The Nevada City Film Festival (NCFF), City of Nevada City and the Nevada County Fairgrounds presents Movies Under the Pines, a outdoor cinema experience for the entire family,
Building on the success and excitement of the previous two summer’s screenings of family friendly films at both Pioneer Park in Nevada City and the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, NCFF has selected six films that both kids and parents will enjoy.
“Movies Under the Pines is one of those endearing and sweet community events that warm your heart. We wanted this year’s films to reflect that feeling,” says Jesse Locks, Festival Director. “It is so popular, we have people travel from all over to experience this movie magic in a beautiful outdoor setting,”
The film festival brings in state of the art projection and sound to create an outdoor movie theatre on the grass at each venue. Before each screening NCFF curates a special pre-show that includes screening local filmmakers works, movie trivia with fun festival prizes, and other events specific to each screening. Last year the Nevada County Fencing Club showed attendees how to fence prior to The Princess Bride and in honor of UP the festival decorated the park festively with multi-colored balloons.
Beer, wine, popcorn, soft drinks, and ice cream available for purchase. Outside food and non-alcoholic drinks allowed. Outside alcoholic beverages prohibited. Blankets and low back chairs are suggested.
Gates open at 7:30pm for picnicking, films begin at Sunset, which depending on the time of year can be between 8 and 8:30pm. Tickets $7/General Admission, $5/Children 12 & Under. Tickets can be purchased online at www.nevadacityfilmfestival.com and will also be available at the gate of each location.
This year’s line up includes
Date: Saturday, June 4
Film: Moonrise Kingdom
Location: Pioneer Park, Nevada City
“There’s no denying the extravagant pleasures “Moonrise Kingdom” affords as an erudite wish-fullfillment fantasy of empowerment and autonomy.” – The Washington Post
Directed by Wes Anderson and starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton this 2012 film follows a pair of young lovers that flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out to find them. This film was nominated for one Oscar which was for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. Moonrise Kingdom is rated PG-13 and is full of adventure, drama and comedy. This movie is 94 minutes of pure Wes Anderson genius.
Date: Friday, June 10
Film: Finding Nemo
Location: Pioneer Park, Nevada City
“In this seamless blending of technical brilliance and storytelling verve, the Pixar team has made something as marvelously soulful and innately, fluidly American as jazz.” – Entertainment Weekly
Directed and written by Andrew Stanton and Lee Ukrich this cartoon starring Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, and Alexander Gould is a family-friendly Disney Pixar cartoon that is rated G and runs for 100 minutes. Finding Nemo is about a timid clownfish that sets out on a journey to save his son after he is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney. This film won one Oscar for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for three more as well.
Date: Friday, June 24 **this was rescheduled from May 20 due to rain**
Film: The Wizard of Oz
Location: Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley
“The blend of old-fashioned, classic storytelling with cutting-edge technology is undeniably enthralling.” USA Today
Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, and Ray Bolger star in this 1939 film where Dorothy Gale is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard who can help her return home. Notable for its use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score, and unusual characters, over the years, it has become an icon of American popular culture.
Directed by Victor Fleming and George Cukor and written by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson. The Wizard of Oz won 2 Oscars for Best Music, Original Song “Over the Rainbow” and Best Music, Original Score.
The film was nominated for 7 more as well including Best Picture, but lost to Gone With the Wind. It is often ranked on best=movie lists in critics’ and public polls.
Date: Friday, July 8
Film: Back to the Future
Location: Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley
“Kids and parents alike are gonna dig this wonderful fantasy.” – New York Daily News
Inventive, funny, and breathlessly constructed, Back to the Future is rousing a time-travel adventure with an unforgettable spirit. Contemporary high schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) doesn’t have the most pleasant of lives. Browbeaten by his principal at school, Marty musit also endure the acrimonious relations with nerdy father (Crispin Glover) and his lovely mother (Lea Thompson), who in turn suffer the bullying of middles-aged jerk Biff (Thomas F. Wilson), Marty’s dad’s supervisor. The one balm in Marty’s life is his friendship with eccentric scientist Doc (Christopher Lloyd), who at present is working on a time machine. Accidently zapped back into the 1950s, Marty inadvertently interferes with the budding romance of his now-teenaged parents. Our hero must now reunite his parents-to-be, lest he cease to exist in the 1980s. Beyond its dazzling special effects, the best element of Back to the Future is the performance of Michael J. Fox, who finds himself in the quagmire of surviving the white-bread 1950s with a hip 1980s mindset. Rated PG, Directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Date: Saturday, July 9
Film: Edward Scissorhands
Location: Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley
“Burton’s richly entertaining update of the Frankenstein story is the year’s most comic, romantic and haunting film fantasy.” – Rolling Stone
The first collaboration between Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands is a magical modern fairy tale with gothic overtones and a sweet center. Edward is an unfinished creation who has scissors for hands, he is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter Kim played by Winona Ryder. The film also stars Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Vincent Price, and Alan Arkin. This 1990 film is PG-13 and is 105 minutes long. It was nominated for an Oscar in 1991 for Best Makeup.
Date: Saturday, August 27
Film: The Goonies
Location: Pioneer Park, Nevada City
“The Goonies is a smooth mixture of the usual ingredients from Steven Spielberg action movies, made special because of the high-energy performances of the kids who have the adventures.” – Roger Ebert
Goonies follows a group of misfit kids as they search for buried treasure in a subterranean cavern. Here they cross the path of lady criminal Mam Gratelli and her outlaw brood. Fortunately, the kids manage to befriend Fratelli’s deformed (but soft-hearted) son, who comes to their rescue. The Spielberg influence is most pronounced in the film’s prologue and epilogue, when the view is advised that the film’s real villians are a group of “Evil Land Developers.” The musical score makes excellent use of Max Steinner’s main theme from The Adventures of Don Juan, not to mention contributions by the likes of Richard Marx and Cyndi Lauper. Stars Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, PG, 1985