How the Belcourt Was Saved traces how grassroots organizers, staff, artists, and audiences helped transform the theater after 1999 into Nashville’s nonprofit film center and a leading American arthouse. This seminar explores the theater’s recovery, mission, and place in the city’s cultural and cinematic history.

Ossie Davis’s 1970 action-comedy follows Harlem detectives Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson as they unravel a con involving stolen charity funds and a crooked Back-to-Africa scheme. Featuring Redd Foxx and Nashville-born actress Helen Martin, the film blends satire and social critique, marking a turning point in Black independent cinema.

In its 50th anniversary, NASHVILLE serves as a fitting kick-off for the Belcourt’s own 100th anniversary. A panoramic view of political and cultural landscapes set in the milieu of 1970s Nashville, Robert Altman’s cornerstone film weaves the stories of 24 characters — from country star to wannabe to reporter to waitress — into a cinematic tapestry that’s equal parts comedy, tragedy and musical. Part of Nashville: A City On Film and Weekend Classics: Altman at 100

Nashville: Hick Flick, U.S.A. explores the city’s 1960s–’70s exploitation film scene, where low-budget Southern stories met national audiences through drive-ins and neighborhood theaters. The program traces the legacy of these films into the 2000s—from the Ernest franchise to Harmony Korine—and their lasting ties to Belcourt's own history. A Belcourt 100 Seminar

Relocating to Nashville from her native New York, a singer/songwriter hopeful (Samantha Mathis) lands a job at the Bluebird and falls in with a new group of friends and musicians — navigating romance, auditions, and writer sessions in early ‘90s Music City. Local cameos and time capsule locations abound in Peter Bogdanovich’s 1993 drama. Part of Nashville: A City On Film

After a botched prison escape, Snake (Earl Richards) heads to Antioch with a tip about hidden loot from a chipper mill heist. There, he takes refuge with his late cellmate’s family, but the mob isn’t far behind! Part of Nashville: A City On Film

Nearly 20 years ago, Neil Young assembled a band of long-time associates and took to the stage of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to perform the music from Prairie Wind for the first time. Etched in amber and forever enshrined on film, Jonathan Demme’s 2006 film stands as an exquisite paean to the muse that calls the Mother Church “home.” Part of Nashville: A City On Film

Local garbageman Ernest P. Worrell and his dog Rimshot face off against an ancient troll menacing the children of Briarville, MO in this Halloween-set, East Nashville-shot slab of ‘90s kindertrauma –– the last entry in the Ernest feature film franchise to be produced entirely in Tennessee. Part of Nashville: A City On Film

Park Chan-wook’s English-language debut features a chilling performance by Nicole Kidman and striking cameos from local landmarks and talent — and blends Southern Gothic atmosphere with psychological suspense in a visually rich, morally twisted thriller. Part of Nashville: A City On Film

Nashville’s own neighborhood The Nations got its first breakout role playing Xenia, Ohio in the directorial debut from Harmony Korine — a dazzling and disruptive tear through teenage anomie and a portrait of the city like no other. Part of Nashville: A City On Film

In the future where art is illegal, Existo leads a rebellious army of cabaret performers in the fight against theocratic repression with riotous — and very funny, deft — songs. Filmed and produced in Nashville, EXISTO is a local cinema classic whose satirical voice remains timely, eerily prophetic — and defiantly alive. Part of Nashville: A City On Film

Nashville’s queer film story hides in plain sight — creators, stories, and cinemas that, while long overlooked, reveal a rich legacy of expression, resistance and culture. NOTE: Your seminar ticket includes a film ticket to DINAH EAST immediately following at 8:00pm.

When movie star Dinah East unexpectedly dies, the coroner publicly outs her, triggering a media frenzy that complicates her legacy. Through a series of flashbacks, we discover Dinah’s full story and gain deeper insight into her remarkable and complex life — with a generous dose of classic beefcake on the side.

Our next Belcourt 100 Seminar, Nashville in Hollywood’s Golden Age, explores how local actors and filmmakers — from the historic stage of the Belcourt Theatre to Hollywood sets — shaped American film. Spanning the 20th century, this seminar uncovers Nashville’s surprising ties to cinema history, from early Pathé films to major studio productions. Highlighting careers from bit parts to Oscar wins, it reveals how the city’s theatrical roots and venues like the Belcourt served as launchpads and inspiration for generations of artists. Includes a screening THE YEARLING (35mm) immediately following at 12:00pm.

In a segregated Mississippi town, a teenage boy (played by Nashvillian Claude Jarman Jr.), his lawyer uncle and an elderly woman combine forces to prevent a miscarriage of justice and try to clear a black man of a murder charge. Based on the 1948 novel by William Faulker, and featuring a groundbreaking performance by pioneering African-American actor, Juano Hernández.

This spirited WWII-era musical follows two producers staging a chaotic all-star charity revue. The film features rare musical turns from Bette Davis and Ida Lupino among others, and marks Dinah Shore’s screen debut. A Vanderbilt student and Belcourt stage alum, Shore’s breakout success connects Nashville’s theatrical community to Hollywood, where morale-boosting wartime spectacles were a star-making opportunity.

Part occult thriller, part road-action horror, RACE WITH THE DEVIL follows two couples whose RV trip turns deadly after witnessing a ritual murder. Hunted by a rural Satanic cult, their escape unfolds in nerve-rattling 1970s style. Co-written by Nashville’s Wes Bishop, the film is quintessential Southern exploitation cinema. With Peter Fonda and Warren Oates, it showcases Nashville’s unexpected influence on 20th century horror and underground genre filmmaking.

Harold Lloyd plays an eager college student whose quest for popularity leads to comic misadventures — and a legendary football finale. Co-starring Tennessee native Jobyna Ralston (see also: WINGS), one of silent Hollywood’s most prolific actresses and a longtime Lloyd leading lady, the film is a pinnacle of physical comedy. Played during Belcourt’s first era as a silent cinema, it reflects both early Hollywood charm and Tennessee’s contributions to film history, with a restored score by Carl Davis enriching its timeless appeal.

WINGS follows two small-town friends turned WWI pilots entangled in a love triangle and tested by war’s brutality. Famed for its groundbreaking aerial realism, it became the first and only fully silent film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Tennessee-born Jobyna Ralston adds emotional depth as Sylvia Lewis, linking this cinematic milestone to her home state and capitol, where her films, including THE FRESHMAN, headlined Belcourt’s early silent-era programming.

Our next Belcourt 100 seminar focuses on the period between 1927 and 1958, when the Belcourt Theatre transformed from silent movie house to a hub for Nashville’s first professional community theater groups. Beyond the Footlights explores how this era shaped local performance culture, nurtured future film and television talent, and cultivated a lasting audience base. Drawing on archival research, the seminar reveals how Belcourt's stage-era legacy helped define Nashville’s artistic identity — and laid the groundwork for its evolution into a cornerstone of American cinematic history. Includes a screening of MARTY immediately following at 12:00pm.

In a Depression-era Mississippi town, a radiant yet restless Southern belle’s romance with a railroad official defies her domineering mother. Adapted from Tennessee Williams’s play, the film was co-written by Nashvillian Fred Coe, whose theatrical roots lie in Belcourt’s playhouse era. A moody portrait of longing and repression, it embodies Southern theatrical tradition and Nashville’s mid-century cinema arts culture and community.

As the Grand Ole Opry grew into a national institution, it spent seven formative months on our stage — then the Hillsboro Theatre. This seminar revisits the Opry’s brief but pivotal stay at the Belcourt (1935–1936), correcting the historical record and exploring its enduring impact on Nashville’s cultural and filmmaking identity while honoring the shared centennials of two Tennessee icons: the Opry and the Belcourt Theatre. Includes a screening NASHVILLE REBEL (35mm) immediately following at 8:00pm.

Marking its 50th anniversary, HEARTWORN HIGHWAYS captures the rise of Outlaw Country through intimate portraits of Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and others. Filmed in Texas and Nashville, it traces the genre’s raw, rebellious roots within the city’s evolving history in American roots music culture.

Tracing a century of filmmaking in and about Music City, this seminar explores how Nashville became both a subject and a site for American cinema. From Southern stories to music-driven productions, it also highlights Belcourt's enduring role in shaping — and showcasing — the city’s evolving film culture. Includes a screening of RANCHO DELUXE immediately following at 8:00pm.

Capturing a star-studded tribute to the legendary songwriter filmed in October 2022 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, YOU GOT GOLD brings together acclaimed artists, friends and family to share behind-the-scenes stories and perform classic songs, honoring John Prine's enduring legacy.

Inspired by true events, James Foley (GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS) directs Sean Penn and Christopher Walken as a father-son-duo caught in a violent crime ring. Filmed just outside Nashville, the film blends Southern noir with Brat Pack-era sincerity, featuring Mary Stuart Masterson and Kiefer Sutherland.

Directed by Peter Weir and written by Nashville native Tom Schulman, DEAD POETS SOCIETY stars Robin Williams as a teacher who inspires students to defy conformity. Featuring Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard, the story draws from Schulman’s experience at Montgomery Bell Academy, shaping the film’s Nashville themes and setting.

This Belcourt 100 seminar reveals a century of filmmaking shaped by Black Nashvillians, examining the actors, directors, writers, exhibitors and theaters that fostered Black cinema culture during and after Jim Crow segregation — and traces how Nashville’s Black creatives used the moving image to reflect lived experience and shape cultural identity, positioning Music City as an overlooked center of African American cinema. Includes a screening of STORMY WEATHER immediately following at 8:00pm.