The summer blockbuster season is behind us. Now let’s shift to more thought-provoking fare coming in the next few months.
There’s no better setting for enlightening indie films than Bay Area film festivals. This week, we focus on several not to miss, including the big one in October.
The Mill Valley Film Festival (Oct. 3-13): Known for attracting high-profile stars (Nicole Kidman, Kristen Stewart, Jamie Foxx, Robert Pattinson, to name a few) and acclaimed filmmakers (Barry Jenkins, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Nichols, Sofia Coppola), the Mill Valley Film Festival, in its 47th year, remains vital and essential, particularly for those claiming to be true Bay Area film connoisseurs.
This year, in addition to hosting the West Coast premiere of the eagerly anticipated papal thriller “Conclave” (on opening night) and giving an award to Danielle Deadwyler for her performance in Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” (on Oct. 6), the festival continues to showcase Bay Area filmmakers and actors.
While we jump at the chance to catch the Oct. 5 screening of Jacques Audiard’s audacious musical “Emilia Pérez” (the recipient of this year’s MVFF award for outstanding ensemble performance), we’re equally pumped about films with local ties.
Here are five features about which we’re particularly excited.
- Berkeley documentary maker Connie Field’s “Democracy Noir,” which delves into formidable roadblocks three brave souls encountered while trying to expose political corruption in Hungary.
- The world premiere of director D. Damian Panetta’s “Lost in Time: Druid Heights,” about the deep connection Marin County resident Ed Stiles has to the former bohemian community near Mill Valley.
- Fairfax director Natalie Zimmerman’s “Oceania: Journey to the Center,” an advocacy doc about the plight of the islanders of Kiribati who are facing rising sea levels.
- Berkeley director Jalena Keane-Lee’s “Standing Above the Clouds,” which shows Native Hawaiian mothers and daughters uniting to preserve and protect cultural traditions in the face of plans to erect a huge telescope on sacred Mauna Kea land.
- The world premiere of Orinda filmmaker Julie Rubio’s “The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & The Art of Survival,” a deep dive into the life of the ahead-of-her-time, bisexual painter (1899-1980) who continues to gain fans. It screens at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Sequoia Cinema, Mill Valley and 2 p.m. Oct. 12 at Lark Theater, Larkspur.
The entire Mill Valley Film Festival schedule will be announced at mvff.com on Sept. 12. Early bird tickets and passes are on sale now. General public single tickets go on sale Sept. 18.
Here are more Bay Area film festivals we’re looking forward to:
The San Quentin Film Festival (Oct. 10): This inaugural event mixes in documentary and narrative shorts, all by filmmakers who are currently incarcerated or were incarcerated. Visit sanquentinfilmfestival.com.
The San Francisco Transgender Film Festival (Nov. 13-24, at the Roxie in San Francisco and streaming): Billed as the world’s first and longest running celebration of trans filmmaking, this year’s program, not yet announced, likely will offer Bay Area talent within the slate of documentary and narrative shorts. Visit sftff.org/.
The San Francisco Dance Film Festival (Oct. 4-20 in theaters, Oct. 21-Nov. 3 streaming): Dance Film SF’s 15th program pirouettes early on Oct. 4 at a fundraiser featuring the world premiere of Bay Area filmmaker Lisa Le Lievre’s “Closer Than Yesterday,” a documentary about the journey of San Francisco Ballet dancers Carmela Mayo and Alexis Francisco Valdes and their coach, former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Tiit Helimets. The festival features numerous tempting titles even for those who happen to have two left feet. I’m most curious about “Peaky Blinders–The Redemption of Thomas Shelby,” a filmed performance of a dance piece based on that crime series. Visit sfdancefilmfest.org/.
Superfest: Disability Film Festival (streaming Oct. 17-20; two screenings Oct. 19 at the San Francisco Exploratorium): Starting as a one-day event in Los Angeles, the festival today is considered the longest running festival of its type in in the world, and it continues to expand. This year, it adds a new partner, the San Francisco Disability Cultural Center. In addition to screenings, it offers panel discussions. The program has not yet been announced. Visit superfestfilm.org/.
The Green Film Festival of San Francisco (Oct. 17- 27, at the 4-Star and Balboa in San Francisco, virtual program Oct. 17-27): Presented by the eclectic SF IndieFest, the festival can be counted on to highlight unfamiliar stories regarding our planet and people celebrating and protecting it. This year’s opening night selection, Marin County filmmakers Babette Hogan and Julie Eisenberg’s “Running for the Mountains,” which considers West Virginia being targeted for resources and an attempt to combat that, looks like an eye-opener. Visit sfindie.com/.
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