Northern Lights
new 4k restoration at the “big” ROXIE ft. director Rob Nilsson in person
At the Roxie Theater | 3117 16th St, SF, CA 94103
Tuesday June 17, 2025 | 6:00pm (Big Roxie)
(+ an encore at the “little” ROXIE on Sat. June 21, 2025 at 3:15 pm)
Tickets $15 (TLM Members get $3 off!) | Purchase via the Roxie’s website
TLM and the Roxie Theater co-present a 4k restoration of Northern Lights (1978) by prolific Bay Area indie filmmaker Rob Nilsson. His breakout vérité masterpiece resounds with the museum’s interest in overlooked histories of immigrant communities, organized labor, and resistance, and anticipated Nilsson’s decade of “direct action cinema” that yielded his sprawling, TL-based 9 @ Night films, screening monthly at TLM starting with Noise (2002) in September.
Winner of the Camera d’Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, the sui generis Northern Lights marks one of the most moving and committed works of political cinema from the late 1970s. Dramatizing the formation of the populist Nonpartisan League in North Dakota in the mid-1910s, Northern Lights captures the plight of immigrant Dakotan farmers as they toil and struggle against the combined forces of industry and finance. Amid this paroxysm of class tension, two young lovers find themselves swept up in the tide. Shot on location (on grain-rich black-and-white 16mm) in the dead of winter and featuring an astonishing cast of non-professional actors, this handmade masterpiece remains a stirring monument to collectivity.
Produced, directed, written and edited by John Hanson & Rob Nilsson. Cast: Robert Behling, Susan Lynch, Joe Spano, Marianne Åström DeFina, Ray Ness and Helen Ness. Runtime 98 mins. English, Norwegian, and Swedish with English subtitles.New 4K Restoration by IndieCollect in collaboration with Metropolis Post and the Academy Film Archive.More info about Northern Lights at the Roxie’s website. Screenings start promptly at showtime!
Read about director Rob Nilsson’s relationship with the Tenderloin, TL-based organization Faithful Fools, and his epic 9 @ Night Series via this blog post, and check out his new website robnilssonartforms.com to explore his full catalog. TLM will screen the 9 @ Night films in order on the 2nd Thursday of each month starting with Noise (2002) in September 2025.