The Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF42), presented by the California Film Institute, announced the set of films selected for the 42nd edition of the Festival, returning to Marin County October 3-13, 2019. The Festival will present acclaimed films from the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival, and other Festivals around the world.
We focused on the French selection (directors and actors) but there are many more… Here is the francophone list, all have English subtitles:
- US Premiere of Ira Sachs’ Frankie, an intergenerational drama set in Portugal, starring Isabelle Huppert, Marisa Tomei, Brendan Gleeson, and Greg Kinnear
- US Premiere of The Truth with Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche. Fabienne, glamourous movie star, is the mother of Lumir, screenwriter in New York. The publication of the memoirs of this great actress incites Lumir and her family to return to the home of her childhood. But the reunion will soon turn to confrontation. With Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke. Opening film of the Venice Film Festival in 2019.
- North American Premiere of animated French film set in the summer of 1998 The Swallows of Kabul by Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec. We have met them back in January 2019 when they came to San Francisco Theatre du Lycée Français to talk about their “work in progress“. Listen to an exclusive podcast (in French) of Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mevellec sharing their respective creative process.
- Mind the Gap Directors Panel – Zabou Breitman is one of the 6 women directors invited to talk at this panel. It will take a deep dive into what it takes to sustain a career as a filmmaker—of fiction, animation, documentary—in 2019.
- US premiere of Grand Jury Prize winner in Berlin By The Grace of God from François Ozon. Based on a historic abuse scandal at a Catholic boys’ summer camp. The case has been judged this year in France.
- The King with Timothée Chalamet and Lily-Rose Depp. An adaptation of Shakespeare’s texts to recount rebellious Prince Hal’s reluctant transformation into King Henry V.
- Les Misérables by Ladj Ly. This powerfully cinematic crime drama uses the eponymous Victor Hugo novel as a blueprint for a riveting portrait of 21st-century France. Jury Prize at Cannes movie festival.
- Documentary about Phil Tippett, Mad Dreams and Monsters by Gilles Penso and Alexandre Poncet. As a child, acclaimed animator and Berkeley native Phil Tippett became obsessed with stopmotion animation and later created iconic creatures for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, RoboCop, and many more.
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire by Céline Sciamma. Gifted painter Marianne (a revelatory Noémie Merlant) arrives on a remote island to render the wedding portrait of Héloïse (a haunting Adèle Haenel) without the latter’s knowledge or permission.
- Rémi Nobody’s Boy by Antoine Blossier. It’s the heartwarming hero’s journey of orphaned, 10-year-old Rémi, and the aging traveling performer, Vitalis (Daniel Auteuil), who takes him under his wing. A French classic. Age 10+
- Documentary – Serependity by Prune Noury. Women’s bodies and fertility are the themes that knit together multidisciplinary artist Prune Nourry’s work in a career that has traversed the globe with sculptural installations, solo shows, and performances.
- Synonyms by Ladav Nativ. With Tom Mercier and Lea Drucker. This brilliant, caustically funny film follows an Israeli ex-soldier as he arrives in Paris intent on shedding his native language, heritage, and self.
- West Coast premiere of Varda by Agnès, an inspired career retrospective presented by Agnès Varda herself in her charming and bittersweet final film
If you are new in the Bay Area, beware that the tickets are selling quickly.
Ticket On-Sale Dates
California Film Institute members can purchase single tickets in advance of the general public beginning Sunday, September 8, 2019.
General Public Single Tickets on sale Saturday, September 14, 2019
During the festival, from Oct. 3 – 13, tickets are available 1 hour before the first screening of the day to 15 minutes after last show starts.
Merci Mill Valley Film Festival, Merci California Film Institute
