Lessons in Accidental Magic, the award-winning 48 Hour Film by Motke Dapp, Drive Media House and a crew of around 40 people, has officially been selected to screen at the Nashville Film Festival! Magic is about Liam (Matt), who is enamored with a girl he frequently sees at dinner parties. In an attempt to win her heart, Liam teaches himself to cook from a cookbook he finds at an unusual library. The recipes are unorthodox and the results are quite… unexpected.

This is also Matt’s second collaboration with director Motke Dapp, and also the second time screening their film at NaFF (Watch Everyday Yeti HERE).

LIAM is one of 186 shorts films selected for competition from the 4,246 films submitted. Of the selected films, 42 will make their World, North American or US Premieres. Winners in the Narrative, Animated and Documentary Shorts Competitions will qualify for consideration for the 2017 Academy Awards®, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

Last year’s winner for Best Animated Short, Borrowed Time, went on to receive an Academy Award® nomination. This year’s winners will be announced at an award ceremony on Sunday April, 23rd. The 48th Nashville Film Festival will take place April 20-29.

Below is a list of all the Tennessee First Shorts screening at the festival:

Animals Animals Animals / USA (Director: Dave Ogle) – A depressed house husband decides to take a journey into the unknown world of his own backyard. Three homeless men give him drugs and maybe a reason to go on. World Premiere

Be Brave, Be Strong / USA (Director: Micah Russell) – A view into the life of a young boy with pediatric cancer as he balances a normal life with chemotherapy. World Premiere

Broke Dick Dog / USA (Director: GB Shannon) – Three newly acquainted brothers track down and confront their absent and unapologetic father. Nashville Premiere

Death$ in a $mall Town / USA (Director: Mark Jones) – A mayor has a unique way to revive the fortunes of his small town that had been losing citizens, businesses and tourist prior to his taking office. Nashville Premiere

Dust to Dust / USA (Director: Joel Edwards / Jesse Edwards) – “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” In this experimental / elemental / fashion short film, we explore visual & sonic interpretations of origination; and our inherent destiny of returning to that from which we came. Nashville Premiere

A Far / USA (Director: Drew Maynard) – A young woman and her father explore the remains of a burnt building. World Premiere

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Beast in the Cave / USA (Director: Cameron McCasland) – An adaptation of one of H.P. Lovecrafts earliest stories which finds a man hopelessly lost while exploring the Mammoth Cave system. Darkness brings a unknown fear. Nashville Premiere

Knock Knock / USA (Director: David Shamban) – A paranoid shut-in hears a knock at the door, and can only come to dark and comedic conclusions about who – or what – is on the other side. Delusions and a little science ensue. World Premiere

Little Kurdistan / USA (Director: Ava Lowrey) – Just off Nolensville Pike on the southern outskirts of Nashville lies Little Kurdistan—a thriving community of Kurdish immigrants and new generations of Kurdish-Americans. Little Kurdistan explores this community through the stories of four residents. Tennessee Premiere

The Little Stage / USA (Director: Will Berry) – Bon Aqua, Tennessee – an abandoned building is on the verge of collapse until an old tape is found, revealing its historical significance. Nashville Premiere

Lives Restarted / USA (Director: Waheed AlQawasmi) – From the Holocaust to Memphis: Stories of courage and resilience. Nashville Premiere

Martha / USA (Director: Taylor Burgess) – A lifelong songwriter and musician, Martha Starin, a 92-year-old, has always dreamed of recording the songs she has written. So that’s exactly what we did. World Premiere

McMurphy / USA (Director: Charles Dillon Ward) – One afternoon during detention, a left-handed student stands up to a right-handed teacher. World Premiere

Millenium Girl / USA (Director: Grayson Propst) – On New Year’s Eve of 1999, Jane attends a party despite her parents’ wishes and irrational fear of the Y2K computer crisis. World Premiere

Prelude / USA (Director: Isaiah Stratton) – With the help of an intuitive therapist and the love of a woman that he does not remember, a damaged musician fights through the loss of his memory. World Premiere

The Rugby Boys of Memphis / USA (Director: David Darg) – At an inner city high school in south Memphis, Tennessee, an unlikely sport has arisen, and with it a team of untapped potential. Nashville Premiere

The Sacred Disease / USA (Director: Erica Scoggins) – Reeling from the death of her brother and oppressed by the medication meant to cure her, a small town epileptic ditches her pills and follows a mysterious woman into the deep woods of Tennessee. Southeast US Premiere

Still Sophie / USA (Director: Caroline Knight) – Four and a half years ago, young talent Sophia Salveson’s life changed forever. Doctors said she may never walk again, may never talk again…may never perform again. They were wrong. Tennessee Premiere

Take It All The Way / USA (Director: Cody Rogers) – When two people try to interview for a job at a real estate agency, they both do what they can to get the job.

To Those Who Doubt / USA (Director: Joel Edwards / Jesse Edwards) – Using incredibly unique & rare high speed underwater photography, the film points to the fragility of humanity; the message calls to those who doubt themselves, doubt their worth, or doubt what they are capable of. Nashville Premiere

The Wilkinson Family Band / USA (Director: Manuel Lagos) – In order to pay for their stay at a motel while on tour, Bob Wilkinson and his homeschool family band must sing a few songs. But keeping the band together proves harder than usual as Bob finally learns to be a father, not a front man. Nashville Premiere

Your Baby Is Most Certainly the Size of Some Kind of Fruit / USA (Director: Hillary Good) – Your baby is the size of a blueberry. And a sweet pea. And a pumpkin. Journey into the miracle of life in this entirely handmade stop-motion short adapted from a McSweeney’s article. US Premiere