2015 Sundance Trading Card Series: #30. Nick Case (Take Me to the River)

Eric Lavallee: Name me three of your favorite “2014 discoveries” …
Nick Case: 1.) Favorite Musician: Keegan DeWitt. Keegan is the lead singer for the Nashville-based band Wild Cub and is quickly becoming one of my favorite film composers. His work on LISTEN UP PHILIP and LAND HO! were two of the more memorable scores for me in 2014. 2. Favorite Multi-Hyphenate: Andre Hyland a.k.a bLonNd cHiLi. Andre is a very talentedwriter/director/actor/comedian. His short FUNNEL, which premiered at Sundance was probably my favorite short in 2014. I also highly recommend checking out his Youtube channel as there are some real gems particularly his RUNNING LATE series. 3. Most Memorable Film Experience: RICH HILL. Beautifully heartbreaking. See it.

Lavallee: Was wondering what lured you to Take Me to the River and what are you hoping auds will take away from this film experience?
Case: During one of my early conversations with Matt he was talking about what he hopes to accomplish with this film and future projects. This is from his director’s statement: “At our core, I believe we are irrational, perplexing, and, at times, even surreal creatures. I find the question of how well we can ever know another person, or even ourselves, to be infinitely fascinating.” It’s my hope that audiences will walk away from the film and be encouraged to broach difficult subjects whether it be an inner-familial relationship or situation or to not be afraid to explore a challenging personal issue within ourselves.

Lavallee: Having worked on projects with the likes of Cam Archer and Martha Stephens, I was wondering how you come to choose the projects/filmmakers you want to be associated with? What matters the most? Artistic sensibilities or the narrative outline on paper?
Case: I think if you look at the films by Cam Archer, Martha Stephens and Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, there is a very clear and distinct voice and artistic sensibility within each of their bodies of work. I’m naturally drawn to filmmakers who fit that mold. I would say that what’s most important to me is a genuine love for the artist and the material. Producing a film is a 3-4 year experience and for me, I have to be completely in love with it or else it simply won’t work.