Nashville Film Festival Established 1969

Brandyn Payne is Director of Talent Management at Vanguard Health Systems. With expertise in building nationally-recognized employee cultures, she specializes in the development of executive visibility, events, company intranet, and social media strategy as well as voice and cadence for internal communications.   Formerly, she was Director of Colleague Development, Communications and Culture at Healthways, Inc.

Ms. Payne earned her degree at Vanderbilt University, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale and Harding University. HHards

Kelly Frey, J.D., is an attorney at Dickinson Wright where he represents Fortune 1000 companies with respect to corporate transactions and compliance as well as indie film companies shooting in Tennessee.  He is the author of Frey on Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions and has published books and screenplays, winning several film festival awards. Frey is a fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation, and the World Technology Network. He was named “contributor of the year” for the Nashville Bar Journal for three years.  He provides pro-bono representation of artists through the Nashville Arts and Business Council and is a member of the Tennessee Screenwriters Association. He also assists local animal shelters with the foster care of abandoned animals.

Cynthia Tyler is Director of the Office of Licensure, Tennessee Department of Mental Health. She served as the Legal Divison Chair (2007-2009) of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.  She also served on the President’s Task for on Criminal Justice and Mental Health. She is a member of the  National Association of Certified Fraud Investigators;

Active in the Nashville public service and arts communities, Cynthia has served as on the WPLN Community Advisory Board and as a Grants Panel member of the Nashville Arts Commission.

A long-term NaFF boardmember, Ms. Tyler provides a voice for the public not otherwise affiliated with the film, music or entertainment business.

An account executive at Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, one of the world’s leading music management companies since 2005, Taryn has worked with Frank Bumstead’s team since 2007, helping businesses and individuals accomplish their financial goals.

Taryn has been a member of the Junior League of Nashville for the past four years.  She is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Taryn is enthusiastic about bringing diverse cultural experiences to Nashville.

 Tyler is past president of the board and one of the principal attorneys at Graffam Middleton, a Nashville law association specializing in the music and entertainment industry.  Tyler represents both artists and industry clients creative matters concerning contract, intellectual property, and corporate law.  Overall, Tyler is an active participant and passionate advocate for the local music, film and art scene.  Formerly a singer and songwriter herself, she always enjoyed the creative and business components of the music business and ultimately decided to do both. In addition to serving as President of the board for NaFF for two consecutive years, Tyler is the Chairperson of Arts Immersion, the fundraiser associated with the Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts, a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the Nashville Bar Association, a volunteer member of Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts, and a member of Women Rock for the Cure. Originally from Atlanta, she earned her BS from Wake Forest University in 2000 and her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law in 2004.  She practiced entertainment law in Atlanta, Georgia before moving to Nashville in November 2006, and she is currently an active member of both the Georgia and Tennessee bar associations.

Yuri is President & CEO of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, founder of La Noticia Newspaper and Y&K Entertainment, a film production and media consulting company. He served as the Chamber’s Chairman of the Board from 2004 to 2006.

Cunza is an active member of the Nashville Rotary Club, Sister Cities, District Energy System DES, Historic Nashville, Inc., and Nashville Cares. He was named to the 2009, ’10 and ‘11 “In Charge” list by the Nashville Post which cites business and community leaders ‘who are writing Music City’s success story’.

Originally from Puru, Cunza trained in acting at the International Theater Institute (ITI-UNESCO) and Peruvian Theater Center before moving to Nashville and completing a B.F.A in Film Directing from Watkins College of Art & Design in 2003.

As Creative Media & Marketing Director at Starstruck Entertainment, Justin oversees the social media and marketing efforts for Reba McEntire, Kelly Clarkson & Blake Shelton.  Previously, he was the Manager of Web Services & Marketing for Big Machine Records & The Valory Music Co. where he was responsible for social media and marketing for the label and its entire roster of artists including Taylor Swift, Trisha Yearwood, Jewel and many others.  McIntosh began his music industry career as the Creative Services Director for Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc..

Justin is a member of  the Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music Association, Belmont University Young Alumni Association and vice-president of the board of directors of Pull-Tight Players Theater in Franklin, TN.  He is a 2005 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Belmont University.  Along with his marketing expertise, he brings to the Festival a great passion for film and performing arts and visual arts.

Bob is, Owner of Ground Zero, a video post-production company on Nashville’s Music Row, has been a member of the NaFF board since 2010.  Ground Zero, founded in 1996, provides editorial, color correction, DVD BlueRay Authoring and animation services for the television, feature film and entertainment industries. His work can be seen in CMT’s “Crossroads”, Great American Country’s “Day Jobs” and on motion pictures such as “Facing The Giants”, “Jess & Moss”, “Super Zeroes” and “Blue Like Jazz”.  Previously he was general manager of  StagePost. Jackson is a member of CMA and NARAS.  He was educated at Temple University in Philadelphia. He believes the Film Festival is vital to Nashville because it is the premier platform for Tennessee film artists to exhibit and offers Nashville exposure to works from around the world.

Jim is Founder and President of Whizbang, Inc., a company that licenses music for use in films, television shows, advertising, and games. He has been an executive at Sony Music Publishing and Arista Records as well as a musician, songwriter and producer.

Scherer has been involved with music elements of the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals  and brings an understanding of the importance of preserving the communal experience.  He is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, was in the 1996 class of Leadership Music, and is a popular moderator and panelist for music and film events.

In December of 2011 Governor Bill Haslam named Bob Raines executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. Since he joined the TFEMC in 2002, he has successfully negotiated Tennessee-based film, television and music projects and has represented the state across the country and around the world. In addition to his work with the Nashville Film Festival, he works with other state wide organizations  which include Film Nashville- FILMCOM,  Nashville Screenwriters Conference, International Black Film Festival,  City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture and the Southern Appalachian International Film Festival. Raines holds a degree in Business Administration from East Tennessee State University and is accredited with the International Association for Management Education.  Raines is an avid sailor and traveler.

As Southwest Airlines Community Affairs & Grassroots Manager, Ana helps build strategic relationships with nonprofit, business, and political organizations to positively impact the diverse communities Southwest serves. Ana launched her career with Southwest in 1995 and has moved through a variety of roles, including Reservations and Marketing. As Alumnus of the Corporate Culture Committee, Ana enjoys spreading the Southwest Spirit to both Internal and External Customers across the country. She also enjoys blogging for “Nuts About Southwest,”the Company corporate blog.

Schwager is a member of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, the Frist Center for the Arts, the Country Music Hall of Fame, CABLE, and the Nashville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.   When not traveling for work, she enjoys traveling with friends and family, photography and has been known to sing a little Karaoke from time to time.

As past president of the Nashville Film Festival (2005-2006), Bret is a video producer with credits at Great American Country (GAC) in Nashville where he produced  the Top 20 Country Countdown, numerous specials for the network, and most recently the Noteworthy At The Opry series. He is co-founder of High Five Entertainment, where he produced a wide variety of music specials for HBO, PBS, NBC, CBS, Speed, TNN, CMT, GMC, etc.

Wolcott is a member of the CMA, ACM, Leadership Music 2007 (the best class ever), The Frist Center and the Belcourt Theater. He won a Dove Award in 1969. He is a graduate of the University Of Southern California with a Bachelor’s degree in Letters, Arts, and Sciences majoring in film production.

He is passionate about the Film Festival, saying, “It is one of few arts organizations that has something for everyone in the community, and, most importantly, makes a positive impact on the community.”