MVFF47 - RSVP Guide

Tummy Tom, a good-natured, well-intentioned and slightly gangly ginger cat, is a prime example of his species—he’s curious, mischievous, a bit lazy, and most of all, he loves to curl up for catnaps with his favorite stuffed teddy. But one day, “cat-astrophe” strikes: Jumping into his basket for a snooze, he discovers…Bear is missing! Fortunately for Tummy Tom, his BFF, a graceful gray named Cat-Mouse, springs into action and feline hijinks ensue as the duo encounter Squirrel, Sheep, and other animal friends ready to assist in the hunt for Bear. Tummy Tom first appeared on Sesamstraat (Dutch Sesame Street) in 1978, and co-directors Joost Van Den Bosch and Erik Verkerk’s new sing-along animation is an interactive delight for kids from age 2 to 200 (that’s in cat-years). Shown with The Anchor & the Kite (Jeff O’Brien Myers and Forest Blakk. US 2024, 3 min) and There Can Only Be One (Britney Fan, US 2024, 3 min).

Expected In Person Guest

Melody, 12, is obsessed with Rachel from Friends and worried about fitting in at school. Living with cerebral palsy, she faces extra challenges when moved from special ed into an “inclusive learning environment”. Based on Sharon Draper’s best-selling YA novel.

Twelve-year-old Melody Brooks is a typical early-21st-century tween, obsessed with Rachel from Friends, unhappy with the uncool clothes her mom buys for her, and worried about fitting in at school. As a nonverbal sixth grader living with cerebral palsy, she’s got extra challenges to contend with, especially when she’s moved from the special ed classroom into an inclusive learning environment that feels far from inclusive, given her teacher’s refusal to welcome her and the disdain of fellow students. But when given an assistive communication device, Melody quickly learns to use her new-found voice to prevail over the forces holding her back. Based on Sharon M. Draper’s YA bestseller and starring the amazing Phoebe-Ray Taylor as Melody, with Judith Light, Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby, and Jennifer Aniston (as Melody’s inner voice), director Amber Sealey’s (No Man of God) drama delivers a tale of determination, pride, and self-empowerment like no other.

Age 12+



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The war on immigrants is happening. The realities of deportation, jail, and even death are but a few of the obstacles that organizer Gabriela Castañeda and activist and asylum seeker Kaxh Mura'l, participants in Borderland: The Line Within, confront while battling the United States’ border/industrial complex. Filmmaker Pamela Yates focuses on how anti-immigrant US policies upend lives and how law enforcement not only apprehends immigrants making the dangerous crossing over the border but also those who assist them. The film exposes the human toll of these policies as well as the business side of this war, exposing the politics of the situation and the politicians who benefit from the status quo. At a time when the undocumented are demonized and pols recklessly talk of mass deportations, this vital documentary puts the topic into perspective. It’s not a red or blue debate: this is a human issue. — Erin Lim

La deportación, la cárcel e incluso la muerte no son más que algunos de los obstáculos a los que la organizadora Gabriela Castañeda y el activista y solicitante de asilo Kaxh Mura’l, participantes en “Frontera Adentro”, se enfrentan mientras luchan contra el complejo fronterizo e industrial de los Estados Unidos. La cineasta Pamela Yates se centra en cómo las políticas anti-inmigrantes estadounidenses transforman las vidas de muchas personas y cómo las fuerzas del orden no sólo detienen a los inmigrantes que cruzan la peligrosa frontera sino también a quienes les ayudan. La película revela el costo humano de estas políticas, así como el aspecto comercial de esta guerra, desenmascarando la situación política y a los políticos que se benefician del statu quo. En un momento en el que los indocumentados son demonizados y los políticos hablan imprudentemente de deportaciones masivas, este documental pone el tema en perspectiva. No se trata de un debate de rojo o azul: es una cuestión humana.

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Ten-year-old Percy Boy Collins is one of the fastest runners in school, but he never fails to arrive late for class. A smart-talking Aboriginal child in a white-dominated environment, Percy Boy has few allies until he befriends Keithy Cobb, the new kid at school. The schoolmates join forces to fend off the fifth-grade bullies known as the Wolf Pack. Joining them is little Daisy Hawkins, the fiercest and scariest third grader around. The three share a common goal: for Percy Boy to defeat the Wolf Pack in the running competition at the school carnival. But while he trains for the race, Percy Boy also begins to see visions from the afterworld, including those who perished in the bushfire that claimed the lives of his parents. Indigenous Australian director Tanith Glynn-Maloney’s first feature is an inspirational celebration of the bonds that tie us to our family, our friends, and our heritage.

Walk beside Zen Buddhist priest and social activist Roshi Joan Halifax on her path to empower women and indigenous people in this magnificent, emotionally bracing documentary.

Take the rare and extraordinary opportunity to walk beside Zen Buddhist priest and social activist Roshi Joan Halifax on her path to empower women and indigenous people. This visually magnificent and emotionally bracing documentary charts an intimate pilgrimage with the Nomads Clinic—a team of Western, Nepali, and Tibetan healthcare workers—to deliver free medical care in the most remote regions of the Himalayas. Halifax, in her late 70s, spends 28 days hiking arduous miles, sharing wisdom and practical guidance with her team, and fostering cultural and spiritual exchange with the communities they serve. She also turns directly to the camera to deliver hard truths about gender equality and the relatable “kind of wrath” awakened in her as she observes increasingly selfish and harmful behavior in our societies. Like Joan, the film inspires a desire for peace and a spur toward positive action through service, generosity, and fearlessness.

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“I come from a family of great athletes” says young Lionel Conacher IV. His great grandfather—LC the first, also known as “The Big Train”—was such a phenomenon that he won 11 championships and was inducted into five different sports’ Halls of Fame. But the competitive “ideal man” he represented for many, and which Lionels II and III also personified, is not exactly a mold that fits this latest Conacher. After a rocky adolescence marked by “fear of being a sissy” and prescription-drug addiction, Lionel IV has embraced an identity that is queer and nonbinary, with a penchant for performance well off the playing field. This documentary draws on bounteous archival footage to chronicle a great Canadian family legacy in athletics, including interviews with Wayne Gretzky and other hockey legends. But it also makes room on the trophy shelf for a new generation’s different priorities and goals, with Lionel IV’s dad fully supportive of Junior’s “gender journey.”

Expected In Person Guest

Filmmaker Michael Premo follows three impassioned right-wing activists through the 2020 election, the January 6 Capitol riot, and beyond. With unexpected nuance and intimacy, he captures his protagonists’ combustible blend of delusional cosplayer, stalwart patriot, and potential threat.

An unexpectedly nuanced cinema verité portrait emerges in Michael Premo’s look at three impassioned right-wing activists. Having won their trust in the lead-up to the 2020 election, the Brooklyn filmmaker follows them through election night, the January 6 riot, and beyond. Contradictions abound—Thad (from Texas) attends Trump rallies with Black Lives Matter activist Jacarri; Chris (from New Jersey) participates in a “Back the Blue” march yet charges the line of police defending the Capitol—but their commitment to a particular red, white, and blue vision of America can’t be denied. Each is a combustible mix of delusional cosplayer, stalwart patriot, and potential threat, with the line between blood and bluster further blurred by cameos from Enrique Tarrio and Roger Stone. For all its madness, January 6 isn’t the film’s climax but a turning point in its protagonists’ political and personal evolutions. Yet the chant echoes: “I am a Western chauvinist/And I refuse to apologize/For creating the modern world/We’re all Proud Boys.”

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This fond, furry portrait dubs cats “the quiet royalty of the living room.” But they’ve got a gripe: The ongoing practice of surgical declawing, a contentious issue this documentary examines.

Rhetoric around “childless cat ladies” be danged, Americans love their kitties—there are by some estimates nearly 100 million of them here. Yet, while most people would certainly consider themselves pro-animal welfare, there remains one practice routine amongst US pet owners that’s considered “barbaric” almost everywhere else. That would be declawing, the surgery that’s promoted as healthy for cats (not to mention your furniture) but is really an “amputation” that can leave them crippled, in pain, and more likely to bite. It’s also a lucrative procedure for the veterinary industry, which has lobbied against laws banning it. Todd Bieber’s documentary follows comedienne Amy Hoggart from reality TV spoof Almost Royal and Full Frontal With Samantha Bee on the investigative trail. She probes both sides of a divisive issue, while also glimpsing myriad other points of interest—from domestication history to today’s celebrity cats—within the feline universe.

Expected in person guest.

In the realm of cinema, few actors possess the captivating allure and versatile talent quite like Jude Law. This Tribute will revisit key moments from his remarkable and diverse career.

In the realm of cinema, few actors possess the captivating allure and versatile talent of Jude Law. With a career spanning decades – a BAFTA winner and Oscar®, Tony®, and Olivier Award-nominated actor – Law has left an indelible mark on the landscape of film, enchanting audiences with his magnetic presence and commanding performances. This Tribute will revisit key moments from his films and examine his unique portrayal of Henry VIII in Firebrand, a testament to his remarkable and diverse career. In 2024 in addition to Firebrand, Law leads the Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Ron Howard’s Eden, and Justin Kurzel’s The Order, produced by Law’s production company Riff Raff. He is currently in production on the Netflix series Black Rabbit, in which he stars opposite Jason Bateman, who also directs, and executive produces under Riff Raff. OUR TRIBUTE PROGRAM honors lifetime achievement, and will feature a conversation with Jude Law, and the presentation of the MVFF Award.



Expected In Person Guest

Long celebrated in Europe, the US is just discovering one of the 20th century’s defining artists, Tamara de Lempicka. Working mother, feminist, style icon, and bisexual libertine, Lempicka embodied Art Deco’s spirit and portrayed high society women in boldly erotic terms that broke the male gaze. Encouraged by her grandmother, young Tamara emerged as a prodigious talent who combined cubism, classicism, and surrealism to reinvent the female figure, not as object but as protagonist. In this riveting documentary, Bay Area filmmaker Julie Rubio fills in the surprising contours of a remarkable life and talent with never-seen-before home movies and other artifacts, while descendants, curators, and art historians cite reinvention as the survival strategy of the artist who painted the modern woman into being. Fleeing war and authoritarianism, she supported herself and her daughter by living true to her own vision. This documentary is a must-see while anticipating Lempicka’s first major US retrospective at the de Young Museum in October.

In 1992, amidst Lima’s political turmoil, two sisters and their mother prepare to flee Peru while their estranged father seeks reconciliation.Klaudia Reynicke’s poignant drama beautifully blends coming-of-age intimacy with powerful socio-political commentary.

Experience a poignant journey through the eyes of a family living under the shadow of Alberto Fujimori’s authoritarian regime in 1992 Lima, Peru. The film delves deep into the emotional bonds within a matriarchal family, presenting an intimate, dazzling portrayal of two adolescent sisters and their mother as they prepare to leave the country amidst the turbulence while their estranged father attempts to reconnect with his daughters before their departure. Filmmaker Klaudia Reynicke masterfully weaves her childhood memories into the narrative, showcasing a meticulous reconstruction of history-laden domestic worlds as the story transitions seamlessly between a touching coming-of-age tale and a powerful socio-political commentary. With strong performances, exceptional art direction, and evocative costumes, this film stands out as a delicate and moving drama that captures the essence of personal and collective struggle. Don’t miss this compelling story that resonates with both heart and history, highlighting the resilience and strength of women in times of adversity.

Haga un viaje conmovedor a través de los ojos de una familia que vive bajo la sombra del régimen autoritario de Alberto Fujimori en 1992, en Lima, Perú. La película profundiza en los lazos emocionales dentro de una familia matriarcal, presentando un retrato íntimo y deslumbrante de dos hermanas adolescentes y su madre mientras se preparan para abandonar el país en medio de la turbulencia a la vez que su distanciado padre intenta volver a conectarse con las hijas antes de su partida. La cineasta Klaudia Reynicke entrelaza magistralmente los recuerdos de su infancia en la narrativa, ofreciendo una reconstrucción meticulosa de un mundo doméstico cargado de historia. A medida que la película avanza, se convierte en un conmovedor relato sobre el paso a la madurez y un poderoso comentario sociopolítico. Con excelentes interpretaciones, una dirección de arte excepcional y un vestuario evocador, esta película se destaca como un drama delicado y conmovedor que captura la esencia de la lucha personal y colectiva. No se pierda esta cautivadora historia que resuena tanto con el corazón como con la mente, destacando la resiliencia y fortaleza de las mujeres en tiempos de adversidad.

Expected In Person Guest

IN PERSON: Amy Adams; Marielle Heller, Director

Marielle Heller’s (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, MVFF41) bold new film starring the impeccable Amy Adams (Arrival, MVFF39 Opening Night) explores the darker side of motherhood with mischievous humor and a dash of suspense. The unnamed protagonist (played by Adams) is a visual artist whose career goes by the wayside after she gives birth to her son, a rather hyperactive charmer now hitting his Terrible Twos. Beset by folks who want to simplify the difficulties of childrearing or insist on its joys, she imagines herself responding in violent verbal fashion. When she starts to have strange dreams involving wild dogs and notices her body and senses changing, the primal instincts at the root of motherhood take center stage. Heller’s script (adapted from a book by Rachel Yoder) has a tonal agility that bounces adeptly from comedy to drama, even dipping its tail into body horror, and Adams is similarly dexterous in her display of the manifold emotions lying just below the surface of her character.
 
Amy Adams first appeared on the big screen in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) and worked steadily on television and in such movies as The Slaughter Rule (2002) and Catch Me If You Can (2002) before achieving her breakthrough with Junebug (2005), for which she won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and received her first Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The Oscar® nod was the first of six, followed by Doubt (2008), The Fighter (2010), The Master (2012), American Hustle (2013), and Vice (2018). Among her other notable films are Julie and Julia (2009), On the Road (MVFF45), Her (2013), Big Eyes (2014), Nocturnal Animals (2016), and Arrival (MVFF39 Opening Night film). She also received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Limited Series for Sharp Objects (2018).

We close out MVFF47 with Adams’ latest film, Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch, where we also honor Adams with an MVFF Award for her stellar career.

Expected in person guest.

IN PERSON: Amy Adams; Marielle Heller, Director

Marielle Heller’s (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, MVFF41) bold new film starring the impeccable Amy Adams (Arrival, MVFF39 Opening Night) explores the darker side of motherhood with mischievous humor and a dash of suspense. The unnamed protagonist (played by Adams) is a visual artist whose career goes by the wayside after she gives birth to her son, a rather hyperactive charmer now hitting his Terrible Twos. Beset by folks who want to simplify the difficulties of childrearing or insist on its joys, she imagines herself responding in violent verbal fashion. When she starts to have strange dreams involving wild dogs and notices her body and senses changing, the primal instincts at the root of motherhood take center stage. Heller’s script (adapted from a book by Rachel Yoder) has a tonal agility that bounces adeptly from comedy to drama, even dipping its tail into body horror, and Adams is similarly dexterous in her display of the manifold emotions lying just below the surface of her character.
 
Amy Adams first appeared on the big screen in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) and worked steadily on television and in such movies as The Slaughter Rule (2002) and Catch Me If You Can (2002) before achieving her breakthrough with Junebug (2005), for which she won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and received her first Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The Oscar® nod was the first of six, followed by Doubt (2008), The Fighter (2010), The Master (2012), American Hustle (2013), and Vice (2018). Among her other notable films are Julie and Julia (2009), On the Road (MVFF45), Her (2013), Big Eyes (2014), Nocturnal Animals (2016), and Arrival (MVFF39 Opening Night film). She also received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Limited Series for Sharp Objects (2018).

We close out MVFF47 with Adams’ latest film, Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch, where we also honor Adams with an MVFF Award for her stellar career.

Expected in person guest.

A former actress battles her troubled past, strained family ties, and lingering scars from Brazil's political turmoil. This powerful drama, rich in emotion and resilience, offers a raw and moving portrait of three women bound by generational trauma.

A former actress grapples with the shadows of her past in Pedro Freire’s riveting drama that captures a turbulent life. At 50, Malu resides in a dilapidated Rio de Janeiro slum with her staunchly traditional mother, Lili, while attempting to mend a fragile relationship with her daughter, Joana. The film delves deep into generational trauma, illustrating how past political upheavals, including Brazil's military dictatorship, have left lasting scars on this dysfunctional family. Malu's close bond with her queer friend Tibira further strains her relationship with Lili, exposing deep-seated prejudices and conflicts. Inspired by the real-life experiences of Freire's own mother, Malu Rocha, the film boasts a spectacular script and phenomenal performances that illuminate the complexities of family ties and personal resilience. Filmed in a Cassavetes-esque style that emphasizes character relationships and creates a cinema vérité feel, the must-see Malu delivers a profoundly moving portrayal of three women navigating the tumultuous waters of shared history.

Una ex actriz lidia con las sombras de su pasado en el fascinante drama de Pedro Freire que captura una vida turbulenta. A sus 50 años, Malu reside en una ruinosa favela de Río de Janeiro con su madre, Lili, mientras intenta reparar su frágil relación con su hija Joana. La película profundiza en el trauma generacional, ilustrando cómo las revueltas políticas pasadas, incluida la dictadura militar en Brasil, han dejado cicatrices duraderas en esta familia disfuncional. El estrecho vínculo de Malu con su amiga queer Tibira tensa aún más su relación con Lili, exponiendo prejuicios y conflictos profundamente arraigados. Inspirado en las experiencias de vida real de la propia madre de Freire, Malu Rocha, la película cuenta con un espectacular guión y actuaciones fenomenales que iluminan las complejidades de los lazos familiares y la resiliencia personal. Filmado al estilo Cassavetes, enfatizando las relaciones entre los personajes y creando una sensación de cinéma vérité, “Malu”, una película imperdible, ofrece un retrato profundamente conmovedor de tres mujeres navegando por las turbulentas aguas de una historia compartida.

In Oscar® winner Steve McQueen's brilliant drama, a young boy sent to the country to wait out the WWII Blitz runs away, determined to make it back home to London.

With a gripping visual prelude, Oscar®-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, MVFF36) brilliantly captures the on-the-ground drama of WW2 London during the Blitz. As the bombardments escalate, young mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn, MVFF38; Lady Bird, MVFF40 ) makes the painful decision to evacuate her nine-year-old son George (Elliott Heffernan making an indelible screen debut) to the English countryside for safety. Only the lad will have none of that, jumping off the train to find his way back home and reunite with his mum and beloved piano-playing granddad Gerald (musician Paul Weller). In an adventure increasingly fraught and filled with danger, he navigates the war-torn streets and Underground tunnels of London—complete with characters reminiscent of Dickens. Rita, meanwhile, frantically searches for her wayward child. With an impeccable sense of time, place and humanity, McQueen turns his attention to the perils everyday British civilians faced in the chaos and violence of the War with stunning, unforgettable results.

Closing Night party at San Rafael Elks Lodge

Iceland is known for its glaciers, volcanoes, and leading nearly the whole damn world in women’s rights and gender equality. How did this Nordic island nation manage to achieve what so few superpower countries have been able to? Zero in on October 24, 1975, when 90% of Iceland’s women—completely fed up with being disregarded, underpaid, and unrecognized in the workplace and in the home—walked off their jobs and brought the country to a standstill. This remarkable true story is told here for the first time in a vibrant mix of interviews with those who organized and participated in the massive “women’s day off” event and color-soaked animation recreating key moments in the movement. The spark was ignited that day and, with continued effort and powerful collaboration, real change followed. Perfectly timed with the lead-up to the strike’s 50th anniversary, this doc is subversive, funny, and fist-pumpingly galvanizing.

Expected In Person Guest

Inspired by Chris Marker’s classic La Jetée, this experimental drama-documentary gives The Last of Us vibes mixed with the familiar horror of watching democracy and humanity imperiled daily.

The year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated. Academy Award®-winning director Asif Kapadia's (Amy, 2015; The Warrior, MVFF25) experimental drama-documentary is a mind-bending stunner that gives The Last of Us vibes mixed with the familiar horror of watching humanity collapse in real time on our phones. Inspired by Chris Marker’s classic 1962 French New Wave sci-fi short La Jetée, which was constructed entirely of black-and-white still photos, 2073 takes a wildly daring approach that uses actual international news footage, photography, and journalist interviews to create a terrifyingly plausible timeline of events from the early 1990s to our present and beyond. Samantha Morton (The Whale, MVFF45;The Walking Dead) anchors the narrative in voiceover and as the silent protagonist who embodies the film’s imperative message (perfectly timed for election season): Time is ticking; we must act while we can.

With newly recovered 16mm footage of the 1995 reintroduction of gray wolves to the American West and stories told by those who made it happen, this thrilling documentary offers an insider’s view of the animals’ return to their rightful rangelands.

Once on the brink of extinction in the American West, the gray wolf’s comeback is astonishing, an incredible true story with many heroes, and one crucial heroine. Emmy-winning director Tom Winston’s (Epic Yellowstone) enthralling IMAX documentary incorporates recently recovered 16mm footage, shot in 1995 and long thought lost, to draw attention to the legacy of the late Mollie Beattie. The first woman, and first forest ranger, to head the US Fish and Wildlife Service, during her short tenure she shepherded the wolf reintroduction project through tricky political terrain with such tenacity and finesse that one of the wolfpacks was named in her honor. A colorful and articulate band of personalities who served under Beattie’s leadership share the often nail-biting process of returning these unfairly maligned predators to their natural habitat, along the way demonstrating how essential the animals are to the ecosystem and how essential the Endangered Species Act is to reversing centuries of ecological damage.

In 1970s Brazil, a family's life collapses when the military regime seizes former congressman Rubens Paiva. His wife, Eunice, becomes a fierce advocate for justice. Walter Salles directs this poignant film, which reveals the pain and resilience of fighting for truth.

The idyllic life of a happy family in Rio de Janeiro takes a devastating turn when agents of Brazil’s military regime seize former congressman Rubens Paiva (Shelton Mello), leaving his wife Eunice (a stirring Fernanda Torres) alone with their five children. As Rubens disappears into the shadows of the country’s savage penal system, Eunice navigates the perilous waters of the police state and transforms into a relentless advocate for justice, her voice becoming a beacon in the fight against government atrocities. Based on Marcelo Paiva’s memoir and using actual family photos as inspiration, director Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries; On the Road, MVFF35) brings us a haunting portrayal of a family's tragic transformation under a brutal dictatorship. Eunice Paiva’s journey is a powerful testament to the enduring scars of forced disappearances and the unyielding search for truth. The film, anchored by a stellar cast that includes Fernanda Montenegro (Salles’s Central Station) and Maeve Jinkings, resonates with the pain and resilience of those left behind.

La idílica vida de una familia feliz en Río de Janeiro da un giro devastador cuando los agentes del régimen militar de Brasil capturan al excongresista Rubens Paiva (Shelton Mello), dejando a su esposa Eunice (una conmovedora Fernanda Torres) sola con sus cinco hijos. Mientras Rubens desaparece en las sombras del salvaje sistema penal del país, Eunice navega por las peligrosas aguas del estado policial y se transforma en una implacable defensora de la justicia y su voz se convierte en un modelo de inspiración en la lucha contra las atrocidades cometidas por el gobierno. Basado en las memorias de Marcelo Paiva y utilizando fotografías familiares reales como inspiración, el cineasta Walter Salles (Diarios de motocicleta; On The Road, MVFF35) nos presenta un retrato inquietante de la trágica transformación de una familia bajo una brutal dictadura. La experiencia de Eunice Paiva ofrece un testimonio conmovedor de las cicatrices duraderas dejadas por las desapariciones forzadas y de la incansable búsqueda de la verdad. La película, respaldada por un elenco estelar que incluye a Fernanda Montenegro (conocida por su papel en la película de Salles “Central Station”) y Maeve Jinkings, resuena profundamente con el dolor y la resiliencia de quienes permanecen.