Nashville Film Festival to screen VanHooser’s ‘The Funeral Man’

Release Date: 3/30/2004. Expired: 5/2/2004

The Renaissance Center’s Emmy-award winning short film The Funeral Man has been selected for screening during the 35th annual Nashville Film Festival presented by Regal Cinemas April 26-May 2.

Produced by the center’s Multimedia Department, The Funeral Man will be part of two segments featuring Tennessee filmmakers and films during the festival at Regal Green Hills 16 Cinemas.

The Funeral Man was written, produced and directed by David VanHooser, a producer with The Renaissance Center who has won 18 MidSouth Regional Emmys during a 20-year television production career. VanHooser earned his latest Emmy in the category of Director/Non-News for The Funeral Man at the 18th annual MidSouth Regional Emmy Awards ceremony in January.

The Funeral Man is a dramatization based on local stories of a real man who was known in the area for attending funerals and comforting the bereaved even if he didn’t know them. The narrative production was shot completely in Dickson and Humphreys counties and features several local citizens as well as professional actors from Nashville.

In addition to VanHooser’s award for direction, The Funeral Man earned an Emmy for Location Lighting for Craig Anderson, studio manager for The Renaissance Center. The Funeral Man was nominated in six categories.

“We are very excited and honored to have The Funeral Man be selected for the Nashville Film Festival,” VanHooser said. “This film was very special to make and everyone involved in the production contributed to what we hope is a touching and memorable finished product.”

More than 1,200 entries were submitted for competition in the Nashville Film Festival, according to Mandy McBroom, festival coordinator.

The Funeral Man will be featured twice during the festival in the Tennessee Film Night I segments beginning at 6:30 p.m. April 27 and 9:30 p.m. May 2. These segments will feature a variety of film genres all made by Tennessee filmmakers or made on location in the state. The specific schedule of screening times will be announced by festival organizers April 5.

“We have many exciting films slated for the annual cinematic fete,” said McBroom. “We also have parties most nights hosted by our many festival sponsors. The parties are an excellent way to network with industry professionals and meet other festival guests. Also scheduled are panel discussions hosted by various industry professionals and celebrities.”

The Funeral Man also was selected for screening at the Renegade Film Festival in Nashville last year, the Damah Film Festival in Seattle and the Pensacola Bay Film and Video Festival this month in Florida.

The Nashville Film Festival (NFF) was founded in 1969 and is one of the longest running film festivals in the country. Hosted by Regal Cinemas 16 in the Green Hills area of Nashville, the NFF has enjoyed double-digit growth in the past five years. With more than 14,500 people attending last year’s event, it is rapidly becoming the arts event in Tennessee.

Each year, the NFF receives submissions of more than 1,000 features, documentaries, shorts, animated works, experimental films and children’s films. Over 200 top entries from all genres (including comedies) are selected for the competition and shown on four state-of-the-art screens throughout the event. The NFF may represent the only opportunity to see these films in a theater in the Nashville area.