Made it to the Nashville Film Fest (NaFF) today.

Saw Something, Anything and The Identical. The first story focuses on a young woman who loses her first child in birth and suffers a long bout of depression afterwards that basically ends her marriage and former friendships. She seeks out an old school friend who also had doubts about his life and went into a monastery for four years, before learning that wasn’t what he wanted either. The two ultimately find each other and forge a new path. The movie was a bit slow, though it was well-acted. Written and directed by Paul Harrill, with stars Bryce Johnson, Linds Edwards, Ashley Shelton and Jason Benjamin.

The Identical’s Seth Green and Blake Rayne appear on the red carpet at the Nashville Film Festival.

The Identical, on the other hand, was superbly acted, shot and written. The story follows identical twins separated at birth who both find their calling in music. Think what if Elvis had an equally talented twin brother no one knew about. The film was shot entirely in Tennessee and features Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Seth Green and Blake Rayne in the title role. From first-time director Dustin Marcellino. The filmmakers provided a fascinating question-answer session after the viewing and described how it was all made possible by the script (written by Howard Klausner). According to the director, Ray Liotta said after reading the script it was a part he had to have. It took over three years to bring the film to fruition, but from the audience reaction I’d say their time was well-spent. The rest of the nation can view it on Sept. 12 when it’s released in theaters. Trust me, it’s a heart-tugging, entertaining story of rock ‘n’ roll, faith and family that is not to be missed.

I plan to return to the fest for a panel on scriptwriting and for more movies on Friday.