We’ve already shared two previews for you (here and here), but at last the day is almost upon us: the 47th Mill Valley Film Festival opens tomorrow, Thursday, October 3rd, and runs until Sunday, October 13, 2024. Screenings take place in Marin County theaters and at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). For a complete listing of all films and special programming, check out the full Festival program.
Below is our third and final preview of the Festival, highlighting two documentaries and one feature. See you at the Fest!
1.) THE DAY ICELAND STOOD STILL
(USA; Iceland 2024. 70 min.)
Forty-nine years ago this month, the women of Iceland brought their country to a standstill by staging a one-day strike from all work – in businesses and banks, in schools and hospitals, on farms and ranches, and in their own homes. Director Pamela Hogan’s alternately infuriating and inspiring documentary will have you cheering at the same time you shake your head in disbelief at how much remains to be done for women’s equality nearly 50 years later. Case in point: A gripe by a male detractor that the activist women “hate children” or will never have them may remind some viewers of JD Vance’s recent “childless cat ladies” comment, illustrating that even after five decades, little has changed in terms of how some men view a woman’s role in society. “First you are ignored, then you are laughed at, then they fight you, and then you win,” says one of the original organizers. Indeed, Iceland now boasts a parliament that is almost 50% women, one of the highest percentages in the world. This engrossing, rousing oral history, which features interviews with many of the women involved in the historic Day Off, will no doubt leave you chanting the lyrics of the Day’s anthem: “We Dare! We Can! We Will!”
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., Oct. 12th, 4:30pm at the Smith Rafael Film Center (at rush)
– Sun., Oct. 13th, 8:00pm at the Smith Rafael Film Center (at rush)
2.) Lost in Time: Druid Heights
(USA, 2023. 75 min.)
I’ve lived in the Bay Area almost my whole life and had never heard of Druid Heights. Founded in the late 1950s by poet Elsa Gidlow and carpenter Roger Somers, the utopian colony near Muir Woods was populated by artists, poets, writers, musicians and assorted other off-the-gridders in the 1960s and 1970s. If you’re in the same boat, you owe it to yourself to watch this fascinating documentary about the settlement. Featuring oral histories courtesy of the Mill Valley Public Library archives and interviews with furniture maker Ed Stiles, who still lives and works on the property, the film offers an in depth look at a bygone era of music, art, sex and drugs. The Doobie Brothers, Neil Young, Gary Snyder, and Santana are just some of the countercultural luminaries who had connections to the area, and listening to stories about their experiences is a must for any local history lover. Want to know how Marin County got its rep as a hot tub aficionado’s dream? Then this is the doc for you.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., Oct. 5th, 8:30pm at the Smith Rafael Film Center (at rush)
– Fri., Oct. 11th, 1:00PM at the Lark Theater (at rush)
3.) THE BOOK OF JOBS
(USA, 2024. 90 min.)
Stanford grad Kayci Lacob makes her feature film debut with this loosely autobiographical tale of Claudia (Abigail Donaghy), a precocious and driven Silicon Valley-raised teen obsessed with Steve Jobs. While the film at times plays like an ad for both Stanford and Apple, its sensibilities lean more toward the Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret school of coming of age films, with mixed results. While the acting and screenplay often veer toward the stilted and cliche, the film’s themes of the difficulties of growing up, fitting in, and finding your way with family, friends, and yourself are universal and well handled. The picture gets better as it goes along, and its adult cast, including Rich Sommer (Mad Men) as Claudia’s father, Judy Greer as her mother, and Utkarsh Ambudkar (Brittany Runs a Marathon) as a favorite teacher, outshine the teenage stars and turn in exceptional performances.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., Oct. 12th, 3:00pm at the Lark Theater (at rush)
