DOCLANDS DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING JONI COOPER SELECTS
16 BARS
Sam Bathrick (US, 2018) 93 min.

“This film came to us in Programming just out of the blue. And from the moment that my colleagues and I saw it, we knew that we really wanted to show it. It was before the final cut, before color correction, before the sound mix, but it was already a stellar film… It’s filled with beautifully produced music, but what stood out for me were the amazing humans who are involved in it. I still get shivers thinking about it and the music.” –Joni Cooper

16 BARS Q&A from its World Premiere at DocLands in 2018.

Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

DOCLANDS AND MVFF DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMMER KELLY CLEMENT SELECTS
THE DOG DOC
Director: Cindy Meehl (US, 2019) 101 min.

“We love those light hearted films about animals, especially our domestic friends. But we all live in a world where sickness or accidents can happen to our dogs and cats at any time and we want to be able to offer them the best treatment, as we would any other family member. Dr. Goldstein, The Dog Doc, has taken this to a new level, not just offering conventional medicine but also exploring holistic alternative healing for our pets. A fascinating documentary that opens the door to a new world and introduces us to some delightful furry friends.” –Kelly Clement

Get involved: American Holistic Veterinary Medicine Foundation

Available with subscription: Hoopla
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, iTunes, Microsoft

CFI FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARK FISHKIN SELECTS
STAND AND DELIVER
Director: Ramón Menéndez (US, 1988) 103 min.

Jaime Escalante is a math teacher from Bolivia in a tough, Los Angeles high school which has a 50% drop out rate. In 1982, he prepared 18 of his students to take the National Advanced Placement Calculus Test, an exam so difficult that only 2% of graduating seniors even attempt it. Co-producer Edward James Olmos stars in this uplifting film about dreams and hard work, and one teacher’s refusal to give up on his students. Lou Diamond Phillips plays Angel, the class cut-up for whom Escalante becomes a spiritual father. (Logline by C. Graham)

In MVFF Through the Years, Mark Fishkin responds to the question: When did you begin to feel that the Festival was really taking off?
“…Certainly I would say the year that we premiered a little film called Walking On Water, with Edward James Olmos and Lou Diamond Phillips, we had its world premiere. The title was later changed to Stand And Deliver, and literally the acquisition directors and the presidents of the film companies were running to the only pay phone in the Sequoia Theater, and it sold from the Mill Valley Film Festival for the largest amount any independent film had sold for in the history of filmmaking.” –Mark Fishkin

Available free with ads: Vudu
Available with subscription: Netflix
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING RICHARD PETERSON SELECTS
ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS
Director: Lone Sherfig (Denmark, 2001) 99 min.
In Danish and Italian with English subtitles.

“This crowd-pleaser from Danish writer-director Lone Scherfig takes a winning spin on modern romance in a warm-hearted comedy of cultural collision. Filmed on location in Copenhagen (with a brief holiday in Venice), it focuses on a group of men and women whose lovelorn lives intersect at an Italian-language adult-education class (as well as Italian immigrants trying to adjust to Danish courting rituals). Certainly the most charming of the “Dogme” films (and the first one made by a woman filmmaker), Italian for Beginners is bolstered by a great ensemble cast and crackling dialogue. While its drama can be serious at times, its honest approach to romance and genuine affection for its characters help make it an irresistible experience.” –Richard Peterson

Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Vudu

CFI DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION JOANNE PARSONT SELECTS
STEP
Director: Amanda Lipitz (US, 2017) 84 min

“At an inner-city Baltimore girls’ high school, the spirited members of the step dance team strive to escape their challenging urban environment and make it to college. Preparing for their final competition, their empowerment and dedication to success is soundly declared with every stomp and clap. I’m a big fan of youth competition documentaries, whether it be spelling bees in Spellbound, chess in Brooklyn Castle, or poetry slams in Louder Than a Bomb. But I especially love the energy and spirit of STEP, and the film’s focus on young women of color demonstrating and owning their power.” –Joanne Parsont

Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING
RICHARD PETERSON SELECTS
BOY
Director: Taika Waititi (New Zealand, 2010) 87 min.

“Set in 1984, this warm, spirited, and irreverent coming-of-age comedy centers around an 11-year-old Maori named Boy (James Rolleston), who lives with his grandma, his brother, and their cousins on the rural East Coast of New Zealand. He idolizes two men: Michael Jackson and Boy’s absentee father (played by writer-director Taika Waititi), who turns out not to be a hero, but a ne’er-do-well and petty thief. In advance of its theatrical run at the Rafael in 2012, Taika Waititi visited for a special CFI members’ screening and delighted the audience with his quirky and infectious sense of humor.” – Richard Peterson

Available with subscription: Amazon Prime, Hoopla, Kanopy
Available to rent or purchase: Vudu, YouTube, Google Play

MVFF SENIOR PROGRAMMER KAREN DAVIS SELECTS
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS
Directors: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi (New Zealand, 2014) 86 min.

“This timeless “occult classic” comedy is lovingly crafted in the style of the best of Christopher Guest, and will leave you thirsty for more. In a much lighter ‘vein’ then any run of the mill fly-by-night zom-com bromance, What We Do in the Shadows liberally and literally raises (and lowers) the “stakes” of the “vamp camp” genre, featuring an irresistibly toothsome cast including co-directors/co-stars Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi (Boy) as a coupla wild and crazy (dead) guys who join dark forces to fight for the right to, well, party vampire-style in the tony clubs of Wellington. A film I could (and do) watch again and again…bloody good fun!” – Karen Davis

Available with subscription: Hoopla, Kanopy
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

MVFF PROGRAMMING ASSOCIATE CELESTE WONG SELECTS
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
Director: Taika Waititi (New Zealand, 2016) 102 min.

“The perfect film to cure your isolation blues, Hunt For The Wilderpeople, based on the book Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump, is the story of Ricky (Julian Dennison), a 13-year old foster kid without an ounce of outdoorsmanship, and Uncle Hec (Sam Neill), a gruff wilderness man, who embark on a journey through the New Zealand countryside. Equal parts hilarious, heart-warming, and heart-racing this odd-couple adventure-comedy is an absolute delight from beginning to end!” – Celeste Wong

Available with subscription: Hulu, Hoopla, Kanopy
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

MVFF AND DOCLANDS PROGRAMMING MANAGER AND MVFF SHORTS PROGRAMMER STERLING HEDGPETH SELECTS
PINA
Director: Wim Wenders (Germany, 2011) 103 min.

“From Kings of the Road to Paris, Texas, Wim Wenders has always had a deft way of balancing the grandeur of landscape with emotional intimacy. So, it comes as no surprise that the fluid integration of the dances in this film with natural, real world surroundings is visually inventive while also seamless in its vivid, visceral explosion of movement and personal expression found in each choreographed set piece. Part documentary, part musical, part tribute to the legacy of Pina Bausch, this film also marked a personal touchstone for the new career I was embarking on here at CFI, beginning with MVFF34. Crank up the volume and enjoy!” – Sterling Hedgpeth

Available with subscription: Criterion Channel
Available to rent or purchase: YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Amazon

SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING RICHARD PETERSON SELECTS
THE RED SHOES
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger (UK, 1948) 135 min.

“Perhaps the most celebrated work from the British filmmaking team of director Michael Powell and writer Emeric Pressburger (known as “The Archers”), this tale of a beautiful ballerina (Moira Shearer), torn between her love for a young composer and allegiance to a possessive impresario, unfolds like a beautifully expressive suite of music, design, and color. During the Michael Powell centennial in 2005, his widow Thelma Schoonmaker (the Oscar ® -winning editor of The Aviator and Raging Bull, as well as other films directed by Martin Scorsese) appeared at the Mill Valley Film Festival to launch California Film Institute’s Powell retrospective that continued at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center and finished with a memorable appearance by Jack Cardiff, the legendary British cinematographer of The Red Shoes.” – Richard Peterson

Available with subscription: Criterion Channel
Available to rent or purchase: YouTube, Google Play, Amazon

MVFF DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING ZOË ELTON SELECTS
STRICTLY BALLLROOM
Director: Baz Luhrmann (Australia/UK, 1992) 94 min.

“Strictly speaking, is it real ballroom dancing when you are a brilliantly talented young man whose moves are exciting, innovative, and glorious—but you go against all the norms? With oodles of glitter, gloriously bouffed bonces, and onstage twirls that light up the screen, Baz Luhrmann’s debut scores top marks as a wily satire on the world of competitive ballroom dancing in Australia, with an emphasis on talent (what it is, and who’s really got it), the oddballs in charge (and their hair) and rules (who gets to make them, who gets to break them). From high drama (“What the bloody hell is going on??”) to low blows (literally) to dancing that made our audiences want to rhumba all the way to the Outdoor Art Club after-party, this was the perfect Opening Night film in 1992. And honestly, maybe the best ever.” – Zoë Elton

Available with subscription: hoopla
Available to rent or purchase: YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

MVFF DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING ZOË ELTON SELECTS
ROOM
Director: Lenny Abrahamson (US, 2015)

“Room, based on the novel by Emma Donoghue, takes on a whole new resonance when seen through the eyes of 2020. So often, we connect with what we see of ourselves in film stories, so it’s interesting to revisit this story of a mother and son kept in confinement over a long period of time now, in the context of our current lives. Then, it was a breakthrough role for Brie Larson; her visit to MVFF was one of many on the whistle-stop journey that took her to the Oscars® and her Best Actress win. Offstage, we talked about the character played by Jacob Tremblay, her young co-star, who reminded me of a young family member of mine who had recently been diagnosed as autistic. When I asked Brie to sign the program for them, she did way more than that: she wrote an extraordinarily inspiring message about recognizing one’s superpowers, in tiny writing that filled the white space of the box around her photograph. Without going over the lines, because she understood that would be uncomfortable for an autistic kid. Not surprising, perhaps, that Brie went on to play a superhero herself, Captain Marvel. But for my family, she remains a superhero of a different ilk.” –Zoë Elton

CLICK HERE  to watch the Brie Larson Room Q&A at MVFF38
Available with subscription: Netflix, Kanopy
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

MVFF WORLD CINEMA PROGRAMMER JOÃO FEDERICI SELECTS
TAXI
Director: Jafar Panahi (Iran, 2015)

“One of the most celebrated Iranian directors, Jafar Panahi achieved international recognition with his first feature, The White Balloon (1995), which premiered in Cannes and won the prestigious Caméra d’Or. With subsequent films, The Mirror, The Circle, This Is Not a Film, to mention a few, he was honored with the most prestigious awards such as Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, Berlin’s Golden and Silver Bears, Venice’s Golden Lion, and Locarno’s Golden Leopard. His films became a megaphone against the Iranian system. In an attempt to censor his films–which were banned in Iran from the beginning–he was sentenced to six years in prison and banned from making films and from traveling for 20 years.

Taxi is a docu-fiction masterpiece. Pretending to be a taxi driver in the streets of Tehran, the courageous Panahi himself is the protagonist here. Using three hidden cameras, he does what he loves most: shows the reality of his country and people, as a driver and passenger, in conversations about beliefs, fears, and happiness. Determined to make films that transform censorship into art, Panahi brings us once more a compelling and delicate portrait of a nation under an oppressive regime.” –João Federici

Available with subscription: Criterion Channel
Available to rent or purchase: Vudu, Google Play, YouTube

DOCLANDS AND MVFF DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMMER KELLY CLEMENT SELECTS
I AM MARIS: PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG YOGI
Director: Laura VanZee Taylor (US, 2018)

“In these days of quarantine, where shelter-in-place is very much the “new normal,” we are all having to address the sense of isolation and seclusion. But for some, it’s a condition they’ve dealt with their whole lives. One film that we screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival and in CFI Education’s Teen Wellness Series looks at this world through the eyes of a 16-year-old girl named Maris who for years retreated into a state of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. I Am Maris is not your usual teenage angst movie about despair but rather a powerful and absorbing account of how this talented and introspective young woman discovered the healing powers of yoga and began her journey to self-acceptance. The film is a good reminder that while one’s own body and mind can be a form of confinement, it can also be a tool for healing and liberation.” –Kelly Clement

Available with subscription: Netflix
Available to rent or purchase: Vimeo, Amazon, Google Play, iTunes

MVFF AND DOCLANDS PROGRAMMING MANAGER AND MVFF SHORTS PROGRAMMER STERLING HEDGPETH SELECTS
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Director: Julian Schnabel (France/US, 2007) 112 min.

“The remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was left with the use of only one eye after a catastrophic stroke, manages to be an examination into both our own fragility and our resilient spirit, as painter and artist Julian Schnabel gives us a fully immersive cinematic experience. We witness within Bauby’s mind his immobile subjectivity, his frustration at communicating, and how his own memories of his childhood and his family renew his drive to share his story one arduous letter at a time. It is a film that revels in every detail because those small little nuances can contain an entire universe of feeling and awareness. A truly unique and touching film, with wonderful turns from Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, and the late Max von Sydow, who passed away this past March.” – Sterling Hedgpeth

Available with subscription: HBO, Hoopla, DIRECTV
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

DOCLANDS DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING JONI COOPER SELECTS
SOUFRA
Director: Thomas A. Morgan (US/Lebanon, 2017) 83 min.

Mariam Shaar lives in a refugee camp just south of Beirut. When she and other enterprising women refugees resolve to grow a small catering business, named Soufra, or “spread” in Arabic, obstacles emerge. As a bevy of colorful, mouthwatering food parades by, we find ourselves rooting for Mariam’s success, and her courage reminds us that every refugee has a dream for a better life. (Logline by Lorraine Hess)

“If inspiration or mouth-watering delicacies are what you’re looking for, Soufra may be the story recipe you seek—it is filled with both! It was certainly a recipe I was looking for to help demonstrate what grit, determination, and tenacity look like. Beautifully shot with great sensitivity, Soufra gives Mariam Shaar and her merry band of women a voice that can’t be overlooked as they remind us that, just like you and me, ‘Every refugee has a dream.’” – Joni Cooper

Available with subscription: Amazon Prime, Sundance Now

CFI EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT MAUREEN GALLIANI SELECTS
LADY BIRD
Director: Greta Gerwig (US, 2017) 94 min.

Bumbling through her senior year at Catholic high school and desperate to escape Sacramento, rebellious teen Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) navigates the confusing world of college applications and blossoming relationships. Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial debut and love letter to Sacramento demonstrates a keen understanding of the high school experience and the complex relationships between a young woman, her family, and her hometown. (Logline by Dominique Oneil)

“It’s no surprise that Lady Bird was a huge hit when it played Closing Night of the 40th Mill Valley Film Festival. This lovely, insightful film is relatable on so many levels. Saoirse Ronan is pitch perfect as Lady Bird, a teenage girl trying to navigate her life and future; the tenuous relationship between her and her mother, exquisitely played by Laurie Metcalfe, manages to engender sympathy for both characters without diminishing the feelings of the other. Greta Gerwig’s deft direction, coupled with an eclectic soundtrack and the absence of a traditional happy ending, makes Lady Bird feel truly authentic.” – Maureen Galliani

CLICK HERE to see Greta Gerwig on the MVFF40 Closing Night red carpet.

Available with subscription: Netflix, Kanopy
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

MVFF AND DOCLANDS PROGRAMMING MANAGER AND MVFF SHORTS PROGRAMMER STERLING HEDGPETH SELECTS
PARIS IS BURNING
Director: Jennie Livingston (US, 1990)

“The 30th anniversary of this seminal documentary remains hilarious but even more poignant as the time capsule qualities of the drag scene in New York have not eclipsed the larger issues of trans rights and LGBTQ+ identity and how their intersection with African-American culture continues to have an urgent relevance and resonance today. The spectre of AIDS and Reaganomics in the late 80s have echoes with viral fears and economic disenfranchisement today, but the film’s beauty is in its pageantry and personality. For there is elation and empathy on full display as each “queen” is explored with deep compassion and their hopes, dreams, and ambitions are laid bare and synthesized in a fabulous, ostentatious display of over-the-top artistry and heart-breaking humanity. A wonderful affirmation of Life in the face of so many struggles, be sure to pay it another visit and have yourself a Ball.” – Sterling Hedgpeth

Available to rent or purchase:  iTunes

MVFF WORLD CINEMA PROGRAMMER JOÃO FEDERICI SELECTS
PARIAH
Director: Dee Rees (US, 2011) 

“In her powerful feature debut, Dee Rees (Mudbound, MVFF40), depicts Alike (Adepero Oduye), a 17-year-old African American student with a gift for poetry, who struggles to hide her desires and sexuality as a lesbian. She lives two lives, one inside the home, and the other outside it. She is surrounded by an overprotective, religious mother and a caring but distant father whom she tries to trust. Without space to express herself, she decides to discover the world on her own. Semi-autobiographical, Pariah is a heartbreaking, compelling, coming-of-age film. In every scene, Oduye surprises us with a stunning performance, full of emotion and realism. After the film’s 2011 premiere at Sundance where it won Best Cinematography, it went on to win the MVFF Audience Award for Best US Feature Film, and the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, among others. This vital contemporary film is a must-watch and will inspire conversation.” – João Federici

Available with subscription: DirectTV
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes

MVFF SENIOR PROGRAMMER KAREN DAVIS SELECTS
RAFIKI
Director: Wanuri Kahiu (Kenya, 2018)

The very first Kenyan film to ever play at Cannes, and subsequently banned in its home country, Rafiki is a sweet and vibrant coming-of-age tale about Kena and Ziki, the daughters of two political rivals who fall in love despite dangerous familial and cultural objections. (Logline by Angelique Smith)

“From the first frames, this wonderfully empowering female-centered tale of young love just jumped off the screen and into my heart. The story and the storytelling literally leaps with vibrant exuberance and simmers with the power of hopes, dreams, and sweet sizzling desire.” – Karen Davis

Available with subscription: Hoopla, Kanopy
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, iTunes, Vudu

HARRIET
Director: Kasi Lemmons (2019)

“I want each individual to come away feeling like they have a duty to uphold the work that’s already gone before them and I hope that people have conversation with each other. I hope that when mothers and daughters and friends and sisters and brothers and fathers and sons come and see this film, they stop for a second and want to ask questions and want to find out more about her and want to speak to each other and want to process and understand what had happened at that time, and what had happened around her and what she was going through. And then I want people to walk away thinking, ‘Maybe there’s times when I’m feeling slightly small, and I feel like I’m insignificant and that if someone like Harriet can do what she did, I might be able to take another step forward and do some good work, too’.”
–Cynthia Erivo, CFI Members Screening Q&A with Ericka Huggins

Full HARRIET Conversation with Cynthia Erivo and Ericka Huggins

Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes
Washington Post Op-Ed piece by Kasi Lemmons: White Americans, your lack of imagination is killing us

JUST MERCY
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton (2019)

“No one can do everything, although Bryan Stevenson is close, but everyone can do something. What the film forced me to ask and answer for myself is “what is your something?” What is your something? I think you have to choose where you are, right from where you stand, in your circle of influence, what your something is. And it could be different for all of us, but I think that is where it begins”
– Karan Kendrick, MVFF42 Opening Night
JUST MERCY – MVFF Opening Night Q&A

Available to rent for free during the month of June: Amazon, GooglePlay, Vudu

THE HATE U GIVE
Director: George Tillman, Jr. (2018)

“There’s this idea that to be an ally you have to disregard race or try to look at your peers who are non-white as just non-white as opposed to validating what their experience is or where they come from and understanding that that’s an integral part of their experience. And in order to see them and validate them and be allies to them, you just have to validate that they have an experience that’s different from yours… I think we, as people of color, have learned the work of cross-identification because we don’t really see ourselves represented, because we live in systems and structures that are white. We learn how to empathize with people who don’t look like us. And I think that’s something that is inherently taught to us but is not necessarily taught to white people. And so I think a huge part of being an ally is actively making the choice to cross-identify—stepping back, listening, not talking, and understanding that someone’s experience is different from yours, and in order to be open to it, you have to be observational, you have to place yourself in their shoes, you have to allow them the space to exist in the same way that you exist… You also need to understand that it’s your responsibility. We don’t necessarily have to teach it to you.”
– Amandla Stenberg, MVFF41 Spotlight Award

The Hate U Give – MVFF Spotlight on Amandla Stenberg (Spotlight Screening)
The Hate U Give – MVFF, CFI Education Q&A (CFI Education Screening)

Available with subscription: Cinemax, DirectTV
Available to rent: Fandango Now
Available to purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

MVFF WORLD CINEMA PROGRAMMER JOÃO FEDERICI SELECTS
THE DESERT BRIDE

Directors: Cecilia Atán, Valeria Pivato (Argentina/Chile 2017) 78 min
In Spanish with English subtitles

“The Desert Bride is a captivating story of self-discovery. Paulina García (Berlin Film Festival Best Actress Winner for Glória, MVFF36) is Teresa, a middle-aged housemaid on an unplanned road trip through rural Argentina, en route to her new job. It’s a delicate portrait of a severe woman who lived in the shadow of others her whole life, and her transformation in discovering her self-esteem and love for the first time. This unmissable and memorable story about women’s empowerment caused a big buzz at its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.” – João Federici

Available with subscription: Kanopy
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu

CFI DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION JOANNE PARSONT SELECTS
THE EAGLE HUNTRESS

Director: Otto Bell (UK/Mongolia/US 2016) 87 min

“From the stunning scenery of the Mongolian steppes to the majestic flights of giant eagles, this film is breathtaking to watch. But it’s the titular young heroine who really makes it spectacular. I find it thrilling to watch any young prodigy strut their stuff, but it’s even more exhilarating when their success goes against the odds—and when their skill is something as challenging as training eagles to hunt while galloping across a vast landscape on horseback! It’s impossible not to root for Aisholopan (and the patriarchal-norm-breaking father who encourages her) as she proves her mettle and shows her (all male) competitors how it’s done. When we showed this film at MVFF, it was a joy to see kids and adults of every age and gender enthralled by her exploits and charmed by her self-confidence. I hope you will be too!” – Joanne Parsont

Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

DOCLANDS DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING JONI COOPER SELECTS
THE WEIGHT OF WATER

Director: Michael Brown (US 2018) 78 min

“Being familiar with adventure filmmaker Michael Brown’s previous work, I knew that his film, The Weight of Water, was going to be something special. Known for his ‘extreme’ lensing in the high Himalaya — he’s summited Everest five times, once while accompanying blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer — The Weight of Water brought them together again for another seemingly impossible task — kayaking the Colorado River through the depths of the Grand Canyon. The Weight of Water doesn’t disappoint. Far from it. It inspires, and it fills one with awe — not just for what is accomplished, but also because of the precision teamwork that’s required and the sweeping beauty of the canyon and swift water combined. Following a prolonged standing ovation on Closing Night at DocLands 2019, I hosted a Q&A with Michael and Erik. Because of their history of friendship and adventures together, it was one of the most inspirational and entertaining Q&As I’ve ever had the pleasure of sharing with our audiences!” – Joni Cooper

CLICK HERE to watch the Q&A from the 2019 DocLands Film Festival, where The Weight of Water won the Audience Award! Joni Cooper moderated the conversation with director Michael Brown and subject, renowned blind climber and kayaker, Erik Weihenmayer.

Available for free with ads: tubi tv
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

MVFF SENIOR PROGRAMMER KAREN DAVIS SELECTS
WOMAN AT WAR

Director: Benedikt Erlingsson (Iceland, 2018) 100 min.
Iceland’s 2018 submission for Academy Award ® consideration is a warm and witty fable about a most unusual environmental activist. Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) is an independent woman, a 50-year-old choir director with a secret identity as “The Woman of the Mountain,” a mysterious figure who engages in industrial sabotage with simple weapons (watch her disable an electrical pylon with her bow-and-arrow). But just as she is planning her biggest and boldest operation yet, she receives a letter saying a Ukrainian girl is finally available for adoption. With her eco-retirement on the horizon, this final job better be a good one. In Icelandic with English subtitles. (Richard Peterson)

Available with subscription: Hulu
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

“Woman At War celebrates the triumph of the human spirit facing near-insurmountable odds – much needed inspiration for our challenging times. It features a heart-racing performance by Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir.” – Karen Davis, MVFF Senior Programmer

MVFF AND DOCLANDS FESTIVAL PROGRAMMER KELLY CLEMENT SELECTS
FREE SOLO

Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (US, 2018) 100 min.
From the makers of the mountain film classic Meru, documentarian Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and photographer-mountaineer Jimmy Chin, comes a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock, the 3,200A-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park…without a rope. His project sets the ultimate standard: perfection or death. The filmmakers explore Honnold’s training, as well as the armor of invincibility that he’s developed over the years and that threatens to break apart when he falls in love. It’s both an inspiring portrait of an athlete and an edge-of-your-seat thriller. (Richard Peterson)

Available with subscription: Disney +, Hulu
Available to rent or purchase: Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

“With this breathtaking Oscar ® winner for Best Documentary of 2018 you’ll get to share the unforgettable experience of joining the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite’s El Capitan. I was on the edge of my seat and you will be too.” – Kelly Clement, MVFF Valley of the Docs and DocLands Film Festival Programmer