The winners for the feature film awards at the 2016 Nashville Film Festival has been announced! The ceremony is the culmination of the 2016 festival, which represented 58 films selected for competition out of over 1,200 submissions.  Top awards went to Magallanes, SEED: The Untold Story, The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, Transpecos, Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows, The Lure and Josephine. 

Narrative Feature

For telling a contemporary story about the abuse of power, the struggle for gender equality, the price of silence and the grace of redemption, the Bridgestone Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature was presented to, Magallanes, directed by Salvador del Solar.

• Honorable Mention: Free in Deed, directed by Jake Mahaffy
• Special Jury Prize – Actor: David Harewood in Free in Deed
• Special Jury Prize – Actress: Dorka Gryllus in Demimonde
• Special Jury Prize for Acting Ensemble: Magallanes
• Special Jury Prize for Screenplay: Eva Neymann for Song of Songs
• Special Jury Prize for Music: The Lure

Documentary Feature

For illuminating the beauty of our connection to the land the Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize was presented to, SEED: The Untold Story, directed by Taggart Siegel and Jon Betz.

• Grand Jury Prize (tie): The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, directed by Laura Dunn
• Honorable Mention: The Bandit, directed by Jesse Moss
• Special Jury Prize for Badass Filmmaking: Hooligan Sparrow, directed by Nanfu Wang

New Director Feature

For its complex characters, use of landscape and the intensity of its ethical conflicts, the New Directors Grand Jury Prize was presented to,Transpecos, directed by Greg Kwedar.

• Honorable Mention: The Fits, directed by Anna Rose Holmer
• Special Jury Prize – Actor: Gabriel Luna in Transpecos
• Special Jury Prize – Actress: Brogan Ellis and Lauren McQueen in The Violators
• Special Jury Prize for Production Design: The Arbalest

Gibson Music Films/Music City Feature

For chronicling the rise, fall and renaissance of an R&B artist entrepreneur who never quit the hustle and finally got the recognition he deserved, the Gibson Music Films/Music City Grand Jury Prize was presented to,  Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows, directed by Rob Hatch-Miller.

• Honorable Mention: Colin Hay – Waiting for My Real Life, directed by Nate Gowtham and Aaron Faulls
• Special Jury Prize for Best Underdog Story: Sidemen: Long Road to Glory, directed by Scott Rosenbaum

Graveyard Shift Feature

For being everything from a cutting edge musical, to an emotionally faithful Hans Christian Anderson adaptation that would delight Fosse and Fassbinder equally, the Graveyard Shift Grand Jury Prize was presented to The Lure, directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska.

• Honorable Mention: Curtain, directed by Jaron Henrie-McCrea
• Special Jury Prize – Actor: Adrian Tofei in Be My Cat: A Film for Anne
• Special Jury Prize – Actress: Marta Mazurek in The Lure
• Special Jury Prize for Originality and Exceptional Editing: Curtain, directed by Jaron Henrie-McCrea

Tennessee First Feature

For presenting a concise, powerful portrayal of a woman in her last-ditch efforts to find her husband in the bleak final days of war, featuring incredible performances and production values, the Tennessee First Grand Jury Prizewas presented to, Josephine, directed by Rory Feek

Best Original Song

• Winner: “Drive It Like You Stole It,” from Sing Street.

Sponsored Awards

• Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Award: Magallanes, directed by Salvador del Solar
• Lipscomb Prize of the Ecumenical Jury:
• Best LGBT Film: Hunky Dory, directed by Michael Curtis Johnson
• Steven Goldmann Visionary Award: The Lure, directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska

Southwest Airlines Audience Awards Winners

• Special Presentations: Sing Street, directed by John Carney
• Bridgestone Narrative Competition: (three way tie) Demimonde, directed by Attila Szász, Hunky Dory, directed by Michael Curtis Johnson andMagallanes, directed by Salvador del Solar
• New Directors Competition: Transpecos, directed by Greg Kwedar
• Gibson Music Films/Music City: Colin Hay – Waiting for My Real Life, directed by Nate Gowtham and Aaron Faulls
• Tennessee First: Josephine, directed by Rory Feek
• Tennessee Horizon Audience Awards for Best Short:
  • First Place: The Saurus, directed by Drew Maynard
  • Second Place: The Unbeliever, directed by Will M. Holland
  • Third Place: Three Finger, directed by Paul D. Hart and Everyday Yeti, directed by Motke Dapp
  • Fifth Place: The Van, directed by John McAmis