This year’s Nashville Film Festival is well underway, a 10 day event that features 271 films, representing 42 nations from around the globe.

It’s an eclectic mix for the serious movie goer looking to find hidden gems off the beaten path.

Three days in and I have had the opportunity to see three feature films and about a dozen shorts.

The standout for me so far is the documentary “Tickled” from directors David Farrier and Dylan Reeves.

Farrier, a New Zealand journalist, stumble on a video of a competitive tickling league online and reached out to the company responsible for the video with a request to do a story.

The request turns into threats of lawsuits and other slurs concerning Farrier’s sexual orientation – sparking Farrier to dig even deeper into the company and the competitors.

This is a fascinating experience, a film that starts out with this absurdly humorous angle before delving into something much more sinister.

The twists and discoveries are quite shocking and the film becomes more about how much we really know about the person on the other end of that email or written correspondence.

It’s a compelling piece of journalism and one that will surely spark plenty of discussion among those who see it.

Another film, “Transpecos” also has some strengths – a compelling slice of southwestern pulp fiction from first time director Greg Kwedar.

The film tells the story of three members of a makeshift border patrol (Johnny Simmons, Gabriel Luna, and Clifton Collins, Jr.) on a remote desert highway. 

A routine check turns into a huge drug bust that sets off a chain of events that puts them all in grave danger.

The leads are all solid and the cinematography is first-rate. It’s an intriguing morality tale that starts strong but starts to spin its wheels in the middle third.

It’s a film where the tension should be building, but I felt the tension lessened as the plot advanced.

The third film was “Fireworkers” about six friends who reunite after the secret illness and sudden suicide of a childhood friend who leaves a bucket list requesting each friend complete one item on the list.

“Fireworkers” has a “Big Chill” vibe, with writer/director and co-star Christina Bennett Lind using a slow deliberate pacing that at times ambles aimlessly.

Lind said during a post screening question and answer segment that she wanted to create a film that didn’t follow the usual narrative structure.

“Fireworkers” succeeds in doing that, but I think in the process loses a bit of its potential emotional impact as I felt like I never really got to know the people.

There are a few moments of raw emotion, including a revelation scene at a dinner table that comes way too late in the film.

Something aimed more for the entire family was a program that featured 11 animated shorts. 

The highlight in this set was “Welcome to My Life” a fake documentary in the same vein as “The Office” that tells the story of a teenage monster who tries to navigate high school with fellow monsters and humans.

It was a very clever short, full of subtle humor that I really appreciated.

Other highlights included a pair of PIXAR-like shorts named “Taking the Plunge” (about a wedding proposal that goes awry when the young man drops the engagement ring into the ocean) and “Taking Flight” (about a young boy who discovers the wonders of imagination with his grandfather and a radio flyer). 

There was also the visually compelling claymation feature “Alike” that was a sweet father and son story and the very humorous “Lambs” that reminded me of “Shaun the Sheep” and “Wallace and Gromit.”

It’s interesting to note that two of the last four Oscar winning animated shorts have come from this set, including last year’s winner “Bear Story.”