As the world around us shifts in new and unexpected ways, we look to cinema and its makers to tell the stories of our time. Mind the Gap continues to proudly champion the bold female and nonbinary filmmakers telling these stories. Their clarity of vision empowers us, and their audacious work helps us find our way forward. This year, our program features a wave of exceptional emerging talent shaping the future of film and our collective imagination. We hope our screenings and conversations inspire you, and look forward to seeing you at the festival.

MIND THE GAP DAY

Saturday, 5 October • 9:00am – 10:00pm | Outdoor Art Club • Sequoia Cinema • Smith Rafael Film Center

 Join us as we celebrate the incredible work of female and nonbinary filmmakers from around the world! Mind the Gap Day is a celebration of their filmmaking and creativity through a series of curated events. Attendees are invited to immerse themselves in a diverse lineup of programming, including films, conversations, and activities centering female and nonbinary voices in the industry. The day’s festivities include a summit and networking lunch, film screenings, access to the filmmaker lounge, 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.

MIND THE GAP DAY PASS

INCLUDES ACCESS TO ALL MIND THE GAP DAY PROGRAMS: SUMMIT, LUNCHEON, LOUNGE ACCESS AND HAPPY HOUR

MIND THE GAP SUMMIT

9:00am – 12:30pm | Outdoor Art Club

THIS EVENT IS FREE • TICKETS REQUIRED

The Mind the Gap Summit is a half-day intensive session featuring presentations, discussions, and master classes led by an extraordinary line-up of creatives and thought leaders. Following the summit, attendees are invited to a networking luncheon on site providing an opportunity to connect with each other, share insights, and celebrate the power of community.  The Summit & Networking Lunch are a highlight of Mind the Gap Day.

Director, cinematographer and Mind the Gap honoree Rachel Morrison will open this year's Summit in a special keynote address.

Rachel Morrison has long been a source of inspiration as one of the rare women to make and maintain a distinguished career as a cinematographer. With iconic films like Fruitvale Station, Mudbound (MVFF40), and Black Panther, she has made a significant contribution to recent cinema. This year, she adds to an already notable career as she makes her directorial debut with The Fire Inside, to be released in December.

Sarah Friedland’s debut feature film, Familiar Touch, is a beautiful, poignant story about a woman who “comes of old age” as she adjusts to her new life in a retirement home. This conversation will explore the film’s creation, Sarah’s artistic process, and filmmaking as a space for community and connection.


Sarah Friedland • Familiar Touch
Moderator: Osinachi Ibe • Programmer + Mind the Gap Manager

Creative collaboration can drive the art of filmmaking: but who are key collaborators and allies, especially for a first-time narrative filmmaker? Unpacking this and more, a panel of up and coming filmmakers will share insights, experiences and inspirations from working on their debut features. 

INVITED GUESTS:
Liz Cairns •  Inedia
Biliana Grozdanova • Eastern Western
Marina Grozdanova • Eastern Western
Alex Hedison • Alok
Tracie Laymon, Bob Trevino Likes it

Moderator: Zoë Elton • MVFF + Mind the Gap Director of Programming

The images we see onscreen can influence our attitudes about each other, can inspire identification and recognition of who we are, can provide role models. A group of creatives look at the way women and non-binary characters are represented on screen, and the importance of those images in our lives.

PANELISTS:
Kathleen Chalfant • Actress, Familiar Touch
Sephora Woldu • Filmmaker
Osnat Shurer • Co-chief creative officer at Baoabab Studios; Producer Moana & Raya and the Last Dragon

Moderator: Bri’anna Moore, MVFF Programmer & Programming Associate

A celebration of the work of cinematographer and director Rachel Morrison, recipient of the Mind the Gap Award.

Zoë Elton and Osinachi Ibe will announce the recipient of the 2024 Mind the Gap Creation Prize.

MIND THE GAP NETWORKING LUNCH

12:35 – 1:30 pm | Outdoor Art Club Front Patio

$30.00 • COMPLIMENTARY FOR MTG PASS-HOLDERS

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 – 5:30pm | Outdoor Art Club Redwood Grove

HAPPY HOUR IS FREE FOR SUMMIT ATTENDEES WITHOUT WRISTBAND – TICKET REQUIRED • FREE FOR MTG DAY PASS-HOLDERS WITH WRISTBAND

Join us for an afternoon of connection and conversation with filmmakers and film lovers from across the Bay Area! Whether you’re here to reconnect or make new contacts, this is the place to be. Enjoy a laid-back happy hour, network with fellow creatives, and catch exciting updates from local film organizations. If you’re a filmmaker, part of a film company, or simply passionate about film, don’t miss this chance to be part of the Bay Area’s vibrant film scene!

MIND THE GAP DAY SCREENINGS

PROGRAMMING THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE FEST…

THE NEXT WAVE: MIND THE GAP FILMMAKER ROUNDTABLE

MONDAY, OCT. 7 • 4:00 – 5:30 | OUTDOOR ART CLUB

FREE TO BADGE HOLDERS
PUBLIC • FREE, TICKET REQUIRED

Celebrating the next wave of exceptional female and nonbinary filmmakers! This exciting roundtable discussion will feature up and coming Mind the Gap filmmakers in conversation about their careers, what it takes to make an independent film, and their experiences navigating the current state of the film industry.

PANELISTS:
Zoe Eisenberg • Chaperone
Biliana Grozdanova • Eastern Western
Marina Grozdanova • Eastern Western
Kelsey Taylor • To Kill A Wolf

Moderator:  Osinachi Ibe •  Programmer + Mind the Gap Manager

BAY AREA COMMUNITY MIXER: THE FUTURE OF FILMMAKING IN THE BAY AREA

Saturday, Oct. 12  •  4:00 – 7:00pm | Outdoor Art Club

FREE • TICKET REQUIRED

Join us for an evening of connection and conversation with filmmakers and film lovers from across the Bay Area! Whether you’re here to reconnect or make new contacts, this is the place to be. The mixer will kick off with a dynamic panel discussion about the future of filmmaking in the Bay Area, the recently passed Oakland Film Rebate, and how the community can support the current Bay Area film movement. Afterwards, attendees are invited to enjoy a happy hour, network with fellow creatives, and catch exciting updates from local film organizations. If you’re a filmmaker, part of a film company, or simply passionate about film, don’t miss this chance to be part of the Bay Area’s vibrant film scene!

Co-Presented by Mill Valley Film Festival, BAVC Media, Cinemama and #MakeItBay

PANELISTS:
Bianca Beyrouti •  Independent Filmmaker & Producer
Niema Jordan • Award Winning Filmmaker, Writer and Speaker & Co-Director of Cinemama
Grace Porras • Emmy Winning Producer, Co Director #MakeItBay
Dawn Valadez • Filmmaker & Director of Youth & Artist Development at BAVC Media 

Moderator: Osinachi Ibe: Programmer + Mind the Gap Manager 

2024 MIND THE GAP AWARDS

This year, filmmaker PAYAL KAPADIA, All We Imagine As Light and director and cinematographer RACHEL MORRISON will receive the Mind the Gap Award.  The 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.  

PAYAL KAPADIA

RACHEL MORRISON

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.

LIZ CAIRNS
FINALIST
 INEDIA
World Cinema | Canada
US Premiere

SARAH FRIEDLAND
RECIPIENT
FAMILIAR TOUCH
US Cinema
North American Premiere

KELSEY TAYLOR
FINALIST
TO KILL A WOLF
US Cinema
US Premiere

2024 JURY:

RIVKAH BETH MEDOW
Rivkah Beth Medow is a Sundance x Women in Film and Film Independent Fellow who makes films that deepen connections and build community. She founded Frankly Speaking Films with Jen Rainin to create mesmerizing stories that center strong queer women and nonbinary people. Selected credits include the Oscar® shortlisted documentary short HOLDING MOSES (Director, 2022, The New Yorker); multi-award winning feature documentary AHEAD OF THE CURVE (Co-Director/Producer, 2020, Netflix); the collaboratively made, Berlin Grand Prix winning feature documentary HUMMINGBIRDS (Producer, 2023, POV); and the four film documentary short collection QUEER FUTURES (Consulting Producer, 2024, The Criterion Collection). Rivkah’s films have won over 30 juried and audience Best Documentary festival awards and garnered the support of every major funder in the documentary granting world including Sundance, MacArthur, Ford JustFilms, IDA, Chicken & Egg, and others. Ways that Rivkah shows up in community include by mentoring other filmmakers, serving on advisory boards and awards juries, and speaking on panels.


BETSY TSAI
Betsy Tsai directed the short film ÉMIGRÉS (Doc Edge 2022), which will air on PBS, and produced feature documentary CONFUCIAN DREAM (Special Jury Prize, Karlovy Vary 2019). Her co-producing credits include HIDDEN LETTERS (Oscars® Shortlist 2023), the 2024 Oscar®-nominated short film ISLAND IN BETWEEN, and Emmy nominee OUR TIME MACHINE. From 2015-2020, at Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program, Betsy managed the Sundance Labs and the Sundance Documentary Fund, which awards over $1.5 million in grants to feature documentaries globally. Her feature screenplay, GREEN ISLAND SERENADE, was a 2021 Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival Screenwriting Competition finalist. Betsy is a directing alumna from UCLA. She also studied International Conflict Resolution in Israel-Palestine and Northern Ireland. Supported by Sundance Institute and SFFilm, Betsy often travels to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she is developing her feature narrative directing debut, a film inspired by the life and work of former colleague Lyra McKee.


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

MIND THE GAP SUMMIT SPONSORS

EGIDE FAMILY FOUNDATION
DANIEL KENYON AND MICHELLE MARCHETTA KENYON