Northern Lights

Winner of the 1979 Camera d’Or, Northern Lights, a unique work of political cinema from the late 1970s, dramatizes small North Dakotan wheat farmers’ political struggle against the bankers and railroad magnates pushing them into bankrupcy. Two young lovers get swept up in the turmoil surrounding the formation of the populist Nonpartisan League in the mid-1910’s. Shot on location in black-and-white 16mm with a cast of nonprofessional actors, this deeply moving, politically committed film is a masterpiece of American independent cinema. The 4K digital restoration of Northern Lights was created by IndieCollect and Metropolis Post in collaboration with directors John Hanson and Rob Nilsson.