Chavela examines the life of the mysterious and sometime controversial Mexican singer Chavela Vargas. “A lot of people might not know her, but she’s an iconic Mexican singer,” says Alba. “She broke all the rules and was a true artist in the deepest sense of the word." Read complete article here.
The Watsonville Film Festival is a superb excuse to visit our neighbors to the north. It returns for its sixth year as a nonprofit with more than 35 feature- length and short films. For complete article, click here
“I think this project would be a huge step in our efforts as a city to get more people back downtown,” City Manager Charles Montoya said. “We have to create unique experiences like this to revitalize the area.”
“Our long-term vision is to run it as a dynamic multi-use venue for theater, film and performances. We want to activate this beautiful theater in the heart of downtown Watsonville to bring more cinema and art, and to turn it into a regional destination.”
“There’s tremendous synergy in our county and in our region right now to work creatively and collaboratively.” Click here to read the full article
“We are highlighting the fact that there is alternative healthy food in our community,” said Film Festival Director Consuelo Alba. “We want to empower people to learn more about it.” Alba said the turnout was so strong that another, potluck-style event is planned in the near future." Read the full article here.
"Watsonville Film Festival is partnering with Ambulante California, the film festival founded by actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, to present the documentary film “All Of Me (Llévate Mis Amores)” at the Green Valley Cinema, 1125 South Green Valley Road, Thursday at 7 p.m. The film’s director, Arturo González Villaseñor, will participate in a conversation following the film." Read the full article here
"Filmmakers Consuelo Alba and her husband John Speyer co-founded the Watsonville Film Festival in 2012 because they saw, in their professional travels in the film circuit, how a festival could generate synergy. And they wanted that for Watsonville." Read the full article here
" Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas had been campaigning for immigration reform for a year when President Barack Obama announced a program that would give temporary legal status to thousands of immigrants who had been brought to the country illegally as minors." Read full article here
"This year’s film festival, which has expanded to four days, now includes a red carpet event on opening night at Green Valley Cinemas in Watsonville with free food and drinks prepared by local entrepreneurs from the El Pajaro Community Development Corporation’s Kitchen Incubator Program and a closing community festival, with live music by the Latin music ensemble, Los Malangueros on Sunday in the city’s historic downtown. " Read full article here
"A dystopian future, a revolutionary past, the streets of Havana, a mashup of Japanese and Latino cultures — the2015 Watsonville Film Festival covers a lot of ground.
But at the heart of the four-day festival are stories of connection, films chosen to resonate and inspire." Read the full article here
"What kind of movie gets into the Watsonville Film Festival? To co-founder Consuelo Alba, the answer lies beyond film school flash and production polish.
'We present world-class films, but we also present films made by people who are just starting, but who have something to say,' says Alba." Read the full article here
