It’s that time of year again. Summer is fading, fall is just around the corner and Halloween is already creeping into our thoughts (well, my thoughts anyway). But before the pumpkins and ghouls take over, there’s another annual tradition to enjoy: The 2025 Nashville Film Festival, taking place from September 18 – 24.

Now in its 56th year, the festival continues its tradition of blending film, music and culture into one of the city’s most dynamic events. Spread across Nashville’s most iconic art venues, this year’s lineup features nearly 140 films from creators around the globe, alongside the Q&A sessions, panels and late-night parties that fans have come to expect. And if you’ve never been to Nashville, Tennessee, you haven’t truly experienced how a city can throw a party.

As I scrolled through this year’s lineup (you can check it out yourself, if you’d like), I started building my own must-see list. Naturally, I gave the Graveyard Shorts section a careful look, since those are almost always my favorites. From there, I drifted into the Centerpiece Presentations and Narrative Features, hunting for anything that scratched my itch for horror, mystery or even the occasional feel-good story (Yes, I know that’s a wildly eclectic mix.). Before long, my wish list had grown longer than expected.

Looking back, I realized many of my picks actually shared a common thread: FAMILY.

Not every film on my list ties into this theme, but a surprising number of them do. And when I say “family,” I don’t just mean the one you’re born into. Family can be the friends you choose, the bonds forged by military vets or even the connections that come with new marriages. As a single dad, I sometimes wrestle with the fear that I’m not giving my daughter the kind of family she deserves. But then I remind myself of those broader definitions of “family,” and in that light, I realize we’re doing just fine.

Alright then, let’s dive into the films that, for me, shine a light on the many shapes and meanings of “family.”

Color Book

Color Book tells the story of Lucky (William Catlett), a father navigating life after the recent loss of his wife. Left to raise his son Mason (Jeremiah Alexander Daniels), who has Down syndrome, Lucky decides to bring a little joy back into their lives by taking Mason to a baseball game. What should be a simple outing quickly becomes a journey filled with setbacks, but the father-and-son duo press forward, determined to make it to the stadium together.

On premise alone, this feels like a portrait of what unconditional love for a child truly looks like. Lucky could easily let grief consume him, but he recognizes that Mason is grieving, too. Instead of surrendering to despair, he chooses resilience — not just for himself, but so his son never feels alone in that loss. Together, they find the strength to rise above it, proving that healing comes through love shared, not burdens carried alone.

CreatiVets

After serving in Iraq and witnessing the loss of his fellow service members, Richard Casper joined with Linda Tarrson to create CreatiVets, a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans heal through visual arts and music. Their mission is to ease the difficult transition from combat to civilian life and to fight against the high suicide rates among veterans. Director Nick Nanton’s documentary shines a spotlight on their work, giving voice to a message that desperately needs to be heard.

As I mentioned earlier, “family” isn’t always the one you’re born into. On the battlefield, bonds are forged so deeply that they feel like blood ties. Having endured the loss of too many of his brothers and sisters in arms, Richard discovered that by helping other veterans, he could also save himself from becoming another statistic. This film is a powerful testament to the unbreakable connections formed in service and the healing that comes from leaning on those bonds.

Omaha

Omaha follows the story of a single father (John Magaro) struggling with what to do with his family after tragedy strikes. When his home is foreclosed, he and his two children, Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and Charlie (Wyatt Solis), are left without a place to live. Determined to give his kids more than hardship, he takes them — and the family dog — on a cross-country road trip, opening their eyes to experiences they’ve never known. But as the journey unfolds, Ella slowly begins to realize that not everything is as it seems.

Directed by Cole Webley in his feature debut, from a script by Robert Machoain (The Killing of Two Lovers), the film has already drawn critical acclaim. Words like “heart-wrenching” and “soulful” appear again and again in early reviews. For me, the draw goes beyond the praise — it’s personal. As a father who has known how easily life can tilt toward hardship, this story feels like a mirror I can’t quite turn away from. Omaha is the kind of film I know will hurt to watch, yet it calls to me all the same.

Wednesdays with Gramps

DreamWorks steps into the animated shorts category at this year’s Nashville Film Festival with Wednesdays with Gramps. The film follows a teenager visiting his grandfather in an assisted living facility — what he assumes will be a dull, uneventful trip. But over the course of their time together, he discovers that he and his gramps share far more in common than he ever realized.

This short resonates with me on a deeply personal level. Just over a month ago, my mother moved into an assisted living center. While I still wrestle with whether I made the right decision for her, I also face the reality that my daughter and her Nana may not share the same closeness they once did. For years, my daughter spent every weekend with us while I cared for my mom, and I want that bond to continue — especially since I see so much of my mother’s spirit reflected in her. Wednesdays with Gramps feels like it could be a quiet balm for those emotions, a gentle reminder of the importance of family ties across generations.

The Other People

And finally, The Other People lands squarely within my favorite genre: horror. The story follows Rachel (Lyndie Greenwood), who marries William (Bryce Johnson), and steps into the role of mother to his 8-year-old daughter, Abby (Valentina Lucido). Still reeling from the loss of Abby’s mom, the family is desperate to build a stable life together. But when Abby begins speaking to a mysterious boy who lurks in the shadows of their home, their fragile peace unravels. As William sinks deeper into depression, it falls to Rachel to confront the evil threatening to consume her new family.

Of course, I had to track down at least one horror entry in this family-centered theme, and this one has all the makings of a breakout hit. There’s the classic chill of a child haunted by an unseen entity but layered with the emotional weight of a woman who refuses to let grief or fear take away the people she loves. Rachel may have inherited this family, but she fights for them with the ferocity of a mother bear. The only question is: Can she save them? I can’t wait to find out.

Each year, the Nashville Film Festival gives me a new lens through which to see the world, and this year that lens is “family,” in all its messy, beautiful, unconventional forms. Whether it’s the unconditional love between a father and son in Color Book, the unshakable bonds forged in combat explored in CreatiVets, the emotional crisis of a single dad in Omaha, the generational ties reflected in Wednesdays with Gramps or the ferocious devotion at the heart of The Other People, these films remind me that family isn’t just who you’re born with — it’s who you fight for, who you hold onto, and who you love enough to carry through the darkness.

And for me, that’s exactly why this festival feels like coming home.