Watsonville Film Festival Is Back For Its 11th Year
/Christian Balderas, KSBW Action News 8
WATSONVILLE, Calif. —
The Watsonville Film Festival kicks off Friday, marking its 11th year showcasing local talent and stories.
The film festival runs from March 3-12 and will primarily be held at Watsonville High School's Mello Center for Performing Arts.
Co-founder Abuelo Alba says this year, every day of the event is free to the public.
"We are about connecting with our community, inviting everybody in. Breaking down barriers to access, so the festival is a place where everybody can feel welcome, connected and inspired by the stories and by the conversation around the films and with the filmmakers," Alba said.
The first day's itinerary will welcome Hollywood Latino icon Pepe Serna, known for starring in over one hundred films like Scarface, The Jerk and Kill Bill. The festival will debut a new documentary on Serna's life and career, Life is Art + Abuelo.
Over the course of eight days, the festival will showcase over 40 films and shorts about Latino stories — a lot of which are tied to the local Watsonville community.
"It's stories about regular people doing extraordinary things," Alba said.
Alba and her small team of film enthusiasts and filmmakers were tasked with dwindling down 80 submissions received this year to about 40.
"When I see these films about people who are just thriving against all odds, it's really inspiring to me, and I think it's inspiring to a lot of people," Alba said. "It's not just about Hollywood and the stars, it's about our own stories. It's about how we can share these stories with everybody and make it a community thing. I want people to feel like, 'I belong, I'm proud of my heritage, I'm proud of the place I was born.'"