Since 2001, the Nevada City Film Festival (NCFF) has brought top independent film, music and comedy, along with attracting thousands of attendees, international filmmakers, and industry guests to the beautiful historic town of Nevada City, California.

Nevada City is known for its supportive arts and cultural scene, and makes screening a film here a positive, encouraging and exciting experience.

NCFF is often referred to as the “Sundance of the Sierra” for its emphasis on fiercely independent cinema that showcases innovative, progressive and exciting new voices in film. Our festival focuses on shorts and short filmmakers, with features peppered throughout. We love supporting first time or mid career filmmakers.

In 2023, NCFF was named "One of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals" by Moviemaker Magazine, and voted the #9 film festival in the USA by 10Best USA Today. In 2022, NCFF was named for the third time by Moviemaker Magazine as one of the top 50 film festivals in the world worth the submission fee for filmmakers.

This year’s festival kicks off June 21-23, 2024 in historic downtown Nevada City. This year's festival features film screenings, panels and workshops for filmmakers and festival attendees, filmmaker Q&A’s and coffee talks, after-parties, nature hikes and outdoor excursions, and other special events.

NCFF is known for recognizing and supporting new talent including independent filmmakers such as Jonathan Krisel (Portlandia, Baskets), Jason Sussberg (Bill Nye: Science Guy), Patrick Brice (Corporate Animals, The Overnight), Greg Finton (Dazed & Confused, The World According to Dick Cheney), Augustine Frizzell (Never Goin’ Back), David Zellner (Damsel, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter), Christina Choe (Nancy), Blackhorse Lowe (Reservation Dogs, Fukry), and animator and performance artist Miwa Matryek, among others.

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