Denis Villeneuve to receive Mill Valley Film Festival Award, screen newest epic ‘Dune’
The Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF), presented by the California Film Institute, announced today a Spotlight program on Academy Award-nominated director Denis Villeneuve. Villeneuve will be on hand for this special onstage conversation, screening of the highly anticipated Dune, and presentation of the MVFF Award on Wednesday, October 13 at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.
The MVFF Spotlight program honors and celebrates the exceptional work by film artists in their most current work. Over the years, MVFF has spotlighted such extraordinary talents as Robert Pattinson, Richard E. Grant, Karyn Kusama, Joel Edgerton, Amandla Stenberg, Dee Reese, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Eddie Redmayne, Ewan McGregor, Brie Larson, Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michelle Yeoh, Elle Fanning and Jared Leto, to name a few.
Denis Villeneuve is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker best known for having directed Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners, and Incendies. His astute attention to detail and unique visuals have established Villeneuve as one of the premier filmmakers working today. Villeneuve directed and produced Dune from a screenplay by Jon Spaihts, Villeneuve and Eric Roth based on the novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert. The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, with Charlotte Rampling, with Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.
Dune will world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and receive a special IMAX only screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. The 44th Mill Valley Film Festival runs Thursday, October 7 to Sunday October 17, 2021. The full lineup will be released in September.
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive. Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures present a Legendary Pictures Production, Dune. The film is slated to be released on October 22, 2021 in the U.S. in select theaters in 2D and 3D and IMAX and on HBO Max on the Ad-Free plan; it will be available for 31 days from theatrical release.
Early Bird Festival Tickets & Passes on Sale Now – MVFF.com
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2025 BAFTA Longlist Predictions: Expect Big Numbers for ‘The Brutalist,’ ‘Emilia Pérez,’ ‘Kneecap’ and More - December 26, 2024
- 2024 North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) Nominations - December 24, 2024
- 2024 Online Association of Female Film Critics (OAFFC) Winners: ‘The Substance” Dominates - December 23, 2024
2025 BAFTA Longlist Predictions: Expect Big Numbers for ‘The Brutalist,’ ‘Emilia Pérez,’ ‘Kneecap’ and More 
‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Review: It’s Big Bucks, All Whammies in Failed Follow Up to One of TV’s Best First Seasons [C-] 
2024 North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) Nominations 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 78 – ‘The Holiday’ (Nancy Meyers, 2006)