The pretensions of academia have rarely been skewered more mercilessly than in Luca Guadagnino’s new drama led by a powerhouse Julia Roberts as a professor whose hopes for tenure are complicated by a student’s accusation of sexual assault.
Akiko is tired of zookeepers making a monkey out of him, even though he is a monkey. With support from his family, he escapes to the wild forest, embarking on an adventurous journey to freedom.
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.
A classic Bay Area eccentric capable of finding “the comedic in everything,” André Ricciardi faces a grim health diagnosis. Despite that, as this imaginative, Sundance award-winning documentary illustrates, he remains stubbornly funny.
In this family friendly update of Orwell, overconsumption runs rampant and only the animals can save us. With voiceover cast Seth Rogen, Woody Harrelson, Kathleen Turner, and Glenn Close, Animal Farm is a must-see fable for our time.
Produced by actor Natalie Portman, Ugo Bienvenu’s visionary animated tale of time-space travel, suitable for ages 8-118, evokes the best of Studio Ghibli and features Arnaud Toulon’s gorgeous orchestral score. This year’s top prize at Annecy.
When a New York State midwife faces 95 felony counts in the 2021 death of an infant, the Mennonite women she serves step away from their cloistered lives to speak in her defense.
Colin Farrell gives an incendiary performance as Lord Doyle, a high-rolling, low-life gambler in director Edward Berger (Conclave, MVFF47)’s breathless thriller based on Lawrence Osborne’s best-selling novel. A real winner!
Ethan Hawke delivers an astonishing performance as alcoholic genius songwriter Lorenz Hart, hiding his disappointment in collaborator Richard Rodgers’ defection behind nonstop chatter at the opening night party of Rodgers’ and new partner Oscar Hammerstein II’s musical Oklahoma!.
Brothers Ethan and Ari Gold roam San Francisco’s historic North Beach neighborhood in 90-odd unbroken minutes of fraternal song, hilly scenery, and improvised single-shot cinema.
Conspiracy-obsessed cousins Teddy and Donny are on a mission to save bees—and humanity—from Colony Collapse Disorder. Amazing performances by Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone and newcomer Aiden Delbis anchor Yorgos Lanthimos’ close-to-the-bone black comedy.
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.
In this crack procedural, Léa Drucker plays a dedicated French internal affairs officer on the hunt for some abusive cops. Dominik Moll’s character-driven thriller measures the emotional toll on those devoted few trying to make a difference.
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.
Academy Award®-nominated director Evgeny Afineevsky returns to Ukraine to chronicle the lives of war-wounded children living through Russia’s invasion, delivering a searing documentary that blends live-action footage with animated recreations.
In the midst of the Great War, a Yorkshire mill town’s Choral Society recruits a new chorus master (Ralph Fiennes) in this drama that examines wartime’s effects on those left back home and celebrates the power of music.
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.
Actor-turned-filmmaker Ben McKenzie makes a confident directorial debut with this fast-paced documentary on cryptocurrency, blending candid interviews with industry figures and human stories to deliver a clear-eyed, timely exploration that’s both engaging and informative.
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.
Do we want to live to be 150 years old? That’s just one of the big questions under consideration in this fascinating, future-fueled documentary that explores technology’s effects on aging.
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.
Bradley Cooper (Maestro, MVFF46) explores the end of a marriage in this comedy drama starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern navigating co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form as their relationship unravels.
A mechanic seeks vengeance on the man he is convinced tortured him in prison in Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s searing Palme d’Or winner, a revenge thriller infused with moral complexity, dark humor, and unmistakable rage.
Colin Hanks delivers an insightful portrait of actor and comedian John Candy, the complex brilliant man emerging through clips and testimonials from those closest to him, including his family, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, and Catherine O’Hara.
Jennifer Lopez is the screen queen who captures the imaginations of two Argentinean political prisoners in Bill Condon’s mesmerizing adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical that blends lavish fantasia with a realistic depiction of life under oppression.
The widowed Italian president, Mariano De Santis, faces moral choices and personal grief. Sorrentino’s luminous direction and Servillo’s masterful performance render La Grazia a tender, witty, humorous, and profoundly resonant portrait of love and loss.
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.
This epic portrait of rural life in China’s Henan province immerses us in the lives of four generations of a wheat harvesting family as change slowly comes to a village where the old ways still hold fast.
A disintegrating marriage takes center stage in this quirky and tender tragicomedy from Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason. Artful sequences and fantasy visions wrap around the narrative of a family navigating a difficult year of change.
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.
Actor Chang Chen masterfully portrays the desperation of a Chinese delivery driver in NYC whose American dream becomes a nightmare when the bike he relies on to do his job is stolen.
In dreamy Lisbon, Nicolau drifts through old loves and missed chances after a breakup. The Luminous Life is a tender, searching portrait of adulthood, full of heart, humor, and the quiet hope of starting again.
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.
Drifting across Argentina in a camper van with her guardians, nine-year-old Anika offers “animal communication” to strangers, unfolding a poetic, quietly wondrous journey of belief, connection, and the tender mysteries of childhood.
Despite Metallica’s decades-long status as an essential part of the Bay Area musical landscape, revelations abound in this vibrant documentary that is about both the iconic heavy metal band and their devoted community of fans.
While most Nigerians mark June 24, 1993, as the date the country’s miliary leadership annulled their presidential election, for brothers Aki and Remi, it’s the memorable day they spend in Lagos bonding with their little-seen father.
In a remote 1982 Chilean mining town, a mysterious illness spreads through the gaze of lovers. Amid desert heat, young Lidia seeks truth in a queer cabaret of grace, memory, and quiet defiance—a luminous, original Western fable.
A withering corporate satire forms the backbone of Park Chan-wook’s new film about a laid-off paper executive (Korean superstar Lee Byung-hun) who arrives at a radical solution in order to get his job back.
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.
Shot in luminous black-and-white, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague takes us behind the making of Breathless. Zoey Deutch and Guillaume Marbeck dazzle in this radiant love letter to cinema’s youthful rebellion.
Years after witnessing a horrific crime, a man finds a chance to confront the perpetrator in a tense action thriller blending dark humor, political satire, and a piercing examination of Gaza’s ongoing turmoil.
In 1957 Budapest, a boy clings to the story of his Jewish father—until a brutal stranger claims otherwise. Orphan is a haunting coming-of-age journey through memory, myth, and the quiet rebellion of belief.
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.
An unexpected family reunion brings warmth to an unusually chilly Christmas in Guadalajara when three long-separated siblings come together, a cache of home movies helping re-ignite the flame of love that binds them all together.
Ira Sachs’ latest film delivers a perfectly imagined time capsule of a memorable 1974 interview between friends, writer Linda Rosenkranz (Rebecca Hall) and photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw).
Charlie Polinger’s striking directorial debut is a psychological horror film starring Everett Blunck (Griffin in Summer, MVFF47) as Ben, an insecure tween desperate to win over the cool kids at his water polo camp.
Forced “patriotic” duty becomes a challenging adventure for one determined little girl chosen to bake Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s birthday cake in Hasan Hadi’s exceptional first feature.
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.
Director Nathaniel Lezra weighs in on transnational migration with this comprehensive look at some of the faces and stories behind the news headlines, finding that the narrative of a global crisis only tells part of the story.
A Peruvian father and son’s playful dubbing of classic animation into Quechua becomes a profound act of cultural preservation that reminds us that language is more than a tool for communication; it is a vessel for memory and identity.
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.
Amidst the vibrant chaos of 1977 Recife’s Carnaval, Marcelo quietly plots a dangerous escape under the watchful eyes of Brazil’s military regime in this atmospheric, richly textured drama blending political tension, dark humor, and haunting suspense.
Joachim Trier reunites with Worst Person in the World star Renate Reinsve for this witty yet tender drama about an accomplished actress confronting her estranged father (Stellan Skarsgård), a once-renowned director.
MVFF partners with UCLA and CSU Long Beach for this family friendly program of animated films, showcasing the talents of students (and a few professors). This cartoon cornucopia includes comedies, fairy tales, family stories, and insightful observations about growing up.
"All you have to do is smile that smile and there go all my defenses." When it comes to relationships (husband/wife, parent/child, former or future lovers), the stories cover a gamut of emotion in these shorts.
“Life's like poetry, but in my poem until now, there's always been a missing line.” In this shorts program, we present a collection of true-life tales from filmmakers about extraordinary individuals and cultural change makers from around the world.
"What a way to make a livin'. Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'." Be sure to check out these shorts about the highs and lows of people working at their jobs.
"Hiding in shadows where we don't belong living in darkness to hide." Sometimes people who need help, support, or affirmation go to unlikely sources in these short films, which range from the playful to the intense.
In these exciting Mind the Gap shorts, unexpected encounters and revelations challenge characters, and change them in indelible ways.
From scheming teens and high school daydreams to magical VHS tapes and acts of courage, this youth-produced program celebrates inventive storytelling and imaginative worlds. These shorts explore the humor and heart of their characters, capturing moments both whimsical and profound.
Backyards, farmlands, and coastlines meet in this documentary shorts program, where territory and daily life reveal both the healing bonds of community and the realities we must tend to outside our homes.
Oliver Laxe’s hypnotic Cannes prizewinner follows a concerned father on an existential journey across the Moroccan desert in search of his missing daughter. Shot in the gorgeous Sahara, Sirāt demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
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.
The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White mesmerizes as The Boss in an enthralling drama that captures the rock icon at a pivotal moment in his life as he works on the songs that will become his album Nebraska.
Step directly inside the history-making election of Sarah McBride, the first transgender person elected to Congress, who demonstrates the power of choosing hope and action in the face of Republicans’ anti-trans hostilities.
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.
Joel Edgerton’s formidable talent for revealing the soulful depths of his characters illuminates every frame of Clint Bentley’s resonant adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella about an ordinary man’s life unfolding amidst the momentous change of the 20th century.
For centuries, what lies below—and out of sight—has fascinated humans. This beautifully lensed, brilliantly scored, and grippingly philosophical documentary explores why subterranean spaces hold such a timeless allure—and, perhaps, the key to humanity’s future.
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.
Daniel Craig reprises his role as Benoit Blanc in this third chapter in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series of murder mysteries, as the brilliant (and charming) private eye seeks to uncover whodunit this time.
This action-packed documentary dives deep into the Amazon forest as an Indigenous chief and her husband defend the rainforest against criminals and the government, while raising a family. Leonardo Di Caprio produced.