The 47th Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF), returning to Marin County October 3-13, 2024, revealed the initial lineup of local films set to debut at this year’s Festival,.

MVFF introduces the latest works from acclaimed Bay Area filmmakers as well as films that highlight the natural beauty of the Bay Area, and tell local stories, underscoring the Festival’s commitment to spotlighting both established and up-and-coming talents within the region.

Features

Democracy Noir
(US, documentary feature, dir. Connie Field)
Three Hungarian women – a journalist, a nurse and an opposition politician – fight in different ways to expose corruption and lies in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. But they face a lot of resistance from several quarters. Director Connie Field lives in Berkeley

Lost in Time: Druid Heights
(US, documentary feature, dir. Damian Panetta)
Ed Stiles, 83, lives in a Pacific coast ghost town, who was enthralled by counterculture mayhem and later survived tragic events in this hidden Muir Woods enclave just above Mill Valley. But now the National Parks Service might bulldoze his forest paradise and its astonishing history into oblivion.
World Premiere. Protagonist lives in Marin. The film was shot on location in Mill Valley, Mt. Tamalpais, Sausalito, Muir Woods National Forest

Oceania: Journey to the Center
(US, documentary feature, dir. Natalie Zimmerman)
The story is centered on the island nation of Kiribati–predicted to be uninhabitable by 2030 due to rising sea levels. The film is an elegy, an inquiry, and a call to action, as it asks us to reconsider what connections are most vital to human and ecological survival and why we must reestablish them if we are to survive as a species. Director Natalie Zimmerman lives in Fairfax. Sound mixer James Hicken lives in Oakland. Online Editor and Color Grader Jesse Spencer lives in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley. Shot on location at Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito; Limantour Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore; and Port of Oakland

Standing Above The Clouds
(US, documentary feature, dir. Jalena Keane-Lee)
When a massive Thirty Meter Telescope is proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, an uprising of kiaʻi (protectors) in Hawaiʻi and worldwide dedicate their lives to protecting the sacred mountain from further destruction. Through the lens of mothers and daughters in three Native Hawaiian families, STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS explores intergenerational healing and the impacts of safeguarding cultural traditions. In English & Hawaiian with English subtitles. Director Jalena Keane-Lee lives in Berkeley. Producer Amber Espinosa-Jones lives in Oakland

The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & The Art of Survival
(US, documentary feature, dir. Julie Rubio)
Traces the life of the renowned painter through her powerful paintings – from her rise to international stardom in 1920s Paris to her move to the US fleeing fascism in 1940, to her current revival. Follows this remarkable refugee, examining the bisexual, Jewish artist who embodied talent, resilience, passion, and a pursuit of artistic freedom.
World Premiere. Director Julie Rubio lives in Orinda. MVFF Screening coincides with launch of “Tamara de Lempicka” exhibition at the De Young Museum in San Francisco

Zurawski V Texas
(US, documentary feature, dirs. Maisie Crow, Abbie Perrault )
With unique access to the plaintiffs and attorney in the currently unfolding Zurawskiv. Texas lawsuit, this documentary tells the story of the unflinching women who are fighting back after the fall of Roe.
Producer Blye Faust lives in Belvedere

Shorts

Bickering
(Gabrielle Hanson Chong | US 2024, 1 min)
Best friends Harriet and Priscilla argue over a small misunderstanding.
Screening in Shorts: LoveHappy (YOUTH WORKS) program. Fimmaker Gabrielle Hanson Chong lives in Hayward

The Bird Rescue Center
(Derek Knowles | US 2024, 13 min)
A documentary profile of the extraordinary rehabilitation efforts of Santa Rosa’s Bird Rescue Center, a place where dedicated volunteers strive to give injured birds a second flight.
Screening in the Sweet Dreams shorts program. Filmmaker Derek Knowles lives in Santa Rosa

The Callback
(Kara Herold | US 2024, 16 min)
A comedy about following a dream into a waking nightmare.
Director Kara Herold lives in Oakland

Dreamkeeping
(Mimi Muhle, US 2024, 5 min)
A housekeeper at a hotel makes the tough decision to leave her job for a better future.
Screening in Shorts: LoveHappy (YOUTH WORKS) program. Filmmaker Mimi Muhle lives in Noe Valley

like a stone or flower
(Kaiya Ming Jordan | US 2024, 10 min)
Three artists of different generations reflect on the ability of art to transcend rationality and logic.
Screening in Shorts: LoveHappy (YOUTH WORKS) program. Filmmaker Kaiya Ming Jordan lives in Berkeley

Guiding Light
(India Anne Mitchell | US 2024, 5 min)
An inspired young filmmaker weaves together past and present as she looks back on the legacy of the Polly Klaas tragedy that rocked the nation.
Screening in Shorts: LoveHappy (YOUTH WORKS) program. Filmmaker India Anne Mitchell lives in Petaluma

Lil’ Red Is Riding The Wrong Way In The Hood
(Venus Jones | US 2024, 8 min)
An animated Hip Hop and gender twist on a classic cautionary tale originally entitled, Little Red Riding Hood. In this modern version, after Lil’ Red, an adventurous young boy, has his bike stolen by a wolf in sheep’s clothing a battle of wits begins. It’s an entertaining and educational film about trust as we all seek to find our way to stay on the right path, in an increasingly complex and unpredictable world. Filmmaker Venus Jones resides in Santa Clara.. Sound Engineer Tim Abbott lives in Santa Clara. Music composer Malcolm Lee lives in San Jose

Mother
(Meg Shutzer | US 2024, 23 min)
In San Francisco, a city known for its queer community and bustling gay nightlife, there hasn’t been a lesbian bar for almost a decade. Driven by nostalgia for a time when queer women had spaces, Malia Spanyol, a self-identified dyke sets out to build one for the next generation of women and femmes.
Filmmaker Brandon Yadegari lives in San Francisco’s Mission District. Filmmaker Meg Shutzer lives in Oakland.. The bar, Mother, is in San Francisco’s Mission District. And bar owner, Malia Spanyol, lives in San Francisco’s Mission District

Out Of The Dark: Cal Calamia
(Sarah Klein and Tom Mason | US 2024, 8 min)
An intimate look at the journey of professional athlete Cal Calamia, a transgender marathon runner who’s advocating for inclusion in the running world.
Protagonist Cal Calamia lives in San Francisco’s Panhandle.

Paramita
(Kirthi Nath | US 2024, 15 min)
A meditative spiritual short that connects with Buddhist practices and nature as gateways for intergenerational healing.
Filmmaker Kirthi Nath, lives in Oakland

Red Boat Crossing
(Jeanne C. Finlay | US 2024, 38 min)
Sixty-five years after the Allied invasion of Southern France, the director’s mother, Cecily Barker Finley, tries to recall her involvement as a social worker aboard a WWII Red Cross ship. These memories are recorded in letters and phone calls with her daughter living on the coast of France where the invasion occurred. After her mother dies, she discovers a trunk, unopened since the 1940s in the family garage that is filled with her mother’s Red Cross memorabilia. By carefully documenting the trunk’s contents, missing pieces of the invasion story begin to come into focus. Yet, despite a mountain of facts and photographs, mysteries persist about family, war, and what it means to be a hero. Jeanne C. Finlay lives in the Fillmore neighborhood.

The Ship That Turned Back
(Allie Light | US 2024, 34 min)
Based on the memoir of acclaimed filmmaker Irving Saraf, THE SHIP THAT TURNED BACK narrates the poignant tale of a childhood escape from Nazi-occupied Poland, seen through the eyes of the seven-year-old boy who experienced it and the old man who remembers his harrowing voyage. Crafted by the renowned documentary duo Allie Light and the late Irving Saraf, this captivating film merges recollections, historical clips, family dramatizations, and animated children’s illustrations to bring Irving’s memories to life.
Filmmaker Allie Light lives in San Francisco’s Diamond Heights neighborhood. Editor Ann Flatté lives in San Francisco’s Diamond Heights neighborhood.