Martin McDonagh’s ‘Wild Horse Nine’ to Open 49th Mill Valley Film Festival

Wild Horse Nine, directed by Martin McDonagh and starring John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, and Steve Buscemi will open the 49th Mill Valley Film Festival, taking place October 1–11, 2026.

Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine is set in the tense run-up to Chile’s 1973 coup. John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell play two longtime CIA operatives sent from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, played by Steve Buscemi. Amid the island’s statues, and with their own history weighing on them, one agent’s growing bond with two young activists, played by Mariana Di Girolamo and Ailín Salas, sends the mission sideways.

Also starring in the film are Mariana Di Girolamo, Ailín Salas, Tom Waits, and Parker Posey.

On Friday, October 2, the festival will pay tribute to Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell, timed to his performance in Wild Horse Nine.

“Opening night is always the moment this festival comes alive, and this year is no exception,” said Mark Fishkin, Founder and Executive Director of the Mill Valley Film Festival. “Bringing Wild Horse Nine to our audience first, with a filmmaker as bold as Martin McDonagh and a cast featuring a fearless performance by Sam Rockwell, is exactly the kind of moment Mill Valley exists to create. It’s a night that reminds us why we do this work, and a fitting start to our 49th year and the next seminal decade.”

Additionally, the festival has announced two new sections joining the lineup: New Directors spotlighting bold, distinctive first and second features from emerging American and international filmmakers; and Animation.

New Directors

Selected Titles
ÁRRU (Dir. Elle Sofe Sara | Norway, Sweden, Finland 2026 | 94 min)
BEDFORD PARK (Dir. Stephanie Ahn | US 2026 | 121 min)
BRIAN (Dir. Will Ropp | US 2025 | 94 min)
CLARISSA (Dirs. Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri | US, Nigeria 2026 | 125 min)
ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG (Dir. Abinash Bikram Shah | Nepal, Germany, Brazil, France, Norway 2026 | 108 min)
EXTRA GEOGRAPHY (Dir. Molly Manners | UK 2026 | 94 min)
HOLD ONTO ME | Κράτα Με (Dir. Myrsini Aristidou | Denmark, Greece, Cyprus 2026 | 102 min)
LA GRADIVA (Dir. Marine Atlan | France, Italy 2026 | 145 min)
LADY (Dir. Olive Nwosu | UK, Nigeria 2026 | 93 min)
THE MELTDOWN (Dir. Manuela Martelli | Chile, Spain, Mexico, US 2026 | 108 min)
MOUSE (Dirs. Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson | US 2026 | 120 min)
A PRAYER FOR THE DYING (Dir. Dara Van Dusen | Norway, Greece, UK, Sweden 2026 | 95 min)
SAD GIRLZ (Dir. Fernanda Tovar | Mexico, Spain, France 2026 | 99 min)
TAKE ME HOME (Dir. Liz Sargent | US 2026 | 99 min)
WICKER (Dirs. Eleanor Wilson, Alex Huston Fischer | US 2026 | 105 min)