Nevada City Film Festival is September 4-7

The 14th Annual Nevada City Film Festival (NCFF) kicks off September 4-7, 2014 in historic Nevada City, CA. Every summer, NCFF makes art into a party, bringing emerging and top independent filmmakers showcasing award-winning short and feature length films from around the world to the Sierra Foothills. The four-day celebration of art, music, and independent filmmaking, includes film screenings, workshops, special performances, and a live comedy show. NBC Bay Area called it “one of the fun and funkiest” film festivals in California.

NCFF has also been called the “Sundance of the Sierra” (Sacramento News & Review) for its emphasis on fiercely independent cinema by showcasing innovative, progressive and exciting new voices in film. Each year, NCFF attends major film festivals, collaborates with film schools around the world, reads countless film blogs, and watches the hundreds of films submitted, to narrow it all down to the very best in independent film. From feature-length documentaries to world premiere animated shorts, NCFF brings in the buzzed-about festival winners, as well as some of independent cinema’s best-kept secrets.

This year’s opening night feature is Creep, the directorial debut of Nevada County native Patrick Brice. The darkly humorous found-footage thriller stars Brice as a videographer who answers a cryptic Craigslist ad placed by the titular creep (played by Mark Duplass). Alex Williams of the Daily Texan called it “smart, unsettling, and refreshingly self-aware” and Time Magazine named it “one of the 10 movies that made SXSW spectacular.” Creep premiered at SXSW in Austin, TX this spring and quickly launched Brice into a elite group of independent directors. Alejandro Jodorowsky named checked him in an interview, Creep was optioned as a trilogy and Brice was asked to direct Adam Scott and Jason Schwartzman in the indie comedy The Overnight. Creep screens, Thursday, September 4 at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center.

Another one of this year’s special guests is comedian Marc Maron from IFC’s hit series “Maron” and the popular podcast “WTF with Marc Maron.” Maron will headline NCFF’s Live Comedy show on Friday, September 5 at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center. Two performances are scheduled for 8pm and 10:30pm. For over twenty years, Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio, web and television. A legend in the stand-up community, Maron has appeared on Louie, Letterman, Leno, Craig Ferguson, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Real Time with Bill Maher, John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up, and The Green Room. Maron’s podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, premiered in September 2009 and has featured compelling monologues and interviews with iconic personalities such as Conan O’Brien, Louis CK, Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, Judd Apatow and Ben Stiller. It has become a worldwide phenomenon averaging 2.5-3 million downloads each month. His IFC comedy series Maron is currently in its second season.

Internationally recognized multimedia performance artist Miwa Matreyek will also showcase her latest project at NCFF. Matreyek combines stunning animation with the art of movement, cleverly using a projection of her silhouette to interact with her creations. Earlier this year, Miwa premiered her new project The World Made Itself at Sundance. The fantastical kaleidoscopic experience is sophisticated yet full of childlike wonder, leading the audience through the history of the earth, from its birth to today’s complex and fast-paced world. The thematic journey is a spectacle of surrealistic metaphor and fantasy. Matreyek also performs Myth and Infrastructure, which traverses seascapes, cityscapes and domestic spaces to conjure dreamlike scenes with nuanced layers of light and shadow. Matreyek has shown her works at venues around the world, including TEDGlobal (UK), the SF Exploratorium, Spain, Mexico, Chile and more. Matreyek performs twice Friday, September 5 at the Haven Underground.

In addition to the above mentioned special guests, NCFF will screen 70 short films, 10 feature length films, a special student works program featuring films from Sierra College students, workshops, and after parties in historic locations throughout downtown Nevada City. The first round of 2014 Official Selections have been announced and can be found at www.nevadacityfilmfestival.com

In previous years NCFF has hosted filmmakers such as Mike Mills (The Beginners, Thumbsucker), Miranda July (The Future), Jonathan Krisel (Portlandia), James M. Johnston (Pioneer, Ain’t Them Bodies), Greg Finton (The World According to Dick Cheney), Galen Pehrson (MOCA), Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim and comedians including Nick Kroll (FX’s The League, and Comedy Central’s Nick Kroll Show), Mark Proksch (The Office), Brett Gelman (Go On), Natasha Leggero (Chelsea Lately), Eric Andre (Adult Swim), and Neil Hamburger.

KNOW & GO

WHO: 14th Annual Nevada City Film Festival

WHEN: Thursday – Sunday, September 4-7, 2014

WHERE: Miners Foundry Cultural Center, 325 Spring Street, Nevada City, CA and
Haven Underground, 226 Broad Street, Nevada City, CA

TICKETS: Tickets $7/$9 for individual screenings, $89/$99 Festival Passes. Tickets go on sale August 1 for members, August 15 for the public, online at www.nevadacityfilmfestival.com, by phone at (530) 362-8601, and in person at Briar Patch Co-Op.

–Nevada City Film Festival