MVFF47 - RSVP Guide

Crumbling Druid Heights, a once-thriving bohemian enclave near Mill Valley, could face the wrecking ball. Longtime resident Ed Stiles recalls a vibrant community and details its outsized influence on countless disparate 20th-century cultural movements.

Tucked inside Muir Woods near Mill Valley lies crumbling Druid Heights, a once-thriving bohemian enclave. Founded by famed lesbian poet Elsa Gidlow and Roger Somers, a gifted carpenter who made “wibbly, wobbly architecture” inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and others, Druid Heights today is in danger of falling under a National Park Service wrecking ball. Ed Stiles, a longtime resident and skilled furniture maker, gives an oral history of the property, recounting its rich influence on Beats such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac; philosopher Alan Watts, whose book The Way of Zen was instrumental in spreading the popularity of Buddhism in the United States; and rock artists including Neil Young and Graham Nash. With archival footage of the burgeoning hub and contemporary video of its slow decline into disrepair, Stiles takes the viewer on a tour through some of the biggest cultural movements of the 20th century, and Druid Heights’ place in them.

The eponymous protagonist of this dramatic and moving debut feature yearns to escape the strictures of the repressive environment of ‘90s-era rural Saudi Arabia. Residing with her aunt and younger brother in a small village after a family tragedy, Norah buys contraband magazines from the local store and dreams of returning to the city where she was raised. In a country where printed and drawn images are forbidden, she longs to find some representation of herself. Enter Nader, a tall and quiet man brought to teach at the small school. After her brother wins a class competition and brings home a drawing made by Nader, Norah decides that she will try anything to have her portrait done by this kind and gentle stranger. Winner of a Special Jury Mention in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, the film expertly portrays the rising tensions that swirl around and between these two characters hoping to see and be seen.

In Andrés Baiz’s drama, a young smuggler's world unravels amidst a deadly rivalry on the Colombia-Venezuela border. With gripping performances and stunning visuals, this electrifying thriller explores betrayal, greed, and survival in a lawless land.

With intense action, raw emotion, and stunning visuals, Pimpinero: Blood and Oil captures the collision of moral, ethical, and human boundaries in a lawless land where only the ruthless thrive. Directed by Andrés Baiz, the visionary behind global hits like Narcos and Griselda, this electrifying thriller plunges us into the dangerous world of gasoline smugglers known as “pimpineros,” who toil their trade along the volatile Colombia-Venezuela border. Set in the early 2010s, against a sun-scorched desert, the film follows Juan (Alejandro Speitzer), the youngest of three brothers entwined in this treacherous business, as a deadly rivalry threatens to unravel his family and everything they hold dear—including his love for the fiery Diana (rising star Laura Osma), his partner in everything. Colombian music legend Juanes, Alberto Guerra, and Osma deliver gripping performances as the stakes rise for Juan and his kin, bringing to life a tale of betrayal, greed, and survival.

Con acción intensa, emoción cruda y efectos visuales impresionantes, “Pimpinero: Sangre y Gasolina” captura el conflicto de límites morales, éticos y humanos en una tierra sin ley donde sólo los despiadados prosperan. Dirigida por Andrés Baiz, el autor visionario detrás de éxitos globales como Narcos y Griselda, este electrizante thriller nos sumerge en el peligroso mundo de los contrabandistas de gasolina conocidos como “pimpineros”, que hacen negocio a lo largo de la volátil frontera entre Colombia y Venezuela. Ambientada a principios de la década de 2010, en un desierto abrasado por el sol, la película sigue a Juan (Alejandro Speitzer), el menor de tres hermanos enredados en este traicionero negocio, mientras una rivalidad mortal amenaza con destruir a su familia y todo lo que aprecian, incluido su amor por la impulsiva Diana (la futura estrella Laura Osma), quien es su socia en todo. La leyenda de la música colombiana Juanes, junto con Alberto Guerra y Osma, ofrecen actuaciones apasionantes a medida que aumentan los riesgos para Juan y sus familiares, dando vida a un relato de traición, codicia y supervivencia.