Mill Valley Film Festival unveils MVFF49 lineup, new sections

The Mill Valley Film Festival will screen 94 features and 80 shorts from 45 countries when its 49th edition runs Oct. 1–11 at venues across Southern Marin and the Bay Area.

Martin McDonagh's dark comedy-thriller Wild Horse Nine opens the festival on Thursday, Oct. 1. The film, which premiered at Venice and screened at Telluride, stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA officers dispatched to Easter Island just before the 1973 Chilean coup. Rockwell will receive the MVFF Actor Tribute on Friday, Oct. 2, according to the festival's lineup announcement.

Peter Farrelly's biographical drama I Play Rocky serves as the centerpiece on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Anthony Ippolito portrays Sylvester Stallone's struggle to get the original Rocky made on his own terms. Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut closes the festival on Sunday, Oct. 11, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti in a film described as a "love letter to local musical theater."

The schedule spans 11 days. Screenings will be held at the Sequoia Cinema in Mill Valley, the Lark Theater in Larkspur, the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael and the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Sixty-one percent of the lineup's projects were made by women and nonbinary filmmakers.

"Every year I'm struck by how much passion and craft goes into the films our team discovers, and MVFF49 is no exception," said Mark Fishkin, the festival's founder and director. "As we head toward our 50th anniversary, this lineup is a reminder of why we started this festival: to bring the world's best storytelling to Marin and beyond, and Marin's love of film out into the wider world."

The festival adds two new sections this year: New Directors, showcasing first-time filmmakers, and Animation.

Guest tributes and special screenings fill the schedule. Director James Gray receives the MVFF Director Award on Monday, Oct. 5, with a screening of his crime drama Paper Tiger and an onstage conversation moderated by filmmaker Rian Johnson. French-Belgian actress Virginie Efira receives the Screen Artistry Award for her Cannes Best Actress-winning performance in All of a Sudden, directed by Hamaguchi Ryusuke, Variety reported. Director Marie Kreutzer receives the Mind the Gap Award; her film Gentle Monster, starring Léa Seydoux, screens Oct. 5, according to Gold Derby.

The lineup also features several Bay Area connections. Josephine, the 2026 Sundance winner directed by Beth dé Araújo, was shot in San Francisco. The Unrooted Bloom was co-directed by local poet and activist Amber Allen-Peirson. Greg Kohs' The A-Word: The Future of Aging centers on Bay Area biotech scientists.

A tribute with a live performance will honor songwriter and producer Linda Perry. The festival's Mind the Gap Summit offers a full day for women and nonbinary filmmakers, with a keynote luncheon featuring Cheryl Boone Isaacs.

Ticket and program details are available at mvff.com.

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