This fall, the Belcourt Theatre launches Films Forever, a new field trip series for high school students in Nashville and surrounding areas.
Teachers of students in grades 9-12 can browse our calendar of high-quality film offerings and register to bring their class to the Belcourt. Films Forever field trips are from 9:30am to 12:30pm on selected dates. Each field trip event will feature a film introduction and screening, free popcorn and bottled water, and a post-screening discussion. Post-screening discussions are led by Belcourt education and engagement staff, with occasional guest speakers. The Belcourt will provide teachers with discussion guides and activities for use in the classroom before and after their visit. Field trips are designed to accommodate classes from multiple schools at the same time. Films Forever field trips are provided at no cost.
Developed by the Belcourt’s education and engagement team with support from local educators, Films Forever aims to support existing curriculum — while building media literacy skills and introducing film language and concepts.
How to register for a Films Forever field trip:
- Review the available films and calendar dates via the link below.
- Complete the linked registration form.
- Once you’ve submitted your form, you’ll get an email confirmation. Then, we’ll follow up approximately two weeks from the event to confirm your head count and share other details.
All groups must register in advance through this form to attend Films Forever Field Trips.
Sign up here for regular email updates on Films Forever — as well as other Belcourt educational offerings including our twice-monthly High School Film Club and the twice-yearly Strong Leads Film Seminar for High School Girls.
Please note that Films Forever is programmed for high school grades 9-12. Additional field trip opportunities for elementary and middle school grades are also available. For questions or to explore opportunities:
Allison Inman
Belcourt Education and Engagement Director
615-846-3150 x20
allison@belcourt.org
Nov 20-21
SPIRITED AWAY
Dir. Hayao Miyazaki | Japan | 2002 | 125 min. | PG | In Japanese with English subtitles
Fantasy / Adventure / Animated
Combining Japanese mythology with Through the Looking Glass-type whimsy,
SPIRITED AWAY cemented Hayao Miyazaki’s reputation as an icon of inspired animation and wondrous, lyrical storytelling. Ten-year-old Chihiro becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
Topics: Japanese animation, Miyazaki as auteur, Japanese mythology, identity, greed, environmental protection, resilience and perseverance
Dec 4-5
NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND
Dir. Hayao Miyazaki | Japan | 1985 | 95 min. | PG | In Japanese with English subtitles
Fantasy / Adventure / Animated
After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last places on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.
Topics: Japanese animation, Miyazaki as auteur, Japanese mythology, dystopian society, environmental protection, war and peace
Dec 9-10
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
Dir. Charles Laughton | USA | 1955 | NR
Noir / Thriller
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER — a horror movie with qualities of a Grimm fairy tale — is set in Depression-era West Virginia, where a self-proclaimed preacher and convicted murderer (Robert Mitchum) hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money. With a screenplay by Knoxvillian James Agee, this ethereal, Southern Gothic classic is cinema’s most eccentric rendering of the battle between good and evil.
Topics: Hypocrisy, corruption, greed, good vs. evil, children as heroes, black and white cinematography
Feb 4-5
JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE
Dir. Dawn Porter | USA | 2020 | 96 min. | PG
Documentary
Released just days before his death in 2020, JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE chronicles the life and career of the legendary civil rights activist and Democratic Representative from Georgia. The film chronicles John Lewis’ 60-plus years of social and legislative action plus his childhood experiences and his fateful meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957.
Topics: American history, the Civil Rights Movement, public service, racial justice, perseverance, female filmmakers
Feb 12-13
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG
Dir. Jacques Demy | France | 1964 | 92 min. | NR | In French with English subtitles
Musical / Romance
Working in her mother’s chic but struggling umbrella shop, 16-year-old Genevieve falls in love with charming auto mechanic Guy. Their commitment is put to the test as Guy is called to combat in Algeria and Genevieve finds herself pregnant. Jacques Demy pays homage to the Hollywood musical and French melodrama with inventive cinematography, vibrant colors and a romantic score from Michel Legrand.
Topics: French new wave, film musicals, use of color, film scores, young love, family structure, economics, the effects of war
Mar 18-19
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
Dir. Nicholas Ray | USA | 1955 | 111 min. | PG-13
Drama / Romance
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark (James Dean) is supposed to have a clean slate, but being the new kid brings its own problems. Searching for stability, Stark bonds with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. When Judy’s boyfriend Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid’s real troubles begin.
Topics: James Dean as cultural icon, melodrama, alienated youth, family dysfunction, gender roles, societal pressures
Mar 25-26
PERSEPOLIS
Dir. Marjane Satrapi | France/USA | 2007 | 96 min. | PG-13 | In French and Persian with English subtitles
Animated / Drama / Memoir
Tehran 1978: Eight-year-old Marjane dreams of being a prophet, intent on saving the world. Nurtured by her modern parents and adoring grandmother, she witnesses the downfall of the Shah of Iran’s brutal regime while the new Islamic Republic dictates how citizens dress and act. Marjane, who must now wear the veil, dreams of being a revolutionary.
Topics: Graphic novel adaptation, memoir, coming of age, cultural change, immigration and displacement, rebellion and activism
Apr 9-10
TÓTEM
Dir. Lila Alvilés | Mexico/Denmark/France | 2023 | NR | In Spanish with English subtitles
Drama
In a bustling Mexican household, seven-year-old Sol is swept up in preparations for her father’s birthday party. As the day goes on — building to an event both anticipated and dreaded — Sol begins to understand the gravity of this year’s celebration and watches as her family does the same.
Topics: Child as protagonist, grief and loss, family structure, independent filmmaking, Mexican life in film, female filmmakers
Apr 16-17
THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM
Dir. John Chester | USA | 2019 | 91 min. | PG
Documentary
When the barking of their beloved dog Todd leads to an eviction notice from their tiny LA apartment, John and Molly Chester make their long-held dream a reality, moving to 200 acres in the foothills of Ventura County — endeavoring (often naively) to build one of the most sustainably diverse farms of its kind in complete coexistence with nature.
Topics: Documentary filmmaking, farming, sustainability, interconnectedness, biodiversity, learning from nature
May 1
THE FAREWELL
Dir. Lulu Wang | USA | 2019 | 98 min. | PG
Comedy / Drama
In this uplifting tale based on an actual lie, Chinese-American Billi (Awkwafina) reluctantly returns to China as her family’s beloved matriarch has been given mere weeks to live. Keeping Nai-Nai in the dark, the family gathers under the guise of an impromptu wedding. Billi finds a chance to rediscover the country she left as a child, her grandmother’s wondrous spirit, and the ties that bind.
Topics: Family bonds, immigration and assimilation, grief and dying, cultural traditions, intergenerational relationships
