Thousands Support NaFF and Celebrate Opening of New Theatre

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – December 21, 2011 – Thousands of filmgoers took advantage of $2 movie tickets, popcorn and soft drinks on Red Carpet Day at the new Regal Cinemas Opry Mills Stadium 20 & IMAX in November, raising $17,000 for the Nashville Film Festival (NaFF). The Festival was one of three charities designated by the Regal Entertainment Group to benefit from the week-long Grand Opening celebration for the new theater, which replaced the one destroyed by the historic Nashville flood in May 2010.

Film fans chose from more than a dozen popular films on Red Carpet Day, including special NaFF-programmed screenings of Golden Globe nominees "The Artist," "My Week With Marilyn," starring Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branaugh, and 2011 NaFF winners "Weekend" (Bridgestone Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature) and "The First Grader" (Southwest Airlines Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature).

The theatre officially opened on Friday, November 18 with first-run features including "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt. 1" and "Happy Feet 2" in IMAX 3D.
 
"We can’t thank Regal enough for including us in the celebration and for Clear Channel’s media sponsorship of the Red Carpet Day," said Ted Crockett, interim executive director for NaFF. "It’s thrilling for Middle Tennessee to have a theatre back in Opry Mills, and Regal has spared no expense in creating an outstanding film-going experience. We’re proud to call Regal our partner, and excited to work with them again when we bring the 2012 edition of the Festival to the Regal Green Hills Cinema 18 April 19-26.”

Nashville Film Festival is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and receives funding from the NEA, the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, The Brooks Fund, The Frist Foundation and The Memorial Foundation.
 
Nashville Film Festival
Nashville Film Festival (NaFF) is a cultural arts institution that inspires, educates and entertains through an annual celebration of the art of motion pictures, year-round events and community outreach. Founded in 1969 by Mary Jane Coleman as the Sinking Creek Film Celebration, the organization’s signature eight-day April festival, now known as the Nashville Film Festival presented by Nissan, is the longest running film festival in the South. It also ranks among the most prestigious, continually garnering accolades and notice from a wide range of entertainment and trade publications, including the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal online, MovieMaker Magazine, Film Festival Today, IndieWire, Variety, Billboard, New York and Script Magazine. Since 2004, the Festival has more than doubled its attendance to almost 26,000 and on average screens more than 250 films from 48 nations around the globe each year. In 2012, the festival marks its 43rd year. It is hosted at the Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 in Nashville, Tennessee.

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