continent and connects with musicians in various countries. Closing out the festival this year is The Wrecking Crew, a documentary about a group of legendary musicians who served as session players on a slew of 1960s hits in L.A. including songs by Nancy Sinatra, Herb Alpert, the Monkees, the Beach Boys, and numerous Phil Spector tracks. The film features interviews with some of the musicians including Glen Campbell and the artists they backed including Brian Wilson and Mickey Dolenz among others. Members of the Crew will be at the showing and a big concert and party is planned to coincide with the screening. These films are just a taste of what to expect at this year’s festival, one that is on target to be the most successful and enriching yet. “I’m extremely pleased with the strong mix of films by world-class masters, established USA indie filmmakers and new works by up-and-coming filmmakers from around the world,” Gordon says. “Our World Cinema and Documentary sections, especially, show an increasing amount of artistic depth and filmmaking talent. Fans will find plenty to rejoice in this year.” Both Gordon and Mayne are very pleased with the success of the festival and optimistic about this year’s event. “I think with this festival we've truly hit on a combination that excites filmmakers, filmgoers and the entire middle Tennessee community,” Mayne adds. “The interest in this year’s festival started when 2007's ended, and we’re all ready to see the potential of this powerful and incredibly fun event realized.”