Who To See and Where To Be at the 2017 Napa Valley Film Festival

Between Wednesday, November 8th and Sunday, November 12th, the spotlight turns to wine country as Hollywood takes a five-day retreat northward to the Napa Valley Film Festival. For seven years running, the acclaimed festival has honored emerging and established talent and the best new independent films right here among the vineyards.

Now, it wouldn’t be Napa Valley without the usual cast of decadent culinary and wine experiences, but when you pepper in a festival filled with star-studded movies and their characters, there’s so much to view that you may need some guidance. We are now in the know about what featured stars and movies will be packed into five stellar days of programming, so we thought we’d share a sneak peek at the must-see films hitting our local screens and the key celebrities making appearances to be honored for their amazing work.

FILM

LA 92

Film still from LA 92

Wednesday, November 8th, 10:00am at Cameo Cinema, St. Helena, California
Directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin

The Current War

Film still from The Current War

Wednesday, November 8th, 10:00am at the Uptown Theatre, Napa, California
Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Tom Holland, Katherine Waterston, Tuppence Middleton

Crown Heights

Film still from Crown Heights

Wednesday, November 8th, 1:30pm at the Uptown Theatre, Napa, California
Directed by Matt Ruskin
Starring Luke Forbes, Lakeith Stanfield, Adriane Lenox, Nnamdi Asomugha, Natalie Paul

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool

Film still from Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool

Wednesday, November 8th, 5:15pm at Cameo Cinema, St. Helena, California
Directed by Paul McGuigan
Starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Vanessa Redgrave, Julie Walters

The Upside

Film still from The Upside

Wednesday, November 8th, 5:30pm at the Uptown Theatre, Napa, California
Directed by Neil Burger
Starring Nicole Kidman, Bryan Cranston, Golshifteh Farahani, Julianna Margulies, Kevin Hart

Call Me By Your Name

Film still from Call Me By Your Name

Thursday, November 9th, 9:45am at Cameo Cinema, St. Helena, California
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Starring Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar

The Shape of Water

Film still from The Shape of Water

Thursday, November 9th, 1:30pm at the Uptown Theatre, Napa, California
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg

78/52

Thursday, November 9th, 8:30pm at the Uptown Theatre, Napa, California
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe

I, Tonya

Film still from I, Tonya

Friday, November 10th, 5:00pm at the Uptown Theatre, Napa, California
Directed by Craig Gillespie
Starring Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Caitlin Carve

The Leisure Seeker

Film still from The Leisure Seeker

Saturday, November 11th, 9:45am at Cameo Cinema, St. Helena, California
Directed by Paolo Virzì
Starring Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Christian McKay, Janel Moloney, Dick Gregory, Dana Ivey

Chappaquiddick

Film still from Chappaquiddick

Sunday, November 12th, 1:30pm at the Uptown Theatre, Napa, California
Directed by John Curran
Starring Kate Mara, Ed Helms, Jason Clarke, Bruce Dern, Jim Gaffiganies, Kevin Hart

Molly’s Game

Film still from Molly’s Game

Sunday, November 12th, 5:30pm at the Uptown Theatre, Napa, California
Directed by Aaron Sorkin
Starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Chris O’Dowd, Joe Keery

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CELEBRITY TRIBUTES AND HONOREES

Photo by Aurora Heitman

Charles Krug Legendary Filmmaker – Nancy Meyers
Raymond Vineyards Trailblazer – Michael Shannon
Spotlight Tribute honoree – Michael Stuhlbarg
The Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch Humanitarian Tribute – Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder
Caldwell Vineyards Maverick Tribute – Will Ferrell
Rising Star Showcase – Ana de Armas, Odeya Rush, Austin Stowell, Gregg Sulkin, Alex Wolff, and Analeigh Tipton

Additional actors expected to attend include David Arquette, Zoey Deutch, Lou Diamond Phillips, Thomas Middleditch, Haley Joel Osment, Dennis Quaid, Jim Rash, Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson, and Elijah Wood. More honorees and celebrity guests will be announced as the festival approaches on the Napa Valley Film Festival website.

From October 16 through the festival, NVFF will donate 10% of all revenue from pass sales directly to the Napa Valley Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund and Lexus, NVFF’s Presenting Sponsor, will be generously donating 1,000 free tickets to those impacted by the Valley fires.

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Author

Jen Schmitz

Jen Schmitz has been writing and producing creative content since 2014. She has written for VSCO, Lonny, and contributed to countless other outlets in and out of wine country. She is a lover of all things art, culture, and wine, and prefers to “summer” in Napa Valley to taste all it has to offer and to escape foggy San Francisco any time she can. Follow her on Instagram at @jeneschmitz.