Super Rad & Talented - the Official Podcast of the Nevada City Film Festival

In our final episode of Season 1, we talk to filmmaking wonder siblings, the Ross brothers about their critically acclaimed, award winning film. Rotten Tomatoes gives this film a 92 on its meter and after a sell out opening night at our drive-in, the NCFF judges named it Best of the Fest for 2020.

Drummer, Director, Punker and Puppet Master, Jon Sortland. When Jon’s not drumming, playing keyboards and singing in the bands The Shins, Broken Bells, Cigar and EV Kain, he’s writing, directing and producing films and music videos - LOTS of them. He’s got a great story about turning forty and wondering if he was ever going to get “The” call. Spoiler alert, he gets it... but he doesn't realize it’s for him, plus then his phone dies. If you like stories about working hard and drumming fast to make your dreams become your reality then this one’s for you.

Indie film producer and distributor, Karin Chien. If you've ever wondered what a feature film producer does or if you already know and want to hear crazy stories like having to smuggle film with LGBTQ content out of the Middle East, then this episode is for you. With 10 feature films under her belt, over 100 festival awards and a company that distributes contemporary cinema from mainland China in the U.S., Karin has stories - here’s a few and you’ll definitely want to hear more!

Bonus Episode: Dowd Records and the making of The Nevada City Album Vol.1 Jason Clark of the very rad collective Dowd Records talks about getting twelve local bands and artists to deliver an original, unreleased song in a mere seven days. The album itself, all the artists involved and every one of the songs are golden

When does she sleep? If this was a jeopardy answer then the question would be, “What is the question everyone wonders about Jesse Locks?” In addition to any countries of origins and ethnicities, her 23 and me results would likely include percentages indicating relation to a juggling dynasty, mother nature, a locomotive and possibly a jeep dealership. If you’ve heard her laugh or tell you any story at all after a few beers then no explanation is necessary, and if you haven't then, none possible. As the festival director, and general lover of nature, creativity and most things Nevada County, she’s one of a kind and we are damn lucky to have her.

Small town meets Tinseltown - Acclaimed filmmakers and high school friends, Patrick Bryce and Jason Sussberg talk about their individual journeys from roaming the halls at Nevada Union High to working with the likes of Bill Nye, Mark Duplass, Brian Eno and Jason Schwartzman to name a few. Though they create different styles of films these two are the embodiment of working your ass off for what you want - and making the most out of good fortune when it comes your way.

Rockstars and Rock Stars. Today's guest, Rich Good, is both, As the designer, graphic artist and general brand soothsayer for the Nevada City Film festival for as long as he or anyone else can remember Rich annually produces a unique identity for this celebrated event. No two years look the same and every year there's a slew (donkey load in local parlance) of assets to create from posters, to lanyards, to tshirts, coasters, guest passes,  filmmaker passes, guests of filmmakers passes and so on! And for all of THAT we say Rich is a bonafide rockstar. The fact that he does a lot of this work on a laptop while traveling the world as the guitarist for the Psychedelic Furs makes him a literal Rock Star! 

Super producer and Tim & Eric partner, Dave Kneebone. Ever had one of those days when you've driven across the country to meet your filmmaking idol because you want to present him with the film you've made that you're sure will lead to a job offer at his world famous documentary studio, then you don't get to meet him but you get a tour of his office and an assistant agrees to take your film and then your driving home KNOWING, actually seeing the job offer in your mind and then you get hit by a drunk driver who totals your car and scatters all of your belonging across the highway? Oh and then you don't get the job but then maybe, just maybe the world famous filmmaker bites a piece of music from your film for one of HIS films? Dave Kneebone had one of those days and where he goes from there is super rad.

Getting the band back together. We talk with Trevor Veralrud, Ted Veralrud, Bill Kiley and Nicholas Shahan about their seminal NCFF film, Motogenocide. The film blew festival audiences away when it premiered almost 20 years ago - which was much appreciated considering they pretty much blew all of their money making it (spoiler alert; it wasn’t a lot of money). The film, its production and the filmmakers passion stand as testaments to the power of friends, creativity, collaboration and tight jeans.

The Wizard behind the festival curtain. What do you get when you cross a singer songwriter, a man of mystery, and a Midici like patronage of local arts and artists - our very own Jeff Clark. We talk with Jeff about how a bunch of cool kids hanging out at a local coffee shop tipped him off that there was something more to this sweet little Sierra town. Also, what inspires him to keep the festival lights burning bright after twenty years.

All small towns come with their share of sweet stories that most people outside of that small town know nothing about. The history of the Nevada City Film Festival, and how it came to be revered as one of the top festivals in North America, is filled with those stories. In this first episode we’ll introduce you to the key players who founded the festival 20 years ago and gave it the creative identity that still holds today and helped make it known as the “Sundance of the Sierra”.