Summer of '99

Hello there Z Space Blog Readers!

Peter Nachtrieb here.

Do you remember what you were doing the summer of 1999? It was a time of optimism and innocence, of dot com dreams and when Florida was just a place to vacation as opposed to an electoral disaster. It was also the summer that my brother George and I embarked on the insane task of shooting the feature length wacky film, Welcome Space Brothers, written and directed by George, shot in West Marin and San Francisco and featuring a stellar cast and crew of Bay Area talent (well they were all living here at the time). After an eleven year journey of filming, editing, finding a composer, running out of money, dealing with other life issues, moving, and assembling the final crucial elements and contributors, we are thrilled to be sharing the COMPLETED film in its World Premiere Screening at Z Space on June 12 at 8PM. And you should totally come.

So, yeah yeah, it took a while and it's pretty wild to consider how much the world has changed politically, technologically and personally. A couple different presidents, some horrendous events and wars and crashes and popping bubbles. Yet, despite the gap between its writing, filming and it's screening, the movie still feels relevant to our modern state of affairs. We have a deputy/nurse totally preoccupied with the spread of disease (you know, like swine flu). We have a rancher couple suspicious of aliens talking to their cow (you know, like Arizona). We have a cult eagerly waiting for the arrival of their Messiah (you know, like the Tea Party). And I won't even get started on the Tobacco researchers. It's interesting to see a particular type of American-ness reflected in the movie that feels timeless. And it's still funny (especially if you like your comedy a little weird).

On the technology side, we shot the movie on one of the first 3 chip (old school) digital video camera. We edited on the first (and many subsequent) version of Final Cut Pro (which is actually now providing a challenge with our weird animation sequences. Damn you, fonts!). The acceptance of video in the movie world has radically spread since we shot. Not to mention the entire universe of film distribution has changed. The indie film world of the 90's has essentially disappeared, but filmmakers can now share their work directly through the Internet. (And that's something we're planning to do as well. )

On the personal side, it's bizarre to think how much has changed in our own lives over a decade, as well as in the lives of those who worked on the film. George was living in LA at the time we shot. Since then, he's moved to SF, worked at a startup, and is now working as a freelance video producer and internet community manager. I was mostly an actor and sketch comedian, and since then I have become a full time playwright (Now working on my 6th and 7th full length plays). Actors and crew have moved, or moved and returned, married, had babies, or have continuously toured the nation performing in a solo show as a nun (that's you Kim Richards!) A number of long lasting, deep friendships grew from that summer in 1999.

Needless to say, it's about time we got this thing out there. We are so happy and thrilled to be at this moment. And we couldn't be happier to do it at Z Space and hopefully raise a little money for them in the process. This is the beginning of our sharing of the film and we hope we can give audiences as much a taste of the fun we had making it. So, yeah, you should totally come.

Join us on June 12 for Welcome Space Brothers! Click here for tickets.

Click here to purchase tickets!