It’s been a great week so far for the Nashville Film Festival. It becomes apparent that, more and more every year, our little film fest is growing up, and this year’s festivities (and the beautifully chosen lineup of films), have been no exception. We’ve seen eye-opening docs like “Manufactured Landscapes,” “The Devil Came on Horseback” and “Kamp Katrina” (filmmakers David and Ashley were nice enough to sit and chat with us about and their first doc, “Mardi Gras: Made In China” is a DOC office favorite). We also had the opportunity to see the work of filmmakers like Joe Swanberg, Greta Gerwig, and Ry Russo-Young, who made my personal favorite of this year’s festival—a film that I’ve heard folks buzzing about since our visit to SXSW in March—“Hannah Takes the Stairs.” Ry’s directorial debut “Orphans” also played our fest this year, and tonight is the fest’s first screening of filmmaker Craig Zobel’s “Great World of Sound” as well as a film that comes highly recommended by many folks and uniquely combines documentary footage with its fictional narrative. It’s been inspiring to talk to these filmmakers, and I’ve realized just how much the documentary medium has influenced their aesthetic and approach to movie making. I’ve heard many of my favorite names, from Maysles to Wiseman bandied about, and I’ve been left with an overwhelming “god bless us, everyone” sort of feeling that the future of film is in good hands. Many props and thanks to all the folks at the film festival who’ve made this a very enjoyable week and to the filmmakers who have given us a few moments of their time and insight into the creation of their work. Hope to see you at the closing night event.