Focus Features will bookend the 2015 Mill Valley Film Festival with two new releases: The Danish Girl starring Academy Award® winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything, MVFF 2014) and directed by Academy Award®-winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, MVFF 2010) will open the festival; and Suffragette, with director Sarah Gavron, producer Faye Ward, screenwriter Abi Morgan, and star Carey Mulligan for Closing Night.
Having previously presented his multi-Academy Award®-winning film The King’s Speech at the Mill Valley Film Festival in 2010, Tom Hooper returns to MVFF38 with his latest film The Danish Girl. Hooper will participate in an on-stage conversation following the screening and be presented with the Variety Master Filmmaker Award by Variety Senior Features Editor David Cohen.
In addition to attending the Closing Night screening, the Suffragette all-female filmmaking team of Sarah Gavron, Faye Ward, and Abi Morgan will participate in a Variety Contenders Conversation on Saturday October 17, where they will discuss the film’s genesis, history, and journey to the screen with Variety Senior Features Editor Steve Chagollan. Also on Saturday, October 17, Suffragette star Carey Mulligan will be the focus of a MVFF Spotlight program, which will feature an onstage conversation, a look back at her film roles, discussion of and clips from Suffragette, and the presentation of the MVFF Award in recognition of exceptional artistry.
The Danish Girl
UK/US 2015
Academy Award ®-winning The King’s Speech (MVFF2010) director Tom Hooper returns with another emotionally powerful drama. The Danish Girl explores the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe (Academy Award ® winner Eddie Redmayne, MVFF Spotlight 2014), one of the first people in recorded history to undergo gender confirmation surgery, and Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander).
Special Guest: Tom Hooper
Suffragette (pictured above)
UK 2015
Profoundly moving, Suffragette tells the story of the ordinary women who risked all – their jobs, homes, children, and even their lives – in the fight for the right to vote. A brilliant ensemble cast (including Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, Romola Garai, Natalie Press, and Meryl Streep) drives this stirring portrait of the working women whose passion and vision advanced equal rights.