For filmmakers, audiences and industry professionals alike, the Mill Valley Film Festival is the perfect environment for film. Founded in 1978 by California Film Institute director Mark Fishkin, the Festival is well known for the quality of its programming. It has established an impressive track record for launching new films and new filmmakers, and has earned a reputation as a filmmakers' festival by offering a high-profile, prestigious, noncompetitive environment for celebrating the best in independent and world cinema.

Each year, the 11-day Festival sells over 40,000 tickets and welcomes more than 200 filmmakers from around the world. Festival sections include: World Cinema, US Cinema, Valley of the Docs, Children's FilmFest, 5@5 (daily shorts programs) and V(ision)Fest (programs embracing cutting-edge filmmaking and technologies). Gala celebrations, Tributes to actors and filmmakers, workshops, panels and seminars, as well as opportunities to mingle with filmmakers in the spectacular setting of the San Francisco Bay Area are just a few of the reasons Screen International named Mill Valley a Top 10 US film festival.

The Festival is also an important industry resource, both for its emphasis on films that have not yet secured US distribution and for fall launches and northern California Academy Award® campaigns. The Bay Area continues to be a significant market for independent and international film, and MVFF consistently provides a forum for introducing new films to West Coast audiences.