MASON REEVES STARS IN JOSEPHINE (DIR. BETH DE ARAÚJO)
More about Mill Valley's 2026 films . . .
Beyond those three featured films, there are numerous films that have been highlights of earlier fests. For instance: from Sundance, THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK featuring John Turturro; also BEDFORD PARK (dir. Stephanie Ahn), which won a debut feature award; and JOSEPHINE (dir. Beth de Araújo), a possible Oscar hopeful set in San Francisco, a thriller-drama about a child who witnesses a sexual assault in Golden Gate Park.
From Cannes comes the Palme d’Or film, Cristian Mungiu's FJORD; Zvyagintsev's MINOTAUR (Grand Prix at Cannes, another dark picture of Putin's Russia); and "Los Javis'" big gay hit LA BOLA NEGRA/THE BLACK BALL, which won best director for its three interconnected stories rooted in an unfinished Federico García Lorca book. And from the Venice Film Festival comes BUNKER (dir. Florian Zeller), a psychological drama featuring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem; and Alex Gibney's four-hour Elon Musk documentary, MUSK.
Many of Mill Valley's 2026 screenings will have cast and crew on hand for them. Expected are Pedro Almodóvar (BITTER CHRISTMAS), Gemma Chan (JOSEPHINE), Rian Johnson (James Gray's PAPER TIGER), Bill Pullman (EVERYBODY DIGS BILL EVANS) and Sam Rockwell (Martin McDonagh's WILD HORSE NINE). There will be a retrospective screening of McDonagh's earlier THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI. The local Bay Area director of BACKROOMS, Kane Parsons, will be interviewed live, and the festival will feature a two-hander conversation between veteran film critics David Thomson and A.O. Scott.