The Nomad Trilogy
AN AMERICAN EPIC JOURNEY
“DEEDS AND ADVENTURES” OF HOUSELESS AND HOMELESS SEEKERS WHO PULL UP STAKES AND TAKE TO THE ROAD TO ESCAPE CREDIT CARD SOCIETY AND SEARCH FOR A NEW AND BETTER WAY.
*MEMBERS OF NILSSON’S CITIZEN CINEMA PLAYERS WORKSHOP IMPROVISE CHARACTERS AND CIRCUMSTANCES WITH THE PEOPLE OF LASSEN AND MODOC COUNTIES IN DRAMAS INSPIRED BY EVERYDAY LIFE.
*A LOW BUDGET TOUR DE FORCE. THREE DRAMATIC FEATURE FILMS. A SMALL, MOBILE CREW. ROB NILSSON’S DIRECT ACTION STYLE AND MOSAIC EDITING TECHNIQUES.
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Arid Cut (The Beginning)
Rail and Mitra, young poets on a stolen motorcycle, search for Arid Cut, a place which doesn’t exist, and Bert Neville, a father who has disappeared. Aunt Sandy who lives in her car down by the tracks gives them a clue. Vietnam vets and wildcat carpenters, Travis and Ziggy, lose their jobs. Karin, a homeless addict, and Taylor, a black rapper, resist real estate developers. With no more west to escape to the seekers head east into the unknown.
ARID CUT had its World Premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October, 2019.
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Center Divide ( The Road Not Taken)
Our seekers find mountains, deserts, and small towns ringed with forest fires. Their truck blows a gasket leaving Travis, Ziggy and Karin on foot. Local characters provide clues to Bert Neville and Arid Cut. Entrepreneurs propose a geothermal resort in the desert. Dane, half Modoc and half Scottish, confronts Rail with the stolen bike and tells him about the 1863 Modoc war with the US Cavalry. He and his friend Jan invite them on a trip to a traditional tribal site. When Rail goes on a drunken rampage, Mitra is left to accompany them alone. She is bitten by a rattlesnake and Rail rushes back to find her. Will she survive and the voyage to Arid Cut continue?
CENTER DIVIDE had its World Premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October, 2021.
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Fault Line (End of the Line)
A ten-year drought brings local ranches to the brink of disaster. The search for Bert Neville takes its toll on Rail and Mitra. They break up and Rail continues on alone. Travis, Ziggy and Karin hitchhike in high country and get lost in a burnt out forest. Taylor travels with Ukrainian gallery owners looking for the prototypical western artist. Dane introduces Rail to his mother, Violet, a full blood hewise, who remembers the horrors of the Indian schools. Her ex-husband Bedford refuses to give his real name to a white man. Her daughter April broadcasts a tribal blog on indian affairs. Dane and Rail are stopped by local militia types. Entrepreneurs propose a geothermal plant to ranchers and locals divided by political views. Rail finds an old map in an abandoned ranch and Mitra, now recovered, rejoins him. Is the mystery of Bert Neville about to be solved?
Currently in post-production.