49th Mill Valley Film Festival Wraps: 'Tenzing' Wins the Top Audience Award After 11 Days and More Than 40,000 Attendees
The 49th Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF49) wrapped on October 11 in California's Marin County and the wider Bay Area, and its Audience Awards have now been announced, according to VIMooZ. The festival ran for 11 days and drew more than 40,000 attendees from across the Bay Area. The closing-night film was The Debut, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, who attended the screening.
The Overall Audience Award went to Tenzing, directed by Jennifer Peedom, a film about mountaineer Tenzing Norgay whose cast includes Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe. The Audience Award for Narrative went to Elsinore, directed by Simon Stone; the Documentary award went to When a Witness Recants, directed by Dawn Porter; and the award in the festival's new New Directors section went to Wicker, directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. Other honors this year included tributes to Sam Rockwell and Linda Perry, an Auteur Award for Lee Chang-dong, and an acting award for Andrew Scott for Elsinore.
The festival is presented by the California Film Institute (CAFILM). Founder and Executive Director Mark Fishkin said the 49th edition was a success on every front, in the first year under Artistic Director Rose Kuo, who worked alongside the festival's veteran programming team. Founded in 1978, the Mill Valley Film Festival is one of North America's longest-running film festivals and will mark its 50th edition next year.
Sources: VIMooZ reporting, October 14, 2026; AwardsWatch winners list.
Source: VIMooZ
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：本届电影节观众大奖影片《丹增》主演威廉·达福（Willem Dafoe），2025年8月出席第78届洛迦诺电影节。摄影：Walid Farouk，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权，来源：Wikimedia Commons
