Mill Valley Film Festival 2023

Marin Magazine’s Ultimate Guide to the 46th

MVFF mill valley film festival The festival kicks off with an exciting schedule of in-person theater screenings and events, as well as virtual offerings.

Get the inside scoop here.

46th MVFF

Full Circle

BY BERNARD BOO

Zoe Elton and Mark Fishkin

England academy in the ’70s who is forced to stay on campus over winter break with all of the students with no place to spend the holidays. Payne’s directorial debut, 1999’s Election, was the first film shown at CFI’s Smith Rafael Film Center, a shining example of just how strong MVFF’s roots are.

But that’s not to say this year’s festival is all about getting back to basics and looking to the past. It’s about building toward the future, too. MVFF’s Mind the Gap initiative spotlights women and marginalized filmmakers via screenings, panels, masterclasses, and more. One of the latest additions to the slate is the Mind the Gap Creation Prize of $10,000, awarded to an early-career, female filmmaker. “As much as we’re getting back to our roots, we’re also building on our original commitments in new ways,” Elton explains. “The Mind the Gap Creation Prize is essentially our roots growing branches.”

One filmmaker destined for greatness is English filmmaker Emerald Fennell, who will be presented with a Mind the Gap

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Award. Her film Saltburn will be featured as an MVFF Spotlight. “It’s astonishing.

I don’t even want to talk about it,” Elton says of the movie with a mischievous smile. “It’s funny, it’s sexy, it’s subversive.

Emerald has put a stake in the ground of cinema history.”

The MVFF programming team works for months to curate the best films possible, and Elton believes the festival’s slate of 90-plus films is truly all killer, no filler.

“Our team of programmers is so amazing that you could put the festival schedule up on the wall, throw a dart, and find a gem of a film,” she beams. She’s only half joking: For her and Fishkin, being blown away by a film you had zero knowledge of before walking into the theater is an essential MVFF experience that everyone should seek out.

“Vary from the way you usually approach attending a festival,” Fishkin advises MVFF audience members. “Take a chance! Just walk in and see a film you don’t know anything about. It could be a film that changes your life.”

TOMMY LAU

There’s a great, big elephant standing in Mill Valley Film Festival Executive Director Mark Fishkin’s office as he, Director of Programming Zoe Elton, and the team at the California Film Institute work tirelessly to put together the schedule for the festival in its 46th year.

“The elephant in the room…is the actors’ strike,” Fishkin says with a laugh and a semi-frazzled sigh. While the strike has seriously impacted the film industry and, in turn, the planning process for this year’s festival as actors will generally not be attending this year, Fishkin’s confidence in his team’s ability to put together a spectacular, world-class, eleven-day event has not wavered one bit.

“We’re still going to have a number of Academy Award contenders, as we always do,” Fishkin says. “Filmmakers will be in attendance, and it’s going to be an exciting festival featuring great talent. [The strike] has forced us to really get creative and look back on our roots.”

While MVFF’s “Big Nights” and red carpets always garner a lot of attention, the backbone of the festival is and always has been the championing of diverse films from across the world, in every genre, whether they be Oscar contenders, international documentaries, or features from local filmmakers. In this respect, this year’s lineup looks to be as strong as ever, with films from accomplished auteurs like Todd Haynes (May December) and Francois Ozon (The Crime Is Mine), groundbreaking international features and eye-opening documentaries (Invisible Nation, Another Body).

One of the festival’s films is Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, starring Paul Giamatti as a surly teacher at a New

From Ang Lee, to David O. Russell, to Damien Chazelle, many of the industry’s top filmmakers had their movies featured at MVFF long before they became household names. Taking a chance on a smaller film by an up-and-coming director at the festival could very well be a chance to glimpse the next great filmmaker to take Hollywood by storm.

“One time I saw a young filmmaker being followed by forty people out of a matinee screening of his first feature,” Fishkin recalls. “Sometimes it’s that

first-time director who no one’s ever heard of who becomes the darling of the festival, which is always exciting to see.”

Whether you come to the Mill Valley Film Festival to see some of the biggest films starring the biggest talent before they blow up at the Oscars, or some of the extraordinary indie films you may never have an opportunity to see again, the important thing is that the films are seen in the way they were intended — in a theater as a shared experience.

“There’s nothing like the experience

MARK’S PICKS

of cinema,” Elton says. “To be in a dark room with a group of people and open yourself up to a film is a commitment you make that is unlike any commitment you could make at home.”

“We’ve all developed certain habits over the past few years,” Fishkin adds. “But if there was ever a good reason to go out and have a good time with people, it’s the 46th Mill Valley Film Festival. We look forward to welcoming you all.”

ZOE’S PICKS

Fingernails dir. Christos Nikou Suspecting her relationship with her partner may not be the real thing, Anna (Jessie Buckley) starts working at an institute designed to determine whether love between struggling romantic partners is genuine.

“Nikou creates these films that deal with serious subjects like loss and sorrow, and they’re kind of ambiguous. But he comes at it from a different angle, and it’s so refreshing. I told him he was the future of independent filmmaking. The film is so unusual, but it gives you such a different perspective on love. I’m really excited about that film.”

Another Body dir. Sophie Compton & Reuben Hamlyn A chilling documentary following a college student who discovers her face has been deepfaked onto porn videos across the internet and searches for justice as a victim of new-age identity theft.

“One of the big topics of the year is AI, which is at the root of both the writers’ strike and the actors’ strike going on now.

This first feature a terrifying, fascinating story that touches on the issues surrounding AI.” — Zoe Fallen Leaves dir. Aki Kaurismäki Lonely grocery store clerk Ansa (Alma Pöysti) meets a fellow lost soul, Holappa (Jussi Vatanen), and the two try to fall in love against all odds.

“Kaurismaki never fails to amaze me and fill me with wonder. Go to world cinema films like this and see how the rest of the world is thinking.” — Zoe

Zone of Interest dir. Jonathan Glazer In this period war drama, Commandant of Auschwitz Rudolf Höss (Christian Freidel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) strive to create a beautiful home and life in a house built next to a concentration camp.

“It deals with the Holocaust and people’s individual responsibility — or lack thereof — in a totally different way.”

La Chimera dir. Alice Rohrwacher Set in the ’80s, this period romantic drama follows a young, British archaeologist who gets involved in an international network of stolen Etruscan artifacts.

“Rohrwacher is simply one of the most interesting filmmakers in the world.”

Skin of Glass dir. Denise Zmekhol Director Denise Zmekhol tells the story of a 24-story glass skyscraper in Sao Paulo, Brazil, built in the ’60s by her father, Roger Zmekhol. Initially erected as a modernist symbol of progress and prosperity, the original vision for the building was ultimately abandoned, with the structure ultimately becoming a decaying favela for the homeless.

“The film really deals with the culture in Brazil and what’s happening in that country today.”

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46th MVFF

Catching Up With Lynn Hershman

Shadow Stalker

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yet again, employing a GPT-3 Chatbot to write the film’s script and perform as an animated character. AI is one of the most charged and divisive topics of conversation in the world at the moment, but Hershman Leeson approaches the subject fearlessly, as she’s likened to do.

“I think people are always afraid of anything they don’t know,” she says. “I think people have to question why they’re afraid of something and how we can collaborate with it and work together. That’s really what it’s all about.”

In addition to screening Cyborgian Rhapsody in its entirety for the first time, the Mill Valley Film Festival will be presenting Hershman Leeson with the Mind the Gap Award in honor of her visionary work in film and video art. The presentation will be accompanied by an on-stage conversation about her trailblazing career.

After all these years, it seems Hershman Leeson has finally found the audience she deserved all along.

“It’s very pleasing,” she says of receiving the prestigious award. “The Mill Valley Film Festival has a record of really amazing people having received the award, so I’m honored to get it.”

HENNY GARFUNKEL (LYNN(; LYNN HERSHMAN LEESON (SHADOW STALKER)

Lynn Hershman Leeson has been pushing the boundaries of digital media since before the term “digital media” was a part of our social lexicon. Her innovative work explores the complex, ever-evolving relationship between humans and technology in fascinating ways that have garnered her countless awards and recognitions. But by her own admission, her art has gone largely overlooked by mainstream media over the course of her 50-plus year career.

“I just think the work was too early,” she says. “At the time, people couldn’t connect with it because there was no language for it, no history, no precedent.”

With groundbreaking films like 2002’s Teknolust, starring Tilda Swinton as a bio-geneticist who breeds cyborg clones of herself, Hershman Leeson engages in conversations about identity and feminism that film studios were not willing to support at the time.

“They wouldn’t distribute it,” she recalls. “I think in my case it was because I was female. I just wasn’t taken seriously.

I think if other people brought up these issues, they would have been taken more seriously.”

While Hershman Leeson seemed destined to be perpetually far ahead of her time, her body of work seems to finally be catching on with today’s youth, with Teknolust and her other works proving to

be quite accessible and relatable to a new generation of young feminists who are technologically fluent and not as fearful of computers as previous generations. When asked how it feels for her work to finally be resonating with people after all these years, Hershman Leeson is all smiles.

“I’ve been told that my work has influenced a lot of young women,” she says.

“I’m glad it’s happening. It didn’t really matter when it happened…at least it’s having an effect now.”

At this year’s Mill Valley Film Festival, audiences will have the unique opportunity to see Hershman Leeson’s Cyborgian Rhapsody, a series of four provocative short films: Seduction of a Cyborg (1994), Shadow Stalker (2018), Logic Paralyzes the Heart (2022), and Cyborgian Rhapsody: Immortality.

From the dark implications of biotech, to the urban horror of “predictive policing,” to the ethical quandaries of AI, the series examines humanity’s complex relationship with advanced technology in a way that feels decidedly poetic and humanistic.

With the series’ latest installment, Cyborgian Rhapsody: Immortality, Hershman Leeson pushes the envelope

BY BERNARD BOO

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46th MVFF

Bite-Size Movie Magic

BY BERNARD BOO A Life in Technicolor

Some of the very best films that play at the Mill Valley Film Festival can be found in the festival’s shorts programs.

Here’s a breakdown of just one of several shorts programs at MVFF, the family-friendly “Monsters, Movies, & the Moon,” designed for viewers ages 9+.

The Lake Merritt Monster A teenage boy

and his friends hunt for the mythical monster who dragged his mother into the depths of Lake Merritt in this hilarious, rollicking adventure set in Oakland. With stunning visual effects and a heartfelt message at its core, this slick production is a must-watch for fans of Spider-Man and Stranger Things.

Weirdos This eye-popping blend of stop-

motion animation and visual effects follows a group of inventive science students who have an explosive run-in with a Minotaur in the woods. This

Diversity First

Operacion Frankenstein Three siblings bring a plastic companion cobbled together with mannequin parts to life in this cinematic storybook. The handillustrated art is crackling with style, and the filmmakers’ riff on the Mary Shelley classic goes in a delightfully unexpected direction.

A Life in Technicolor A girl stuck in her

apartment during the Covid-19 pandemic turns to classic movies as a means of escape, only to find her world becoming consumed — quite literally — by the films she obsesses over. The creativity on display by writer-director Alex Ramirez is breathtaking, and star Josey Porras’ silent performance is simply enchanting.

Gugu naGogo Young aspiring astronomer

Gugu yearns to reconnect with her Gogo (grandmother) who lives half the world away in Zimbabwe while she and her mother struggle to get on the same page at home. A fantastical family story with rich imagery and heart-melting performances, this modern fable could be the feel-good film of the festival.

New Moon The great Colman Domingo

provides a delectable filmic slice of his autobiographical solo play A Boy and His Soul in this show-stopping animated short that provides a glimpse into the actor and playwright’s childhood with his mother in West Philadelphia. Fueled by iconic tunes like “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind & Fire and “Daydreaming” by Aretha Franklin, this soulful micro-memoir is precisely the kind of unique, in-theater experience you can only get at MVFF.

BY BERNARD BOO

Giving a platform to storytellers from underrepresented communities and cultures has always been a core tenet of MVFF, and this year’s festival reflects that commitment with a wide selection of films from filmmakers of all backgrounds. The three films below are just a small sampling of the diversity to be found at MVFF. Fancy Dance The magnificent Lily

adorable nugget of sci-fi fantasy with ’90s Nickelodeon flair is sure to be a howling good time for the whole family.

Gladstone stars as hustler Jax, who with her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) searches for her missing sister in hopes of bringing

her back home in time for the community’s upcoming pow-wow. This Native family drama explores the struggles of Indigenous communities in the most artful way, with filmmaker Erica Tremblay exhibiting the directorial assuredness of a storyteller far beyond her years. Öte A black woman named Lela embarks

on an enlightening journey through Turkey where she meets eccentric locals she finds herself unexpectedly drawn to. The picturesque landscapes and

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spontaneity of the storytelling make this soul-searching, touristic drama feel truly one-of-a-kind.

National Anthem First-time writerdirector Luke Gifford tells a poignant tale of a day laborer in the Southwest who finds community and chosen family in a group of queer ranchers and rodeo performers.

Cinematically rich and brilliantly acted, the film announces a vital new voice in the world of queer cinema.

46th MVFF

Hometown Heroes

BY BERNARD BOO

Bay Area lore is brimming with so many extraordinary, stranger-than-fiction characters and stories that many of our local legends don’t get the exposure and recognition they deserve. Thankfully, our vibrant local community of filmmakers do a phenomenal job preserving the legacies of some of our most incredible hometown heroes via the wonderful art form that is cinema. These films shine a spotlight on three unsung Bay Area revolutionaries who deserve icon status.

Carol Doda Topless at the Condor

Carol Doda Topless at the Condor

hosts, to news clips of her descending from the Condor’s ceiling on the infamous white piano that would become a piece San Francisco lore in its own right, the film is an unflinchingly honest portrait of a Bay Area icon whose influence is felt to this day.

“Carol Doda occupies a unique place in the history of American culture,” says co-director Jonathan Parker. “[She’s at] the nexus of a number of social change movements — free speech, freedom of expression, the sexual revolution, the women’s movement, and what it meant to be a subversive San Franciscan.”

The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane

Few people have lived a life as full,

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purposeful and musical as the great Barbara Dane. A jazz/folk/blues singer who crossed paths with some of the most famous and influential figures of the 20th century. Whether it be Bob Dylan or Bonnie Raitt, Louis Armstrong or Lenny Bruce, Barbara’s list of collaborators and admirers loved and respected both her immense musicianship and her commitment to activism.

Directed by Maureen Gosling, The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane tells Dane’s life story over the course of nine decades, weaving stunning archival material with concert footage from a recent live tour. “She is a trailblazer, as a blues and jazz singer, as a feminist and as a political activist,” Gosling says. “She’s been

POLARIS

Buried deep in the history of a city full of tech companies striving to change the world with apps and smart devices lies the legend of one woman who sparked a revolution by simply being her unapologetic self. Carol Doda redefined what female empowerment looked like when she became the first dancer in the country to go topless in 1964. Her residency at the Condor Club in San Francisco’s North Beach became the most popular act in the city, garnering excitement and controversy in equal measure as she spearheaded a movement to destigmatize nudity and adult entertainment, turning heads and dropping jaws in her game-changing topless swimsuit, dubbed the “mono-kini.”

Carol Doda Topless at the Condor is a transportive, raucous documentary that recounts Doda’s life, legacy, and sexcapades, painting a vivid picture of ’60s North Beach and the gritty, glamorous personalities that helped define the era.

From archival footage of Doda speaking freely about sex with shaky male TV

overlooked in American history and we hope the film will help fill in that story.”

The number of incredible moments Dane experienced and created throughout her life is staggering, and Gosling presents them in a ravishing cascade of imagery and music, Dane’s soulful, velvety voice floating above it all. We see her protesting on top of patrol cars, posing as the first white person in Ebony magazine, opening a blues club in North Beach, joining (and getting kicked out of) the Communist Party…this woman has done it all.

“She’s inspiring to others because she always stood up for her beliefs, no matter the consequences,” Gosling says. “And even when it meant she got knocked down, she always managed to pick herself up and keep going — re-inventing herself along the way. Hence, the 9 lives.”

Avenue of the Giants

AUBREY TRINNAMAN (BARBARA DANE)

For 60 years, Herbert Heller hid a secret from everyone he knew, including his family: As a teenager, he survived the Holocaust and escaped Auschwitz. He

Avenue of the Giants

went on to run Herbert’s for Children in San Rafael for 53 years and became an icon of Marin County, ultimately deciding to share his life story with not just his family, but students across the Bay Area, serving as a beacon of empathy and inspiration.

Avenue of the Giants sees screen vet

The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane

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Stephen Lang play Heller in the twilight of his life, diagnosed with a terminal illness and still reluctant to reveal his buried trauma to the world. When he meets a troubled young student named Abbey (Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade), the two form a bond by sharing their stories with one another, and for the first time, Herbert sees how opening himself up can help change the lives of others in desperate need of affirmation and healing.

Soulful, nuanced performances by Lang, Fisher, and the always-exceptional Robin Weigert make the present-day sections of the film seriously poignant and heartwarming. As for the flashbacks to Heller’s dark past, director Finn Taylor doesn’t shy away from the sheer horror of the atrocities on display. But at the same time, he highlights the beauty of the victims’ lives and their monumental love for one another through the darkest of times.

Herbert Heller passed away in 2021, but his kindness and compassion can still be felt throughout Marin County and the Bay Area, where he touched so many lives with his work. And with Avenue of the Giants, his message will now reach people all across the world.