Mill Valley Film Festival 36

Tuesday morning, in the plush Dolby Screening Room, the Mill Valley Film Festival held a press conference for their up-coming festival, October 3 - 13. Mark Fishkin, Executive Director, & Zoë Elton, Director of Programming, ran through the highlights. Senior Programmer Janis Plotkin covered the world cinema selections, & Senior Programmer Karen Davis talked up the US films. Opening night features Nebraska, a road movie by Alexander Payne. Its stars, Bruce Dern & Will Forte, will attend. Also on opening night is a film adaptation of The Book Thief with Geoffrey Rush, who will likewise be present.

Spotlight films include 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club, an AIDS-themed story set in the 1980s & starring Matthew McConaughey & Jared Leto, & Effie Gray, starring Dakota Fanning. Ms. Fanning, all of 19 years old, will receive a festival award. The 80-year-old Costa-Gavras will receive a tribute & be interviewed on stage by Peter Coyote. Closing night will be Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, with Mr. Stiller in attendance. The festival program also encompasses documentaries, shorts & children's films, as well as a 30th anniversary screening of Return of the Jedi.

The press conference included a demonstration of the immersive Dolby Atmos sound system, & we saw a preview screening of Michele Josue's documentary Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine, which premieres at the festival on October 4th.

§ Mill Valley Film Festival 36
October 3 - 13, 2013