About

The Music City Film Critics’ Association is a collective of Nashville-based journalists, broadcasters, and digital creators dedicated to celebrating excellence in cinema. Representing a wide range of voices across the Greater Nashville area, the MCFCA champions film appreciation through thoughtful criticism, annual awards, and community engagement. Together, its members work to highlight the best in filmmaking—locally, nationally, and globally—while uplifting the unique perspective of Nashville’s vibrant creative community.

History

The Music City Film Critics’ Association began as a grassroots effort to give voice to the film-going, critical community in Nashville and its surrounding region. Founded by a small group of local journalists, critics, and media-makers who shared a passion for cinema, the Association was established to ensure that Nashville’s critics had a platform to honor films each year, reflecting both the national film landscape and the distinctive perspective of Middle Tennessee. Over time, more writers and broadcasters joined, steadily growing the membership and strengthening the group’s presence in film-critics circles.

As MCFCA grew, it launched an annual awards program to recognize outstanding achievements in film, including Best Picture, acting awards, technical categories, and a special local honor: the Jim Ridley Award. The Jim Ridley Award, named after a beloved Nashville critic, pays tribute to films or artists that particularly resonate with the spirit of the city and its artistic community. This dual mission, celebrating cinematic excellence broadly while embracing local identity, helped the Association differentiate itself from other critics’ organizations and build credibility both within Nashville and beyond.

In recent years, the MCFCA has continued to expand, now comprising dozens of professional critics working in and around Nashville. Its annual winners have garnered attention beyond the region: in 2023, for example, the group’s top honors went to the acclaimed film Oppenheimer. Meanwhile, its 2025 awards recognized the ambitious blockbuster Dune: Part Two among others, illustrating how MCFCA’s reach extends from indie-leaning films to major studio releases. Through its steady growth, commitment to thoughtful criticism, and a spirit tied to Nashville’s creative identity, the Music City Film Critics’ Association has become an important, and uniquely local, voice in the world of film criticism.