{"id":8429,"date":"2026-09-04T21:38:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T21:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8429"},"modified":"2026-09-04T21:38:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T21:38:37","slug":"fall-films-2026-these-festivals-and-special-screenings-spice-up-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8429","title":{"rendered":"Fall films 2026: These festivals and special screenings spice up the season"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The fall season teems with Bay Area movie-related events that motivate you to get off that cozy couch, from premier movie festivals to retrospectives highlighting the work of incredible artists.<\/p>\n

Read more Eight arrested in deadly San Jose shooting during downtown World Cup surge<\/a><\/p>\n

To help you navigate your way through some of these events, we plucked out a few to add to calendars this fall.<\/p>\n

The Mill Valley Film Festival<\/h4>\n

Marin County\u2019s cinematic treasure turns a glorious 49 this year, having matured into one of the nation\u2019s best and most accessible movie events of the season. Its timing couldn\u2019t be more opportune\u00a0 \u2014 Oct. 1-11, just as studios are cementing releases for their Oscar-hopeful films. The festival\u2019s robust and impressive lineup mixes awards contenders with a nice blend international, national and Bay Area features \u2014 both in long and short formats. It also happens to be a magnet for acclaimed filmmakers (Spike Lee, Greta Gerwig), actors (Nicole Kidman, Rose Byrne, Joel Edgerton) and screenwriters\/actors (Eva Victor) who take the stage and walk the red carpet before attending tributes and other honors. The 2026 event kicks off Oct. 1 with one of the buzziest features making the rounds this fall, Martin McDonagh\u2019s \u201cWild Horse Nine\u201d starring Sam Rockwell, who will receive a tribute at the fest, and John Malkovich.<\/p>\n

Tips:<\/strong> Not only is there ample, even affordable, parking nearby in Mill Valley, there are also tasty dining options. East Bay residents have the option to catch MVFF films at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, mere blocks away from BART and suited for travel from the South Bay. After the end of the fest, the Smith Rafael Film Center continues to be a beacon for indie films and often features Q&As with filmmakers. Find ticket and program info at www.mvff.com.<\/p>\n

San Jose International Short Film Festival<\/h4>\n

Good things come in small packages, and that adage extends to the film world. This 10-day South Bay festival marking its 18th year jams in an expansive selection of shorts \u2014 from documentaries to narratives \u2014 and gives newbie and veteran filmmakers working in various genres a much deserved spotlight.\u00a0More than 150 selections are on tap this year and are presented in 20 screening packages (i.e., for family, horror, nonfiction slots). Tickets ($10-$12) and passes ($175, VIP) go on sale this week; screenings take place at Cinemark Cin\u00e9Arts at Santana Row. Ticket and program info are available at sjsff.com.<\/p>\n

Tips:<\/strong> Santana Row boasts a vast selection of dining choices, ranging gourmet offerings to quick-bite alternatives. There\u2019s shopping and affordable parking too! And if short films are your thing, \u00a0there\u2019s also the 21st San Francisco Short Film Festival (Oct. 15- Oct. 22) San Francisco\u2019s 4 Star Theatre (sfindie.com).<\/p>\n

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive<\/h4>\n

Tucked inside Berkeley\u2019s impressive fine arts museum resides the PFA, an inviting and always reliable gathering spot for inquisitive filmgoers. Throughout the year, true-blue cineastes of all ages venture here to enlighten and expand their\u00a0 global movie knowledge. This fall season features a series devoted to award-winning French filmmaker Alice Diop \u2014 who has a 2026-2027 residency at UC Berkeley \u2014 running Sept. 3-18, and an ambitious 10-month retrospective series celebrating director Martin Scorsese (Sept. 5 through June 2027) that includes 4K digital restorations of his classics \u201cAfter Hours\u201d (Oct. 25) and \u201cTaxi Driver\u201d (Nov. 14). Another one not to miss is the eye-opening selection of Georgian cinema set for Sept. 23-Oct. 2 (the 2019 documentary \u201cA Tunnel,\u201d about an old railroad way platform undergoing a dramatic alteration, and and the 2021 documentary \u201cTaming the Garden,\u201d about the extreme measures a billionaire took to acquire trees for his private park, both pique our interest). Find a full schedule and get tickets at bampfa.org<\/p>\n

Tips:<\/strong> The PFA is surrounded with delicious dining options whether you\u2019re on the go or want a more leisurely experience. Street parking can be a challenge, particularly when UC Berkeley is in session, but the theater is close to BART and there are parking garages nearby. And know that you can\u2019t bring food or beverages into the theater.<\/p>\n

Read more Why is Bellarmine playing on Saturday night at San Jose City College? Bells AD explains<\/a><\/p>\n

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United Nations Fest, SFFILM\u2019s Doc Stories<\/h4>\n

For years, the Bay Area\u2019s been a hotbed for both nonfiction filmmaking and political and cultural discourse. So it\u2019s no surprise that several local festivals serve up thought-provoking fare. The 29th United Nations Association Film Festival bills itself as a Passion for Change and that theme is certain to be reflected in the yet-to-be-released lineup set to screen in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Stanford University and San Francisco. Want more documentaries? SFFILM\u2019s invigorating, finely curated Doc Stories program, like the Mill Valley Film Festival, arrives at an opportune time during the awards-minded circuit. And even though it takes a global view, it also often spotlights Bay Area talent and Bay Area-focused films. This year\u2019s Nov. 5-8 lineup hasn\u2019t been announced, but if it\u2019s anything like last year\u2019s, you\u2019re in luck.<\/p>\n

Tips:<\/strong> Check for updates at www.unaff.org\/2026 and sffilm.org\/event\/doc-stories-2026.<\/p>\n

Orinda Theatre and Stanford Theatre<\/h4>\n

In addition to its slate of first-run offerings, the majestic, beloved Orinda movie palace serves as a beacon for film connoisseurs. A monthly International Showcase program pops the cork on indie gems that often fly under the radar, including Piotr Domalewski\u2019s coming-of-age dramedy \u201cThe Altar Boys,\u201d starting Sept. 11. The theater also hosts film critic Mat\u00edas Bombal\u2019s Hollywood Cinema Craft Series, which screens and then gives you the lowdown on movies such as 1964\u2019s \u201cThe Train\u201d (Sept. 27) with Burt Lancaster. Bombal\u2019s Hollywood series this season includes 1931\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Oct. 27) starring Boris Karloff. Also keep an eye peeled for free movie nights, restored Disney features and more. San Francisco Silent Film Festival fans are in for a treat too when Buster Keaton\u2019s \u201cThe General\u201d screens Sept. 19.<\/p>\n

Over in Palo Alto, the regal Stanford Theatre draws classic film fans in the South Bay. The summer season wraps up with 1956\u2019s romantic comedy \u201cBus Stop\u201d starring Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray and the steamy, Labor Day-set 1955 drama \u201cPicnic\u201d starring William Holden and Kim Novak. They screen from Sept. 4 through Sept. 6.<\/p>\n

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Tips: For Orinda programming info, visit www.orindamovies.com; for Stanford Theatre, visit stanfordtheatre.org. Orinda\u2019s downtown might be small but it\u2019s utterly charming and features tempting dining options; Stanford Theatre is near a variety of restaurants as well, along with a couple nearby parking garages. It\u2019s also walkable from the Palo Alto Caltrain station.<\/p>\n

More options<\/h4>\n

Here are a few other events\/screenings of note. Critter Fest (Sept. 17-20 at the 4-Star and Proxy SF and online, focusing on that unique connection between animals and humans); Vision-Festival of Restoration and Rediscovery (Sept. 24-Sept. 27, the Roxie, S.F.); the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival (Nov. 12-Nov. 22 at the Roxie in S.F.), the Arab Film Festival (Oct. 17-Oct. 24, San Francisco), \u201cWild, Weird, Wicked: Films From Before the Code,\u201d kicking off Sept. 14 at the Roxie in S.F.; the 7th Green Film Festival (Oct. 15-Oct. 22) and the Oakland International Film Festival (Sept. 9 -19, Oakland\u2019s Grand Lake Theatre.)<\/p>\n

Read more State watchdog agency fines Matt Mahan $27,500 for more than $2.3 million in delayed donation disclosures<\/a><\/p>\n

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Milly Valley to San Jose, cinematic specials are in abundance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nFall films 2026: These festivals and special screenings spice up the season - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8429\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fall films 2026: These festivals and special screenings spice up the season - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From Milly Valley to San Jose, cinematic specials are in abundance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8429\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-04T21:38:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8429#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8429\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Fall films 2026: These festivals and special screenings spice up the season\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-04T21:38:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8429\"},\"wordCount\":1240,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8429#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/deaad1cb348ba8601cf6b99c4991cdeb-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8429#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8429\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8429\",\"name\":\"Fall films 2026: These festivals and special screenings spice up the season - 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