Forty years ago, one of the greatest movie heroes of all time made his debut in one of the greatest movies of all time. Returning to the Bay Area where some of it was filmed, Raiders of the Lost Ark comes to MVFF for a special anniversary screening sponsored by Lucasfilm. Premiering in 1981, the inaugural Indiana Jones adventure—co-conceived by Philip Kaufman, produced by George Lucas, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Harrison Ford as the intrepid swashbuckler himself—was an instant smash with audiences and critics, going on to land eight Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, and win four. In addition to launching an internationally beloved multimedia franchise spanning movies, TV shows, video games, and comic books, Raiders of the Lost Ark contains a special mix of thrills, scares, and laughs that continues to ensnare and enrapture filmmakers and audiences this many decades later. –Zaki Hasan

SPONSORED BY LUCASFILM LTD.