39th Mill Valley Film Festival Wraps With a Whole Lotta ‘Loving’

The festival, which has made its name on a handful of attributes with an incredibly eclectic selection of films from all over the world, an almost eery ability to showcase films that end up garnering Academy Awards and celebrity appearances by actors and directors to receive tributes and to accompany awards-worthy screenings.

The 39th edition, which ran Oct. 6-16 in downtown Mill Valley and at venues all over Marin, knocked it out of the park in the first two categories and set the bar at an all-time high in the third, rounding up a constellation of big names to appear at screenings at sit down for Q&As afterwards, including Emma Stone, Damien Chazelle and Justin Hurwitz for La La Land, Amy Adams for Arrival, Nicole Kidman for Lion – the winner of the MVFF Audience Favorite 2016 Award – as well as actors Ewan McGregor (“American Pastoral,” director and star), Gael García Bernal(“Neruda”), Aaron Eckhart (“Bleed for This”) as well as groundbreaking filmmaker Julie Dash (“Daughters of the Dust”).

MVFF39 closed Sunday night with the Bay Area premiere of Jeff Nichols’ acclaimed historical drama Loving, with Nichols was in attendance for the screening along with actors Joel Egerton and Ruth Negga, with special guest Alice Walker in the audience.

The festival drew over 74,000 attendees, organizer said.

“As we close the 39th Mill Valley Film Festival, I am continually amazed by our audiences’ response to our film program – and of course – the incredible support we have (year after year) from filmmakers, sales agents and distributors,” MVFF Founder and Director Mark Fishkin says. “Without their recognition that the MVFF is one of the most significant non-competitive film festivals in the US, it would be impossible to present the most highly anticipated award season films, cutting-edge American indies, thought-provoking documentaries, and remarkable international films … The breadth and depth of the programming truly shined this year.”