Napa Valley Film Festival is Back! Nov. 13-17

Napa Valley Film Festival returns Nov. 13 – 17 and includes venues in Napa,  Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga.

NVFF will feature 125 new independent films and Napa Valley wine, food, and hospitality.

After a "Sneak Preview Night" on Tuesday, Nov. 12, presentation of Alexander Payne’s new film Nebraska, starring Bruce Dern and Will Forte, NVFF will open officially with the highly anticipated film, August: Osage County, directed by John Wells and starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.

Two screenings will take place the evening of Wednesday, Nov.13 at the Napa Valley Opera House, followed by an Opening Night VIP Dinner Party, hosted by Benchmark Wine Group along the Napa Riverfront.

On Thursday, Nov. 14, the Napa Valley Opera House will host a red carpet screening of Saving Mr. Banks, directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and starring Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and Colin Farrell.

Hancock and Farrell will be in attendance with other special guests.

Following the film, members of the festival’s exclusive Patron Circle and Pass Plus holders join filmmakers and sponsors at the biggest party of the week at 500 First Street in Napa for the spectacular Festival Gala from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

At the Gala, attendees will enjoy live entertainment from half a dozen different acts, and culinary offerings and exclusive wine pairings from more than 25 Napa Valley top chefs and wineries. As the night moves on into the wee hours, the party will debut a VIP lounge on the building’s mezzanine level for cocktails, nibbles and late night dancing.

On Friday, Nov. 15, Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush will host the Celebrity Tribute Program at The Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theatre in Yountville.

Billy will show video highlight reels and conduct onstage interviews with Festival honorees, Director John Lee Hancock, Colin Farrell and Rising Stars Dianna Agron and Miles Teller. Following the ceremony, there will be a VIP after-party sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter at Groezinger’s Lounge.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, NVFF hosts the New Power Lunch: Celebrating Women Making a Difference in Film at 500 First Street.

The luncheon will honor the women behind the inspirational and influential films Anita and Sewing Hope, as well as raise funds for the NVFF’s year-round Education & Outreach Programs. On Saturday evening, NVFF Patrons, filmmakers and VIPS will attend a screening of Philomena, starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, at the Yountville Community Centre Theatre, followed by a series of 18 delectable Winemaker / Filmmaker Dinners, featuring the Valley’s most acclaimed wines and fare.

On Sunday, Nov. 17, NVFF will close the festival with the powerful film, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, directed by Justin Chadwick and starring Idris Elba and Naomie Harris.  The screening at the Napa Valley Opera House will be followed by NVFF’s Awards Ceremony & Wrap Party hosted by NBC Bay Area weeknight anchor, Raj Mathai.

NVFF will also debut a new LifeStyle Pavilion this year, which will be centrally located in downtown Napa’s Oxbow District. Here, credentialed pass holders will enjoy interactive exhibits, daily film industry panels and culinary demonstrations, and an array of premier wines or refreshing chalices of Stella Artois.

The four festival villages will also host individual Wine Pavilions in each town for passholders from 2:30 – 5 p.m., Friday – Sunday.

2013 Napa Valley Film Festival Film Line-up

Red Carpet and Sneak Preview Screenings:

• August: Osage County
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Nebraska
• One Chance
• Philomena
• Saving Mr. Banks
• The Immigrant

Narrative Features:

• Dark Around the Stars
• Dear Sidewalk
• Hank and Asha
• In Lieu of Flowers
• My Brother Jack
• One Small Hitch
• Putzel
• The Bounceback
• The Girl on the Train
• The Little Tin Man

Documentary Features:

• 16 Acres
• Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth
• Bidder 70
• Brave Miss World
• If You Build It
• Lord Montagu
• Sole Survivor
• The Fabulous Ice Age
• The Last White Knight
• The Singularity

SONY Lounge Features:

• 9 Full Moons
• The Crash Reel
• Favor
• Furever
• Holy Ghost People
• Old Stock
• Starring Adam West
• This is Where We Live
• Worm

Specials Screenings:

Inspiring Stories:

• American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco
• Anita
• Citizen Hearst
• March of the Living
• Sewing Hope
• The Magic Bracelet (a project of Make A Film Foundation)

Music & the Arts:

• Finding Hillywood
• Good ‘Ol Freda
• Levitated Mass: The Story of Michael Heizer’s Monolithic Sculpture
• Sound City

Wine & Spirits:

• Hey Bartender
• Dossier Zinfandel
• Red Obsession
• The Monks of Vina

Environmental:

• Green Fire
• Tiny
• Toxic Hot Seat

The Whinnies!: Best of Equine Film

• American Mustang
• Herd in Iceland
• Through Their Eye

Animated Shorts:

• A Tangled Tale
• A World of Difference
• Cicada Princess
• Dr. Kingsley’s Gallery of Conceptual Mishaps
• Horsepower
• Oasis
• Sebastian
• Sleight of Hand

• Tendency to Jam
• The Collector’s Gift

• The Right Place
• Trompe L’Oeil

Narrative Shorts:

• A Minute Forever
• Across Grace Alley
• Blessing in Disguise
• Crescendo
• End of the World
• Home
• King of Norway
• Mojave
• PDA
• Privilege
• Radio Gamers
• Refuge
• Six Letter Word
• Teenage Wine Snobs
• The House at the Age of the Galaxy
• The Ladder
• The Listing Agent
• The Possibilities
• The Tutor
• Turning Point

SONY Lounge Shorts:

• … Or Die
• Made Bed
• Chronicles Simkins Will Cut Your Ass
• The Sidekick
• Death Artists, Inc.
• Players
• The Romantics

Documentary Shorts:

• Faviken
• Story of an Egg
• Sikh Formaggio
• Sky Burial
• Storm
• Make Haste Slowly: The Kikkoman Story
• Fabian Debora, A Life for Art
• Mona Lisa: Leonardo’s Earlier Version
• Who Shot Rock & Roll, The Film

World Cinema Shorts:

• Seguimi (Follow Me)
• Kayip (The Loss)
• The German Who Came to Tea
• Honeymoon Suite
• The Other Side
• Cargo
• Help Wanted
• Who is Arvid Pekon?

Veterans Day Program:

Monday, Nov. 11, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.  Free admission for veterans and active duty military. $12 advance tickets, $16 at door. Visit the Lincoln Theater box office for tickets or lincolntheater.com

• Answering the Call
• Chinook Down
• Healing a Soldier’s Heart
• Mirage at Zabul Province
• Part of the Change
• The Hornet’s Nest