Mill Valley Film Fest Set to Debut ‘A Light Beneath Their Feet’ with Taryn Manning, ‘Angelica’ with Jena Malone

[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” class=”” width=””]A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET (WORLD PREMIERE) WITH TARYN MANNING, VALERIE WEISS (DIRECTOR) & JEFFREY LOEB (PRODUCER) AND ANGELICA (US PREMIERE) WITH JENA MALONE & MITCHELL LICHTENSTEIN (DIRECTOR)[/box]

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (August 25, 2015) –The California Film Institute is delighted to announce the World Premiere of A Light Beneath Their Feet and US Premiere of Angelica at the 38^th Mill Valley Film Festival.

The films will debut on Saturday, October 10 at the CinéArts Sequoia in Mill Valley, each followed by a live on-stage conversation: A Light Beneath Their Feet with star Taryn Manning, director Valerie Weiss and producer Jeffrey Loeb and Angelica with star Jena Malone and director Mitchell Lichtenstein.

A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET (World Premiere)

[box type=”shadow” align=”alignleft” class=”” width=””]In the last few months of high school, college-bound Beth contends with the typical rites of passage: deciding on a school, finding a date to the prom, managing peer pressure from the mean girls and questions about an uncertain future. As an intelligent and mature young woman, Beth longs for her independence, but is torn between the prospects of her dream school, UCLA, or sticking closer to home at Northwestern to care for her mother, Gloria (Taryn Manning of Orange is the New Black, illuminating in a demanding role), who is struggling to stabilize her bipolar disorder. Set to a broody but wistful indie-rock soundtrack, this coming-of-age drama sets itself apart in its bold exploration of mental illness and its effect on the family as well as the afflicted. Director Valerie Weiss assuredly elicits strong performances from the entire cast, especially the young lead, Madison Davenport, whose performance firmly establishes her as a rising star to watch. Talent Attending: Taryn Manning, Valerie Weiss (Director), Jeffrey Loeb (Producer)[/box]

ANGELICA (US Premiere)

[box type=”shadow” align=”alignleft” class=”” width=””]Sexual repression and supernatural entities make uneasy bedfellows for Constance Barton (the radiant and gifted Jena Malone) in this playfully twisted period drama, which had its world premiere at Berlinale. It’s not that Constance doesn’t want to make love with her husband Joseph (Ed Stoppard); it’s that she’s been forbidden to after the difficult birth of their daughter Angelica. Overwrought by this enforced physical separation, the young mother sees nightmarish visions taking shape in the house and threatening her and the child, so she turns to a formidable spirit hunter named Mrs. Montague (Janet McTeer) for assistance. Based on the novel by Arthur Phillips, Lichtenstein’s film revels in the psychosexual turmoil of its heroine while making pointed references about the predicaments of women in the Victorian age. With ravishing art direction and a careful balance of chills and dramatic suspense, Angelica is a haunting tale of unfed appetites and the damage they can wreak. Talent Attending: Jena Malone, Mitchell Lichtenstein (Director)[/box]

About the 38th Mill Valley Film Festival
Presented by the California Film Institute, the 38th Mill Valley Film Festival runs October 8-18, 2015 at the CinéArts Sequoia (25 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley), Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center (1118 Fourth Street, San Rafael), and other venues throughout the Bay Area. With a reputation for launching new films and creating awards season buzz, MVFF has earned a reputation as a “filmmakers’ festival” by celebrating the best in American independent and world cinema, alongside high profile and prestigious award contenders. MVFF welcomes more than 200 filmmakers representing more than 50 countries.

About the California Film Institute
The non-profit California Film Institute celebrates and promotes film as art and education through the presentation of the Mill Valley Film Festival and year-round exhibitions at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, film distribution by CFI Releasing, and building the next generation of filmmakers and audiences through the CFI Education program. For more information visit www.cafilm.org or call  (415) 383-5256.

The 38th Mill Valley Film Festival runs Thursday, October 8 through Sunday, October 18, 2015

www.MVFF.com, www.CAFilm.org