The beloved Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) returned for its 48th year from October 2–12. The festival was hosted at a few venues: Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael; Sequoia Cinema in Mill Valley; the Lark Theater in Larkspur; and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) in Berkeley.
This year, over 42,000 total guests attended to enjoy the many films, panels and special events. Over the course of the 11-days, MVFF screened 139 films, 52% of which were directed by women and nonbinary filmmakers — Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, which stars Jessie Buckley, opened the festival with five at-capacity screenings. The full list of screenings can be found in their 2025 wrap release.
Among the many notable attendees were: Oscar-winning director Spike Lee, who was awarded MVFF Award for Lifetime Achievement; Zoey Deutch (Nouvelle Vague); Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams); Tonatiuh (Kiss of the Spider Woman); and Mind the Gap award winners Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) and Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby).
“The 48th Mill Valley Film Festival was a resounding success by every measure,” said Mark Fishkin, Founder and Director of the Mill Valley Film Festival. “Attendance reached its highest levels since 2019, and audiences responded with immense enthusiasm to the caliber and diversity of this year’s films.”
This year’s films featured stories from over 40 countries, but also included a few from local filmmakers: Tonny Benna’s André is an Idiot; Brother Versus Brother by Ari Gold; Diamond Diplomacy by Yuriko Gamo Romer; Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s Everywhere Man: The Life and Times of Peter Asher; and Mill Valley resident Tatti Ribeiro’s Valentina.
A couple of initiatives ensured a diverse and educational experience for those visiting the festival. ¡Viva el Cine! celebrated the diversity of Ibero-American cinema with showings of films in Portuguese and Spanish, plus global Latinx and Latin American stories. The Filmmakers Go to School initiative connected students to professionals in the film industry, and provided a few interactive opportunities as well to further enhance their learning.
The Family Films program additionally showed films that were catered to children and guests of all ages, with free in-theater film showings at MVFF’s San Rafael and Mill Valley locations. Online streaming was also available.
“Watching students encounter films that reflect both their own lives and worlds far beyond their own reminds me that the future of storytelling is in extraordinary hands,” CAFILM Education Director Angela Colabella said. “These young audiences are engaged, insightful and unafraid to ask big questions.”
While there were many other standout moments throughout the festival, the Jon M. Chu Masterclass, which was moderated by Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL·E), gave attendees a glimpse into Chu’s career (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights, Wicked).
Meanwhile, A Tribute to Spike Lee honored the filmmaker with the MVFF Lifetime Achievement Award. Collaborator Delroy Lindo hosted a live conversation with Lee, who reflected on his career, from Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X to BlacKkKlansman, Da 5 Bloods and his latest project, Highest 2 Lowest.
This year also marked the 10th anniversary of MVFF’s Mind the Gap gender equity initiative, which was awarded to filmmakers Byrne and Victor.
