Welcome to the 49th Mill Valley Film Festival. 

With our golden anniversary celebration just on the horizon, we decided this year to create and unveil a road map that’s a precursor to all the exciting new directions the festival will travel in the years ahead.

Not only is this year’s edition bigger than ever, with 96 feature films, 80 shorts, and numerous Big Nights and Tributes, it’s also one of our most diverse programs yet. 

The 11-day lineup covers all sorts of subjects and includes 30 documentaries, nine feature-length animated films, and a robust international slate with standouts such as the Cannes hit La bola negra.

Of course, we will continue the MVFF tradition of packing the schedule with numerous awards contenders that’ll be elbowing for your attention–exciting features that range from Simon Stone’s Elsinore, starring actor/producer (and 2026 Spotlight awardee) Andrew Scott as actor Ian Charleson battling AIDS while preparing to play Hamlet, to Jesse Eisenberg’s electric closing-night feature The Debut  with Julianne Moore portraying a novice actress clashing with a stage director, played by the incredible Paul Giamatti.

Instrumental in guiding the fest this year is artistic director Rose Kuo, whose vision and vast knowledge base of cinema and Asian cinema, in particular, is reflected in this year’s slate.

And then there are the opening and closing night films.

Opening night is always the moment when festivals come alive. And this year’s selection–Martin McDonagh’s bold and fearless Wild Horse Nine with yet another phenomenal performance from Daly City native and Oscar® winner Sam Rockwell–is no exception to that. (Rockwell will also be on hand to receive a Tribute.)

MVFF’s Centerpiece is an upbeat knockout everyone will love, I Play Rocky with  a breakout performance from Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone.

While films such as I Play Rocky lifts the spirits, other films visit dark spaces, notably The Life and Death of Wilson Shedd, a tough prison drama with incredible performances from Amanda Seyfried and Scoot McNairy that was written, directed and produced by actor Tim Blake Nelson.

We’re also pleased to unveil a New Directors section and it features 26 films, including Josephine, San Francisco native Beth de Araújo’s Sundance award winner set in her hometown. 

Since our program has grown so much, we’ve even expanded upon the number of screenings at the Lark Theater in Larkspur to accommodate.

So sit back, and enjoy this 11-day odyssey through the best that global cinema has to offer.