NEVADA CITY, CA – In a town with deep and storied ties to the filmmaking world, it feels entirely fitting that two of its most beloved cultural institutions are coming together.
The Onyx Theatre – Nevada City’s unique and exquisite independent art house cinema – will become part of The Magic Lantern, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization behind the Nevada City Film Festival, before the end of the year. For the community that has long supported both, this announcement feels like exactly what it is: a long time coming, and very good news.
“We have always seen ourselves as the caretakers of this space for the community,” says Celine Negrete, Managing Director of the Onyx Theatre. “Joining The Magic Lantern formalizes that bond and allows the Onyx to remain a mission-driven cultural hub for generations to come, guided by the same passion for film that has always defined us.”
The organic popcorn stays. The two screening rooms – the Magic and the Dream – stay. The carefully curated mix of independent, international, documentary, and studio films stays. The staff, who know their regulars by name and can talk cinema for hours, stay. What changes is what becomes possible.
A Portal to Other Worlds
For over 25 years, the Onyx – and its predecessor, the Magic Theatre – has served as exactly that: a portal. A place where a film from Brazil or a debut documentary from a first-time filmmaker could find the same devoted audience as an Oscar contender. In a community of Nevada City’s size, that is genuinely rare.
Theatre owner Jeffrey Clark came to film the way many true cinema lovers do, through a single transformative experience. “It was seeing Bergman’s Persona at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley that changed my world,” he recalls. “I didn’t know movies could do that.” When Clark moved to Nevada City in the 1990s and discovered the Magic Theatre, it felt like finding a treasure. He has been honoring that treasure ever since.
A Relationship Decades in the Making
The Nevada City Film Festival was founded in 2001 and for 25 years the two organizations have shared a history, a mission, and a deep belief that independent film deserves a permanent home in Nevada City. This transition simply makes that official.
“Back when we initially formed The Magic Lantern nonprofit, the notion that it might eventually converge with the Onyx Theatre was always a hope of mine,” said Clark. “Bringing inspiring, creative cinema to our community is their common goal, and I couldn’t be prouder of how both organizations have accomplished just that – each in a fun, inviting way and with the highest standards.”
Jesse Locks, Executive Director of the Nevada City Film Festival, is equally enthusiastic. “We see this as a step towards the long-term sustainability of our organizations and an opportunity to increase how together we can serve our filmmaking community, our local moviegoing audience, and Nevada County itself.”
What Nonprofit Status Actually Means
The Onyx is an art house cinema: an independent theater whose films are chosen by people who love cinema, from independent, international, and documentary films to select studio releases. Most art house cinemas in the U.S. are nonprofits. In a 2026 national survey by Art House Convergence, a coalition of independent cinemas, 81% of the art house theaters that responded operate as nonprofits, supported by the communities they serve. As part of The Magic Lantern, the Onyx now joins that tradition.
Nonprofit status doesn’t make the challenges of running an independent theater go away, but it does open new avenues of support: grants, tax-deductible donations, and memberships. That support can fund bolder programming, more filmmaker events, educational initiatives, and the kind of long-term stability that independent cinemas rarely enjoy. And every ticket sold and every bag of organic popcorn purchased now supports that mission too.
Nevada County is already home to around 200 active nonprofits. By joining their ranks, the Onyx is acknowledging what its audiences have long felt: that this theater belongs to the community.
A Community That Has Always Loved Film
Nevada County has always been a place that makes films, funds films, talks about films, and shows up for them. The Nevada City Film Festival draws filmmakers from around the world each June and has been named one of the Top 50 Film Festivals globally by Moviemaker Magazine. The Filmed in Nevada County Grant is actively bringing productions – and production dollars – into the region. And Cinema in Schools is introducing the next generation of Nevada County students to filmmaking as a language and a craft.
The Onyx has always been the beating heart of that ecosystem. Now, formally united with the organization that shares its DNA, it is positioned to be even more.
Details about new membership and community giving opportunities will be announced in the coming months.