Nashville: A City On Film

This June marks the Belcourt's 100th birthday — and our 25th year as a nonprofit. To commemorate, we launch an ongoing project exploring the history of films shot in and around Nashville. From studio-backed features to scrappy indie productions, these films capture a city in flux and reflect a filmmaking legacy that continues to evolve — much of it intersecting with the Belcourt’s own past in interesting ways. This initial series highlights just eight such titles — but it’s only the beginning. In other words, watch this space!

Sat, May 30 at 11:00am

Seminar: How the Belcourt Was Saved

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.

Mon, Mar 2 at 8:00pm

COTTON COMES TO HARLEM (35mm)

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.

Encores: Thu, Jul 3 at 4:50pm | Fri, Jul 4 at 12:30pm

NASHVILLE

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

Sat, Jun 7 | 10:00–11:00am

Nashville: Hick Flick, U.S.A.

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

Mon, Jun 9 at 8:00pm

THE THING CALLED LOVE (35mm)

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

Wed, Jun 11 at 8:00pm

GIRL FROM TOBACCO ROW

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

Mon, Jun 16 at 8:00pm

NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD

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

Encores: Fri, Jun 27 at 9:45pm | Sun, Jun 29 at 2:30pm

ERNEST SCARED STUPID (35mm)

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

Mon, Jun 23 at 8:00pm

STOKER

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

Sat, Jun 28 at 9:45pm

GUMMO

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

Nashville: A City On Film

Seminar: How the Belcourt Was Saved

COTTON COMES TO HARLEM (35mm)

NASHVILLE

Nashville: Hick Flick, U.S.A.

THE THING CALLED LOVE (35mm)

GIRL FROM TOBACCO ROW

NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD

ERNEST SCARED STUPID (35mm)

STOKER

GUMMO

In Theatre

Today

Wednesday, Apr 29

Thursday, Apr 30

Friday, May 1

Saturday, May 2

Sunday, May 3

Monday, May 4

Tuesday, May 5