Mill Valley Film Festival 2017: Photos, Highlights And Winners

That’s a wrap! The 2017 Mill Valley Film Festival took its final bow Sunday night. It closed on a high note with the California premiere of “Lady Bird” and a Spotlight presentation on the film’s director, Greta Gerwig.

The "Mistress America" star’s solo directorial debut is a depiction of an artistically talented high school senior (played by Saoirse Ronan) on the verge of womanhood.

Gerwig was taken aback by the warm audience reception and could barely contain her excitement as she talked about her Oscar-buzzed coming-of-age drama.

“I really wanted people to connect with the movie, but you never really know. You’re always hoping and never sure, so I’m very thrilled,” the Sacramento native told Patch.

The Mill Valley Film Festival, produced by the nonprofit California Film Institute, announced this year's winners on Sunday night.

“The bar was already set high upon entering our 40th Anniversary Festival,”said MVFF's founder and director Mark Fishkin. “So how does one approach a milestone like 40 years? By doing what we have done for the last four decades; presenting the best films coupled with artists at the festival that have distinguished themselves — and by introducing new talent from the bay of San Francisco to across the globe.”

A focus on women in the industry and general inclusivity has always been a cornerstone of MVFF's mission statement and led the organization to launch its “Mind The Gap Summit” this year.

“At a time when we are doing a lot of soul-searching about women in the industry, "Mind The Gap" articulates ways to raise the bar on agency for women, both in storytelling and in their working lives," said Director of Programming Zoë Elton.

Fishkin and Elton also announced that the 41st Mill Valley Film Festival will take place on Oct. 4-14, 2018, at which the dynamic duo looks forward to creating "more magic moments."

Check out photos from this year's MVFF along with the full winners list below:

Photo Highlights From The 2017 MVFF

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

2017 MVFF Audience Award Winners

The MVFF Audience Favorite 2017

• "Mudbound" (Dee Rees, Director)

Audience Favorite - US Cinema

• Gold Award, "Molly's Game" (Aaron Sorkin, Director)
• Silver Award, "Lady Bird" (Greta Gerwig, Director)

Audience Favorite - US Cinema Indie

• Gold Award, "Quest" (Santiago Rizzo, Director)
• Silver Award, "The Light of the Moon" (Jessica M. Thompson, Director)

Audience Favorite - World Cinema

• Gold Award, "Goodbye Christopher Robin" (Simon Curtis, Director)
• Silver Award, "The Invisibles" (Claus Räfle, Director)

Audience Favorite - World Cinema Indie

• Gold Award, "An Act of Defiance" ( Jean van de Velde, Director)
• Silver Award, "The Divine Order" (Petra Volpe, Director)

Audience Favorite - Valley of the Docs

• Gold Award, "Kim Swims" (Kate Webber, Director)
• Silver Award, "City of Joy" (Madeleine Gavin, Director)

Audience Favorite – Mind the Gap

• Gold Award, "Faces, Places" (Agnès Varda, Director)

More Movie News:

• 7 Most-Anticipated Films From 40th Mill Valley Film Festival
• Kristin Scott Thomas, Sean Penn And Margot Robbie To Attend 40th Mill Valley Film Festival
• Reviews of 'Goodbye Christopher Robin,' 'Professor Marston & The Wonder Women,' 'Marshall' And More

  ---

  Top Photo: (L-R) MVFF Program Director Zoë Elton, “Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig, MVFF founder Mark Fishkin (Photo by Jonathan Shensa/MVFF)