Pounce!—additional screenings of 4 of the most popular films at Mill Valley Film Festival just added

Based on one of the Victorian-era’s most notorious sex scandals, “Effie Gray” is a period drama has its world premiere at the 36th Mill Valley Film Festival, Oct 3-13, 2013. Dakota Fanning (right) is 19 now and plays Euphemia ”Effie” Gray, a teen who fights to escape a loveless marriage to celebrated art critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise) and be with pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais. Emma Thompson (left) wrote the script and then underwent a horrific legal battle to release the film. She plays Effie’s confidante, Lady Eastlake. Dakota Fanning will attend and is the subject of a special spotlight program on Saturday, October 12.

There’s something SO satisfying about seeing an Oscar-buzz film long before it opens in theatres.  Lucky day!  The Mill Valley Film Festival, which starts this Thursday (Oct 3) and runs through Sunday, Oct 13, has just added several additional screenings of its most demanded films.  These are the ones that were well on their way to being sold out to California Film Institute (CFI) members before tickets were made available to the public.  Now up for grabs−− the world premiere of Richard Laxton’s period drama Effie Gray (Emma Thompson, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Cardinale) ; the U.S. premieres of John Wells’ August: Osage County (Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, Chris Cooper, Juliette Lewis) and Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyers Club (Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto) and the California premiere of Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbinder) .

The film titles below all carry hyperlinks to detailed film descriptions and a link to purchase tickets online.  If these films sound interesting, don’t dally, as they will sell out.

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB     Friday  Oct. 11 – 9:15pm – CinéArts@Sequoia

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY    Saturday Oct. 12 – 9pm – CinéArts@Sequoia

12 YEARS A SLAVE   Sunday Oct. 13 – 11am – CinéArts@Sequoia

EFFIE GRAY   Sunday Oct. 13 – 8pm – Smith Rafael Film Center

Details:  The festival’s homepage is here.  Advance ticket purchase is essential for all films as this festival sells out.  The full film list with scheduling information and link to online ticket purchase are online here.  Most tickets are $14 and special events and tributes are more.  Tickets can also be purchased in person at select Marin ticket outlets.  The closest outlet to Sonoma County is located at 1104 Fourth Street, San Rafael, right next to the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.  Hours: 5 to 9 PM until October 2;  during the festival Oct 3 to 13, Mon-Thurs 11 AM to 15 minutes after the last show starts and Fir-Sun 10 AM to 15 minutes after the show starts.

Rush tickets: If seats become available, even after tickets have sold out, rush tickets will be sold. The rush line forms outside each venue beginning one hour before show-time. Approximately 15 minutes prior to the screening, available rush tickets are sold on a first-come, first serve basis for Cash Only.)