Nevada City Film Festival opens Aug. 16

Neil Young Journeys” will be one of the featured films at the four-day film festival.

100 films featured at annual event

   The 12th Annual Nevada City Film Festival, which goes from Aug. 16-19, will feature 100 films that were selected from more than 400 submissions from 16 nations.

“We scoured countless film festivals, spoke with filmmakers, film societies, and film schools about up and coming filmmakers, and worked with film distributors to bring this incredible lineup of films to our community,” explained Jesse Locks, the film festival’s director. 

Opening night kicks off with “Neil Young Journeys.” Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme’s documentary traces Neil Young on his recent solo tour as he returns to his home town of Toronto for a concert at Massey Hall.

Other festival highlights include:

“Watershed,” which is narrated and produced by Robert Redford and his son, Jamie. The film documents the Colorado River system, which conservationists believe is endangered by decades of development and global warming. 

“Bones Brigade: An Autobiography” is directed by Stacy Peralta and chronicles the epic rise of the Bones Brigade skateboard team.

“While We Were Here,” starring Kate Bosworth and paying homage to Italian neo-realism with black-and-white footage and the romantic Italian setting of Ischia.

“When You Find Me” is directed by Bryce Dallas Howard and is a collaborative project that represents a potential new method of filmmaking.

Kevin Barker will present two films at this year’s festival. “Last Kind Words” is a modern-day Southern Gothic ghost story set in the farmland of Kentucky, while “The Family Jams” is an evocative portrait of youthful possibility that follows Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and Vetiver as they tour the U.S. in 2004 playing their unique music for a growing audience. 

Cult animator and Academy Award nominee Don Hertzfeldt returns to the festival with “It’s Such A Beautiful Day.” Nearly two years in the making, the 23-minute film is Hertzfeldt’s longest and most ambitious piece to date. The movie was captured entirely on an antique 35mm animation stand, one of the last remaining cameras of its kind in America.

New this year is the Children’s Program presented by Seattle’s acclaimed Northwest Film Forum. This program of live-action and animated shorts is a passport to a world of imagination and suitable for all ages. Also specific to youth is the San Francisco International Film Festivals “Youth Media Mashup” program, a collection of youth-produced work.

This year’s Director’s Spotlight in on the work of Jonathan Krisel, best known for co-creating, writing and directing IFC’s critically acclaimed series “Portlandia.” Krisel also was the director for “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” and “Check it Out” with Steve Brule starring John C. Riley. He will be showing past and present works that include his most popular series, as well as never-before-seen films, short films and other upcoming works.

The NCFF Local Filmmakers program will feature the works of Wes Meilandt, Joe Douville and the students from the Young Filmmakers Music & Film Project.

If you go

What: 12th Annual Nevada City Film Festival

When: Thursday, Aug. 16, to Sunday, Aug. 19

Where: Miners Foundry Cultural Center at 325 Spring Street and Nevada Theatre at 401 Broad St.

For more information: visit
nevadacityfilmfestival.com

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