For this 10th anniversary of Mill Valley Film Festival’s gender equity initiative, we celebrate the bold work of female and nonbinary filmmakers. Despite the current political headwinds, their work exemplifies how our resolve for equity and human rights cannot be dampened. The audacious and compelling films in this year’s festival empower us to expand the frame of inclusion as we fight our way forward.
This year, our program highlights exceptional established artists and a wave of emerging talent whose work promises to shape the future of film and our collective imagination. We hope our screenings and conversations inspire you, and we look forward to seeing you at the festival.
MIND THE GAP DAY
Saturday, October 4 | Outdoor Art Club • Sequoia Cinema • Smith Rafael Film Center • BAMPFA
Attendees are invited to immerse themselves in a diverse lineup of programming, including films, conversations, and activities centering on female and nonbinary voices in the industry. The day’s festivities of curated events include a Summit and networking lunch, film screenings, access to filmmaker lounges, and a happy hour.
This event is a space for the local and film communities to come together, engage with Mind the Gap and the Mill Valley Film Festival, and forge meaningful relationships to advance our mission of gender equity in the industry.
THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO ATTEND MTG DAY – WHILE SOME EVENTS ARE FREE, A TICKET IS REQUIRED FOR ALL
MIND THE GAP 10th ANNIVERSARY DAY PASS
$60 CAFILM MEMBERS | $65 NON-MEMBERS
For those who would like to make a full day of it, the MTG 10th Anniversary Pass includes: Summit, Lunch, two vouchers to be exchanged for your choice of regularly priced films playing that day. A limited numbers of passes are available, so book early.
MIND THE GAP SUMMIT
9:00am – 12:30pm | Outdoor Art Club
THIS EVENT IS FREE • TICKETS REQUIRED
MIND THE GAP NETWORKING LUNCH
12:30 pm | Outdoor Art Club Front Patio
$25 CAFILM MEMBERS | $30 NON-MEMBERS
$30.00 | COMPLIMENTARY FOR MTG PASS-HOLDERS
LUNCH PURCHASE AVAILABLE THROUGH THURSDAY, OCT. 2
Following the summit, attendees are invited to a networking luncheon providing an opportunity to connect with each other, share insights, and celebrate the power of community.
MIND THE GAP DAY HAPPY HOUR
4:00 – 6:00pm | Outdoor Art Club Redwood Grove
FREE WITH CASH BAR FOR SUMMIT ATTENDEES WITHOUT BADGE – TICKET REQUIRED • FREE FOR MTG DAY PASS-HOLDERS
Mind the Gap Day participants will settle in for drinks, appetizers, and good conversation with fellow participants, filmmakers, and other guests attending the festival.
MIND THE GAP 10TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY
9:00 – 11:00pm | Outdoor Art Club
OPEN TO ALL MTG TICKET HOLDERS & MVFF48 BADGE-HOLDERS
Join us in celebrating 10 years of Mind The Gap excellence in promoting female and nonbinary filmmakers!
DJ Lady Ryan, DJ for the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries, will be on the scene to set the mood with a mix of Soul, Hip Hop, R&B and Dance music!
FILMMAKING AND THE CREATIVE LIFE IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
Join us for a conversation between Ellie Foumbi, director of Our Father, the Devil (MVFF46 and 2022 Mind the Gap Creation Prize winner), and Osinachi Ibe, writer, director, and Mind the Gap Programmer. The two will discuss their new film projects, making art and building community in times of uncertainty, and navigating a transforming industry.
PERSISTENCE AND VISION
This year’s festival showcases a powerful lineup of documentaries about radical trailblazers—individuals whose bold actions and unwavering commitment have left lasting marks on the world. Yet, telling their stories on screen also requires great persistence and vision by the filmmakers behind these films.
In this panel, we’ll explore the creative, ethical, and political challenges of documenting lives defined by resistance and transformation. What does it take to capture these stories with depth, nuance, and integrity? How can the documentary function both as an archive of radical histories and a catalyst for future change?
Elaine Epstein • Arrest the Midwife
Tia Lessin & Carl Deal • Steal This Story, Please!
Christine Turner • Sun Ra: Do the Impossible
INSIDER'S LOOK AT MAKING OF WICKED AND WICKED – FOR GOOD
Nancy Nugent Title • Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer
Tiffany Little Canfield • Casting Director
Moderator: Melissa Silversein • Founder and Publisher of Women and Hollywood
DIRECTORS FORUM: FRAMING A VISION
The choices a filmmaker makes in the way that they frame their images provide the conduit to revelations and realizations about their stories. Seen through their eyes and sensibilities, the choices they make can open our eyes and minds to new ways of seeing the world, of experiencing characters. This international group of directors will unpack some of their choices in creating and framing their films.
INVITED GUESTS:
Tsou Shih-Ching • Left-Handed Girl
Or Sinai • Mama
Çağla Zencirci & Guillaume Giovanetti • Confidante
Moderator: Zoë Elton • MVFF + Mind the Gap Director of Programming
KEYNOTE TALK WITH AMY GOODMAN, HOST OF DEMOCRACY NOW!
Trailblazing journalist and subject of the documentary Steal This Story, Please! (MVFF48) will close this year's Summit in a special keynote address.
MIND THE GAP DAY SCREENINGS
PROGRAMMING THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE FEST…
Immigration and the United States go hand and hand but the former is currently under attack. At its heart, this year’s Creation Prize winner Valentina is an immigrant story. Join director Tatti Ribeiro for an in depth conversation on crafting her dazzling hybrid film and the state of immigration in today’s America.
Where does inspiration come from and how can it be turned into a compelling, fundable film? Author Kevin Smokler (Break the Frame: Conversations with Women Filmmakers, Oxford University Press, 2025) will moderate this discussion with women filmmakers about how they recognize opportunities and transform them into worthwhile endeavors. Panelists will delve into how they nurture creative collaborations, identify partnerships and funding sources, and stay alert to future possibilities.
INVITED GUESTS:
Tiffany Shlain
Maura Smith • Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere (MVFF48)
Dayna Goldfine • Everywhere Man: The Lives and Times of Peter Asher (MVFF48)
Maura Smith
2025 MIND THE GAP AWARDS
This year, filmmakers EVA VICTOR, Sorry, Baby; and actor ROSE BYRNE, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (MVFF48) will receive the Mind the Gap Award. The Mind the Gap Award honors those whose work has helped close the gender gap in the film industry and in our lives through their art and advocacy. With it, we celebrate groundbreaking achievements and the recipients’ importance as role models.
ROSE BYRNE
EVA VICTOR
MIND THE GAP CREATION PRIZE
The Mind the Gap Creation Prize is given to a feature-length narrative or documentary film directed by a first- or second-time female filmmaker. The award recognizes exciting new voices in cinema that demonstrate creativity of vision and exceptional use of the film medium. The Creation Prize recipient is selected by a jury made up of key Mind the Gap supporters and film industry members. The director of the winning film receives a $10,000 grant that can be used at their discretion.
TATTI RIBEIRO
RECIPIENT
VALENTINA
US Cinema
World Premiere
ELAINE EPSTEIN
HONORABLE MENTION
ARREST THE MIDWIFE
Documentary
West Coast Premiere
LILIAN T. MEHREL
HONORABLE MENTION
HONEYJOON
US Cinema
West Coast Premiere
2025 JURY:
ELLIE FOUMBI
Ellie Foumbi is an award-winning Cameroonian American filmmaker and novelist whose debut feature, Our Father, the Devil (MVFF46), premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. It went on to screen at international film festivals all over the world, winning many prizes, including the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival and the 2022 Mind the Gap Creation Prize Award at the Mill Valley Film Festival. The film received universal critical acclaim, including Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Award Nominations. Ellie is an alumna of Berlinale Talents and a BAFTA Breakthrough USA Fellow. She was also named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine. Her debut novel, co-written with NYT Bestselling Author, Iain Reid, will be published by Simon & Schuster in the Fall of 2026.
DENISE ZMEKHOL
Denise Zmekhol is a Brazilian-American journalist, an award-winning producer and director of documentary films and media projects that span the globe. Her career began in São Paulo as a producer and director and now spans the globe from Brazil, Europe, Africa, and Asia to the United States. As an award-winning filmmaker Zmekhol has created innovative multimedia projects and her own independent feature documentaries Children of the Amazon and Skin of Glass. Her directing career emphasizes humor, passion, empathy, clarity, and elegance. Zmekhol’s work has been recognized for a strong visual style, story-telling orientation combined with the ability to collaborate with people in four languages English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.
CELESTE WONG
Celeste Wong is a lifelong film and performing arts enthusiast based in Oakland. She has worked in programming for various film festivals nationwide, including Tribeca, Palm Springs ShortFest, Atlanta Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, and San Francisco DocFest.
OSINACHI IBE, JURY CHAIR
Osinachi Ibe is a Nigerian-American writer, filmmaker, and film programmer from the San Francisco Bay Area. She creates intimate, feminine portraits that meditate on the complexities of the spirit, heart, and the divine. Her work is expressive and incorporates elements of narrative and experimental cinema, and poetry. Osinachi earned her MFA in Film Directing from Chapman University where she received a graduate fellowship. She is an alum of the 2022 Sundance Uprise Grant Fund for her debut feature film, Karolina and Udochi Dance in the Woods at Dusk!. Osinachi was an artist in residence at Headlands Center for the Arts’ 2023 Artist in Residence Program, and a 2023 and 2024 SFFILM FilmHouse Resident. She was awarded a 2024 SFFILM Rainin Grant. Osinachi is a programmer for Mill Valley Film Festival. She is the former manager and producer of Mind the Gap, the festival’s acclaimed gender equity and inclusion program.
CHRISTINE SCHANTZ
Christine is an advisor to nonprofit organizations and a part-time consultant. She is an executive producer of the 2022 James Beard Award-winning documentary, GATHER, an examination of Native American food sovereignty. She is an executive advisor to Mind the Gap, the California Film Institute’s gender equity initiative, where she underwrites the annual Creation Prize, honoring a first-time female filmmaker for exceptional vision and creativity. She is also the co-creator and underwriter of the Athena Film Festival’s Chinonye Chukwu Emerging Screenwriter Award.
Christine serves on the Board of Directors for Civil Eats, an online news outlet dedicated to issues of sustainable food and agriculture, and Une Femme Wines. She has acted as managing director of the San Francisco-based Good Food Awards, and as a regional governor for Slow Food USA. Her most recent personal project is a collaboration with the Rodale Institute, an organic farming research organization, to convert her family’s third-generation farm into a regenerative agriculture research station.
THANK YOU TO OUR MIND THE GAP SPONSORS
CHRISTINE A. SCHANTZ
BLAIRE AND BENNO DORER FUND
MIND THE GAP SUMMIT SPONSORS
