“We are excited and proud to celebrate a decade of the storytelling and artistry of the Latinx community in front of, and behind, the camera,” says Consuelo Alba, Director of WFF. “This year we are presenting an incredibly powerful selection of films, most of them directed by women. We will also honor Josefina Lopez, a trailblazer Latina and playwright and screenwriter based in Los Angeles.”
Read MoreWatsonville film festival in the news
Watsonville Film Festival joins Bay Area organizations for film screening, concert in Plaza→
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Mexican Independence Day is Sept. 16, and the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) is teaming up with two Bay Area organizations to bring a celebratory event to the community.
Celebrando La Cultura, to be held Sept. 15-18, will include film, music and dance. It begins with a virtual screening of the award-winning documentary “Linda and the Mockingbirds” and a showcase of seven other films created by the Los Cenzontles Cultural Academy (LCCA) from San Pablo. A virtual conversation with filmmakers will be held Sept. 16 at 6pm.
Read More‘Celebrando la Cultura’: Arts program honors Pajaro Valley farmworkers→
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The Watsonville Film Festival has teamed up with the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts and San Pablo-based musical group Los Cenzontles to present a three-part arts celebration honoring Pajaro Valley area farmworkers and the Mexican Americans who call the region home.
“I’m really excited for people to see all the connections we have between film, music, dance, history and storytelling — that’s intentional with these programs,” said Consuelo Alba, director of the Watsonville Film Festival. “We want to paint a beautiful picture of Mexican culture, the contributions of our farmworkers, our artists and filmmakers.”
Read MoreWatsonville Film Fest celebrates Mexican music, honors farmworkers with free live show at the Plaza
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The Watsonville Film Festival will hold a free concert in honor of local farmworkers later this month and the lineup includes North Bay headliners “Los Cenzontles,” who also have a special connection to a film being screened at the festival.
Read MoreArt Organizations Join Forces for Juneteenth Multimedia Project→
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In celebration of Juneteenth, local arts organizations will come together for Murals / Art / Activism, a multimedia project highlighting the importance of public art in activism.
Juneteenth is the oldest national celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. The holiday has seen increasing recognition in recent years, with events being held nationwide.
Murals / Art / Activism begins on June 15, with two documentary films available to stream for free for four days via the Watsonville Film Festival’s (WFF) website. Later that week, festival organizers will host a Zoom event with the filmmakers and artists.
Read MoreThis Year The Watsonville Film Festival Goes Virtual – And Free→
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The Watsonville Film Festival has moved online this year, offering 20 films focused on Latino culture in North, Central and South America. The films range from local student productions to higher budget features and documentaries. All of the films and related special events are available free of charge on the festival website through March 13.
Consuelo Alba, co-founder and executive director of the Watsonville Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Watsonville Film Festival.
“The Watsonville Film Festival was founded in 2012 specifically to highlight the stories of Latino filmmakers,”
Read MoreMuch More Than Films→
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There are a few reasons why I have a soft spot for the Watsonville Film Festival. First, Consuelo Alba, the festival’s co-founder and I have a lot in common:
Read MoreVoices from the ‘Ville: Young filmmakers form their own highlight reel at Watsonville Film Festival→
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Are you a young person looking to get some experience in filmmaking? Here’s a pro tip to get you started: Grow up in Watsonville.
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival spotlights women in film and community→
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Since 2012, the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) has made it a point to celebrate and uplift women behind, and in front of, the camera. In 2021, WFF will continue this tradition, presenting a program where the majority of films are directed by women and/or focused on women. This year, the Festival is also partnering with the Watsonville International Women’s Day Coalition to celebrate local women who are challenging the status quo during a special online event Monday, March 8 at 7pm.
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival launches virtual cinema to present annual edition→
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Under the theme “Stories Matter,” the 9th annual Watsonville Film Festival will spotlight 20 award-winning indie and local films, running from March 5-13. The program also includes a series of online special events, including Q&As with filmmakers. All films and events will be available for free at watsonvillefilmfest.org. Stay tuned to Lookout for trailers of upcoming films.
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival taking submissions for community project→
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Last March, film director Melissa Elizondo was about to board a plane from Mexico bound for the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) when she got a call from Executive Director Consuelo Alba. The festival had been canceled due to the pandemic, and international travel was rapidly shutting down.
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival to Host Virtual Day of the Dead Celebration
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The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday observed across the globe every year in which families honor their deceased relatives with food, drink and various celebrations.
For the past few years, the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) has organized a special community Day of the Dead celebration in the City Plaza, complete with music, food, altars, arts and crafts and an outdoor screening of the Disney/Pixar film “Coco.”
But with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the organization has had to switch gears.
“We knew we had to find a way to celebrate any way we could,” said Consuelo Alba, executive director of WFF. “Everything is different in 2020, but the beautiful Día de Muertos traditions must continue.”
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival launches virtual film series→
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For the past month, Alba and her small programming team at WFF have been working on moving part of the festival to an online format. With the help of longtime partners Digital NEST, they were able to organize the Virtual Watsonville Film Festival, which includes a series of free online film screenings and live discussions with filmmakers.
“[WFF] has always been about connecting with the community,” Alba said. “We wanted to find a way to keep engaging with each other despite everything… To stay connected against all odds.”
Every Monday through Thursday, Virtual WFF will share a short film—one that was originally scheduled for this year’s festival—for free online. On Thursdays at 6 p.m., directors and other talent from the film will participate in online conversations via Zoom.
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival postpones…
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Wednesday, the board of directors of the film festival announced that the festival is canceled for health and safety reasons regarding the coronavirus, COVID-19.
“We’re incredibly sad to miss the opportunity to celebrate these films with you together this weekend. But that opportunity will come again,” the board wrote on the festival website. “As soon as we know when and how we might bring the festival to life this year, we will celebrate that moment with you.”
Read MoreA film festival celebrates a diversity of Latino stories that transcend ethnicity. [Cancelled due to COVID-19]
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The Watsonville Film Festival covers such a wide spectrum of the Latino experience that it takes a more universal shape. This year’s films cover the fusion of Africa and the Caribbean through a hot new music rising up in Cuba (Bakoso: Afrobeats of Cuba); farmers trying to save green space in Santa Cruz’s Beach Flats neighborhood (No Place to Grow); and, prescient, a short film (The Lost) about a devastating viral outbreak.
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival to celebrate Latino directors, stories
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WATSONVILLE—In 1976, film directors Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz released “Chulas Fronteras” (Beautiful Borders), a documentary highlighting Mexican-American musicians who called the Texas-Mexican border home. The film was eventually selected by The Library Of Congress and added to the National Film Registry list.
A newly restored version of “Chulas Fronteras” will open the 8th Annual Watsonville Film Festival (WFF), which returns March 12 featuring a plethora of film screenings, events, discussions and—for the first time ever—a collaborative art exhibit.
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival thrives at Youth Center
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The Watsonville Film Festival returned in full force last week, with four days of film
screenings, special events and more.
For the first time ever, the event was held at the Watsonville Youth Center. According to co-founder and director of the festival Consuelo Alba, it was a big success at the new location.
“In previous venues we sometimes only had 100 seats,” she explained. “Moving to the Youth Center doubled our capacity.”
This year’s festival team worked to turn the center into a makeshift movie theater, which Alba said many people were “blown away” by.
Read MoreWatsonville Film Festival To Be Held At Youth Center (2019)→
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WATSONVILLE — The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) returns to present a lineup of screenings by award- winning directors and young local filmmakers, as well as live music and film talks by experts in the industry.
The festival will take place at the Gene Hoularis and Waldo Rodriguez Youth Center, 30 Maple Ave. in Watsonville, from March 28-31.
Under the theme “Stories Matter,” the seventh annual edition of WFF will aim to humanize political issues, honor trailblazers, and offer inspiration to solve local and global problems.
“We believe that film is a potent medium that helps us see the world with fresh eyes, promotes respect and compassion, and expands possibilities for transformation,” said Executive Director Consuelo Alba. “We have designed the program for people to have a good time and also be inspired.”
Read MoreFilm Festival Uses Meduim to Champion the Underdog→
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The theme for this year’s Watsonville Film Festival is “Stories Matter.” That’s been true of the festival every year, and it’s true of this year’s festival from start to finish.
The opening film, 6:30pm Thursday March 28, is Singing Our Way to Freedom, a documentary about Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez, the Chicano Movement and immigration rights activist/musician…
Read MoreA new film series picks up the #MeToo and TimesUp momentum→
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The Women by Women Film Series in Watsonville is a step outside of Monterey County, is spread out over four months and is not a festival per se (although it’s launched by the Watsonville Film Festival), but it warrants attention for hewing to a cohesive and timely theme of films about women, made by women. Read Complete Article Here