Mill Valley Film Festival

The MVFF Returns for its 38th Year Celebrating the Best in Independent and World Cinema

Internationally recognized for showcasing the best in independent and world cinema, the Festival draws thousands of attendees every fall to Marin County for 11 days of films, panel discussions, and musical performances. The Mill Valley Film Festival provides attendees with a chance to catch an early glimpse of the Academy Award® contenders and discover some of the best films from around the world. Five out of the last seven Academy Award winners for Best Picture (Slumdog Millionaire, The King’s Speech, The Artist, Argo and 12 Years a Slave) made their California premiere at the Festival.

Spanish Films at MVFF

Dirty Wolves (Lobos sucios)

• On Saturday, October 10 at 2:15 pm.
• On Monday, October 12 at 11:30 am.
• Directed by Simón Casal de Miguel, 2015, 105 minutes.
• Cast: Marian Álvarez, Manuela Vellés, Pierre Kiwitt

Under ancient yew trees in the Nazi-controlled tungsten mines of northwest Spain, a single mother decides to fight someone else’s war—and ends up risking everything. Known mockingly as “The Widow,” Manuela was abandoned by her baby’s father and now works processing the wolfram (aka tungsten) that the Germans will use to tear through Allied flesh. But it turns out there is more than just the wolf of poverty to keep from the door as Manuela comes to realize that –unlike her country– she cannot remain neutral in a time of war.

In a thrilling first feature inspired by actual events, director Simón Casal de Miguel imbues the unrelenting grayness of the Galician countryside with a mysticism as old as the twisting yews and howling wolves that roam beneath them. And in Marian Álvarez’s steely, nuanced Manuela, along with the terrific supporting cast, he has mined rich and subtle talent.

Marshland (La La Isla Minima)

• On Friday, October 9 at 1 pm.
• On Monday, October 12 at 8:30 pm.
• Directed by Alberto Rodriguez, 2014, 105 minutes.
• Cast: Javier Gutierrez, Raul Arevalo, Antonio de la Torre.

A mesmerizing and moody psychological journey into the underbelly of a small town in 1980, Marshland evokes the energy of True Detective and the tone of Twin Peaks to create a fascinating and haunting first-rate thriller. After teenage sisters disappear from a marshland town in southern Spain, two contrasting Madrid detectives are on the case. As their investigation unfolds, we take a twisty, turbulent ride filled with colorful characters, offbeat situations, and surprising moments of personal revelation.

From the opening frames, featuring breathtaking aerial shots of the marshland, it’s clear that filmmaker Alberto Rodriguez is in complete control. Each scene is perfectly crafted to capture the emotional and physical reality of that moment while an eerie, understated soundtrack seeps into our subconscious. This meticulous, multilayered cinematic puzzle rewards careful attention by doling out information on a need-to-know basis, assembling a suspenseful and magnetic experience that gives the best kind of movie thrill.

A Perfect Day

• On Friday, October 16 at 5 pm.
• On Sunday, October 18 at 11:15 am.
• Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, 2015, 105 minutes.
• Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins, Olga Kurylenko, Melanie Thierry, Fedja Stukan, Eldar Residovic, Sergi Lopez.

Humanitarian aid workers attempt to improve conditions despite facing bureaucracy, violence, cynicism, distrust, and a shortage of necessary materials in this tragicomedy, a kind of M*A*S*H comes to the Balkans, set during the waning days of the Bosnian War. The drama begins with Mambru (Benicio Del Toro) and Damir (Fedja Stukan) trying to fish a corpse out of a well. Lack of a proper rope complicates the situation –just one more absurdity for the two men and their co-workers, including wise-cracking B (Tim Robbins), as they go about the business of trying to survive while helping the region thrive once again.

Spain stands in for Bosnia in Spaniard Fernando León de Aranoa’s gorgeously lensed, funny, and compassionate first English-language feature, a film as attuned to the comic potential of a booby-trapped cow in the road as it is to the challenge of doing the right thing in an impossible situation.