43rd edition of Mill Valley Film Festival programme announced

Mark Fishkin, Founder/Executive Director of the California Film Institute and Zoë Elton, MVFF Director of Programming, are thrilled to announce the complete lineup for the 43^rd Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF43) available in the CAFilm Streaming Room online virtual cinema and Drive-In Cinema launching, Thursday, October 8 and running through Sunday, October 18. The MVFF43 Drive-In Cinema will be located at the beautiful Lagoon Park-Marin Center in San Rafael.
 
BIG NIGHTS: TRIBUTES, SPOTLIGHTS & MVFF CONVERSATIONS (CONFIRMED AT PRESS TIME)
MVFF43 will present a number of Spotlights and Tributes throughout the Festival. This year's Tributes are presented to Kate Winslet, Judi Dench, Viola Davis (who is also the recipient of the Mind the Gap Award – Actor of the Year), and legendary Hollywood star Sophia Loren. Festival Spotlights include Clare Dunne, presenting her new film “Herself”, and Regina King, whose eagerly anticipated film One Night in Miami is the Festival Centerpiece. MVFF Conversations this year will be held with Delroy Lindo regarding his career and recent work in Spike Lee's “Da 5 Bloods” and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and members of the cast of his latest film “The Trial of the Chicago 7”. DocLands this year honors filmmaker Frieda Lee Mock, who will present her new film “RUTH: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words”.
 
DRIVE-IN SCREENINGS – OCT 8 – 17
In collaboration with Outdoor Movies, the Festival is installing a studio-grade outdoor cinema, with a 52-foot screen, 4K projection, and Dolby 5.1/7/1 sound. Drive-In screenings include “Blithe Spirit”, a spectacular Noël Coward adaptation from Edward Hall starring Judi Dench; the ultra-stylized “Mainstream” by Gia Coppola, a commentary on contemporary social media; “Ammonite” by Francis Lee starring Kate Winslet, an 1840s-set portrait of an intense relationship between a fossil hunter and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea; “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” from legendary producer Frank Marshall; Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion winner Nomadland by Chloé Zhao, starring Frances McDormand; and a special 40th anniversary presentation of “Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.”
 
SPECIAL EVENTS & APPOINTMENT SCREENINGS
This year's special events and one-time-only appointment screenings include “One Night in Miami” (with Regina King), King's impressive directorial feature debut; Sundance favorite “Herself” (with Clare Dunne), co-written by and starring Dunne; Erika Cohn's chronicle of women fighting reproductive injustice in their communities, “Belly of the Beast”; the jazz-infused period romance “Sylvie's Love”, starring Tessa Thompson; “Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time”, director Allison Ellwood's intimate portrait of the artists who created a music revolution; “Sound of Metal”, in which a heavy-metal drummer's life is thrown into freefall when he begins to lose his hearing; The “Father”, by Florian Zeller, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman in Zeller's screen adaptation of his acclaimed play, an uncanny examination of the dramatic effects that dementia inflicts upon both the person afflicted and their loved ones; “I Carry You with Me”, a cross-border romantic drama by acclaimed documentarian Heidi Ewing; and “The Truffle Hunters”, a portrait of men and their canine companions who search for rare, expensive, and delicious white Alba truffles deep in the forests of Italy.
 
BEHIND THE SCREENS: PANELS & WORKSHOPS
The Festival will present another strong slate of Panels and Workshops to supplement the outstanding film programming and to continue important and thoughtful discussion for Festival attendees. Mind the Gap, the Festival's ongoing Initiative and pledge to include a minimum of 50% women filmmakers, will present six programs on topics such as The Evolution of Black Women's Roles Onscreen, Rethinking Classic Cinema, and Changing the Film Industry From the Inside. Panels include a Democracy Roundtable, a look at the State of the Industry, and “10 Screenwriters to Watch” presented by Variety.
 
FESTIVAL SECTION – US CINEMA
MVFF's US Cinema section is a showcase of new films by master and emerging American filmmakers who share a talent for independent storytelling. Program highlights include Alan Ball's (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) new film Uncle Frank; Sweet Thing, Alexandre Rockwell's (In The Soup, Little Feet) beautiful lo-fi ode to the magical resilience of childhood; SXSW Grand Jury Award Winner S#!%house from up-and-comer Cooper Raiff; I Carry You with Me, Oscar® nominee Heidi Ewing's first foray into narrative cinema, an epic romance between two Mexican men who risk everything by relocating to New York as undocumented immigrants; Shatara Michelle Ford's award-winning Test Pattern, a portrait of an interracial relationship coping with trauma; Gia Coppola's (Palo Alto) sophomore film Mainstream, a vibrant satire of celebrity in the influencer age; Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee The Evening Hour, Braden King's empathetic portrait of a rural community struggling against a rising tide of opioid addiction; and Chloé Zhao's majestic and highly anticipated Nomadland, starring Academy Award® winner Frances McDormand.
 
FESTIVAL SECTION – VALLEY OF THE DOCS
MVFF presents the latest in documentary filmmaking from heartfelt stories of activism to historical profiles, current events and more. Highlights include the World Premiere of “The Falconer”, Annie Kaempfer's compelling portrait of former “corner boy” Rodney Stotts, who learned how to rescue and train predatory birds, rescuing himself from a life of violence; the US Premiere of “9to5: The Story of a Movement” by Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar, the filmmakers of last year's Oscar®-winning documentary “American Factory; Alice Street”, Bay Area filmmaker Spencer Wilkinson's (“One Voice”) loving portrait of Oakland in the age of gentrification; and “Babenco: Tell Me When I Die”, winner of the Best Documentary on Film award at the Venice Film Festival, a moving chronicle of the end of Oscar®- nominated filmmaker Héctor Babenco's (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”) life as he faces cancer, directed by his wife Bárbara Paz.
 
FESTIVAL SECTION – WORLD CINEMA
MVFF's World Cinema section features stories from around the world that foster a new understanding of our global neighbors and ourselves. Highlights include “Apples”, a surreal comedy from Greek filmmaker Christos Nikou about a mysterious amnesia pandemic sweeping the globe; the US premiere of “Bandar Band”, the story of a battle-of-the-bands competition in Tehran from filmmaker Manijeh Hekmat; veteran Polish director Agnieszka Holland's stunning new film about renowned Czech healer Jan Mikolášek, “Charlatan; The Heist of the Century”, a wild ride through one of the greatest bank heists in Argentinian history; “Here We Are”, a tender Israeli drama about a father who goes on one last road trip with his autistic adult child; “Herself”, starring Irish stage actor Clare Dunne in an uncompromisingly powerful lead performance; “Jumbo”, one of the most talked-about films at both Sundance and the Berlinale this year, a neon-lit fable of an unlikely romance that unfolds in an amusement park; and “Master Cheng,” from Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki, about a mysterious Chinese gentleman and his young son who arrive in a remote village looking for someone no one seems to know.
 
DOCLANDS DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
DocLands Documentary Film Festival (presented this year in tandem with MVFF) brings compelling feature-length and short documentary films and the provocative insights behind them to Marin County. Highlights from DocLands include “Public Trust” by David Garrett Byars, a searing examination of public lands under threat; “Time,” a mesmerizing portrait of the impact of incarceration on a family by Garrett Bradley, winner of the Documentary Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival; “The Book Makers” from Bay Area filmmaker James Kennard, which examines the people who are keeping books and book-making alive in the 21st century; “Citizen Penn” by Don Hardy, an incisive portrait of actor Sean Penn's humanitarian work in Haiti; and “Current Sea” by Christopher Smith, an environmental thriller that exposes the illegal fishing trade in Cambodia.
 
FESTIVAL SECTION – FAMILY FILMS
MVFF's Family Films section features a global sampling of cultures and adventures for young people (and their families) that nurture their love of film. Feature films and shorts from Belgium, Netherlands, South Africa, Columbia, Norway, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Cuba, US, and much more will be showcased. Highlights include Frederike Migom's “Binti”, about a budding YouTube star who dreams of making a permanent home with her Congolese father in Belgium; from the Netherlands, the charming “Jackie & Oopjen”, a funny friendship tale between a precocious 12-year-old and a Rembrandt painting come to life; two young Indian boys join forces to take down a local hoodlum in the exuberant, silly, sly, and action-packed “Kings of Mulberry Street”; Byambasuren Davaa's (The Story of the Weeping Camel) tale of a young Mongolian boy's coming of age and activism in “Veins of the World”; and Justin Baldoni's “Clouds” from Disney Plus, about a teenager diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer who finds a way to inspire others,  based on Laura Sobiech's book “Fly a Little Higher.”
 
FESTIVAL SECTION – 5@5 SHORTS
MVFF again presents a popular showcase of collections of short cinematic gems from every genre including narratives, documentaries, animation, family films, and youth works. Highlights include DocLands Shorts: Nothing But the Facts!, featuring short documentary stories from remote lands and welcoming cultures; 5@5 Kilburn Towers, a collection of true-life tales from Bay Area directors about extraordinary individuals; Love & Teamwork: Animation For All, a charming collection of uplifting animated shorts that highlight the power of love, friendship, and collaboration; and ¡Viva Los Niños!,featuring kid-centric animated, narrative, and documentary films that provide a visual feast for both Spanish and English speakers alike!