MIND THE GAP: For this 10th anniversary of Mill Valley Film Festival’s gender equity initiative, we celebrate the bold work of female and nonbinary filmmakers.
In a damning indictment of Alabama’s broken state prison system, investigative filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman unearth decades of outrageous abuse, deplorable conditions, and shocking injustices that demand action.
When prosecutors file 95 felony counts against a midwife and none against the doctor who attended the same delivery, the Mennonite women she serves step away from their cloistered lives to speak in her defense.
In lively Tangier, a spirited 74-year-old woman on the brink of eviction refuses to forfeit her way of life. Maryam Touzani’s delightful film is a playful, tender celebration of courage, memory, and living on one’s own terms.
A musical therapist and a precocious 17-year-old hospital patient form a tight bond that brings both joy and revelations in this compassionate, confident drama from first-time director Libby Ewing.
In 1999, Ankara, Sabiha works at an erotic call center. When a teenage boy trapped beneath earthquake rubble dials in, her decision to help sparks a quiet storm of compassion, risk, and political consequence.
Ever since American baseball was introduced to Japan in 1872, it’s been a mutual obsession between both nations. _Diamond Diplomacy_ traces the history behind our shared love of the sport, from its early days overseas to the Shohei Ohtani era.
From child actor to pop star to record producer and artist manager, Peter Asher is a creative force as he reveals in his moving and effervescent stage show, captured in local filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s entrancing documentary.
Love, loss, and the creation of one of the world’s most enduring pieces of literature are at the heart of Chloé Zhao’s moving rendering of the bestselling novel, _Hamnet_.
What begins with two eight-year-old girls preparing for a birthday party becomes a surprising and poignant tale of a fierce young servant who experiences the indignities of a class system that she cannot fully comprehend.
Frida is a free-spirited girl in Coyoacán, Mexico. When polio strikes, she finds solace in her creativity. _Hola Frida_ beautifully recreates the childhood of artist Frida Kahlo, highlighting the powers of imagination and resilience.
A mother and daughter’s joint vacation serves to commemorate their late husband and father. But the beauty and romance of the Azores has other ideas—this trip won’t be just about mourning.
A Montauk woman unravels to spectacular effect in Mary Bronstein’s tense depiction of motherhood on the brink, a mesmerizing showcase of MVFF Spotlight honoree Rose Byrne’s remarkable talent.
With a knock-out performance by incomparably charming Taiwanese child star Nina Ye, this is a colorful and fast-paced story about the power of family and the clash of old and new values in working-class Taipei.
The life of photojournalist Lynsey Addario comes into sharp focus in Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s gripping account of a fearless woman who puts herself into harm’s way to show the world the truth.
After years as a housekeeper in Israel, Mila returns to her Polish village— and a family who have become strangers. Or Sinai’s moving film traces a woman caught between lives, searching for belonging, memory, and the self she left behind.
A trip to an art museum gives JB Mooney his best idea yet—what if he steals some paintings and sells them? Things don’t go exactly according to plan but JB has everything under control. Or so he thinks.
Join us as we highlights exceptional established artists and a wave of emerging talent whose work promises to shape the future of film and our collective imagination. We hope our screenings and conversations inspire you, and we look forward to seeing you at the festival.
A college student’s visit to a lake house stirs memories that aren’t her own in this enterprising first feature made under Florida State auspices that mixes consideration of racial injustice with playful genre elements of ghost story and creature terror.
Crafted mostly from police body-camera footage, this Sundance US Documentary Directing Award-winner invites us to witness and judge the events leading up to a white Florida woman shooting her Black neighbor.
Two-time Oscar® winner Jodie Foster (_Nyad_, MVFF46) captivates as a psychiatrist-turned-amateur-sleuth who investigates the death of a patient in a film that blends genres in a disarmingly delightful way.
A rich and potent examination of immigration issues within Africa, Erige Sehiri’s moving and poignant drama portrays three female Ivorians trying to make a life for themselves in Tunisia.
An Asian elephant who endured 50 years of isolation in a Chilean circus embarks on an extraordinary 2,550-mile journey to freedom at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, guided by compassionate experts and a devoted team of volunteers.
Brendan Fraser’s enormous talent for playing empathetic characters is put to brilliant use in this crowd-pleasing comedy drama about an American actor in Tokyo who signs on with an agency that provides surrogate friends and family members.
A remarkably lived-in character study about a New York City location scout, this nuanced, observational feature is a perfect ode to filmmaking — both the lonely and the beautiful parts.
In these exciting Mind the Gap shorts, unexpected encounters and revelations challenge characters, and change them in indelible ways.
Mascha Schilinski’s extraordinary, Cannes Jury Prize-winning feminist drama possesses the elegance of a poem and the emotional heft of a novel as it chronicles four women living in the same house at different periods over the last century.
This program is an onstage conversation with film clips, and presentation of the Mind the Gap Award for filmmaking to Eva Victor.
This intimate portrait of longtime activist and journalist Amy Goodman depicts a life lived on the frontlines of global crises while holding politicians accountable and speaking truth to power.
Come for the celebrity icons (Bowie, Brando), stay for the deep reads of major political actors (MLK, RFK) and historical events. This documentary portrays an exceptional photographer with extraordinary access and a keen observing eye.
Two Parisian teens spend a summer as camp counselors, where friendships deepen, identities blossom, and joy and tension intertwine. **Summer Beats** pulses with feeling, humor, and the messy, radiant truth of growing up.
This documentary on Sun Ra chronicles the Afro-futurism pioneer from his early days in Alabama to his rebirth as an interplanetary ambassador, liberating Black people one cosmic, free-jazz skronk at a time.
A young woman navigates life at a busy US-Mexico border town in Tatti Ribeiro’s singular feature debut, a comedy-meets-documentary that feels both urgent and slice-of-life all at once.