'Artlightenment' to Bring Film, Art, Fashion and Song to Nashville from Nov. 13-15

     NASHVILLE – "Artlightenment", the annual multi-media art show and film festival that showcases dozens of  visual artists, painters, sculptors and filmmakers is slated to run Nov. 13, 14 and 15 at The Celebrity Centre (Old Fall School Building), 1130 Eighth Ave. S. in Nashville. 

     Created by painter, sculptor and film producer Robyn Morshead in 2009, the three-day event also will feature workshops, live music and a fashion show, making it a vital force in Nashville’s creative community. The theme for this year’s festival is “The Light Side of Art” with a spotlight on the works of underwater photographer and filmmaker Christy Rogers, a visionary artist who uses the refraction of light on her subjects to create beautiful images reminiscent of the paintings of Rubens and Caravaggio. Her work, which is being shown internationally, is currently on display at the Angers Nantes Opera House in Angers, France. "Artlightenment" will be the only opportunity to see her large-format prints in Nashville. She will host a special pre-show seminar, “My Career in Underwater Photography and Film”, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

    This year’s festival will also highlight the works of landmark photographer Raeanne Rubenstein whose photos have graced the pages of numerous publications such as People Magazine and The New York Times. Rubenstein will host a talk, “The Funny Side of Art and Film”, at 7p.m. Thursday.

    Actress Carla Christina Contreras will kick off "Artlightenment’s" film festival at 6:30 p.m. Saturday with her talk, “A Long and Successful Acting Career”. Contrera's recent film works include "Two Eggs" (with Tom Skirret), "Self Offense" (Official Selection in more than eight film festivals), "Static" (11 awards including Best Actress), as well as the feature film, "Summer Snow".  Some of her other works include "Army Wives", "America’s Most Wanted", and a co-starring role in "Following Her Heart", which starred Ann-Margret, George Segal and Brenda Vacarro.

     The festival is proud to feature "The MTSU Paris Project", three films produced by well-known documentary filmmaker Tom Neff and shot by student filmmakers from Middle Tennessee State University's Electronic Media Communications Department.  The films center on the unlikely cross-cultural exchange between Paris, France and Murfreesboro, Tenn., as MTSU student-filmmakers traveled there to make these extraordinary documentaries about contemporary French artists, their work and methodology.

     Three-Day Tickets for "Artlightenment" are $15. Ticketholders have access to all exhibits and workshops, as well as the film festival and closing-night awards and fashion shows. For more information on the "Artlightenment 2014 Art and Film Festival" and to purchase tickets, visit: http://www.artlightenment.com