El Paso Film Festival

The inaugural El Paso Film Festival is set for September 14th – 16th at the El Paso Museum of Art, the Philanthropy Theatre and Plaza Theatre. Audiences will be treated to a selection of 43 independent shorts and five feature films by local, regional, and national filmmakers. Artistic Director Carlos Corral has partnered with Dr. Victoria Ramirez, Director of the El Paso Museum of Art, and the Paso del Norte Community Foundation to host the festival in Downtown El Paso.

Two of the films featured in this year’s lineup have a special connection to El Paso. Home + Away is a documentary by Matt Ogens about Bowie High School and shares a unique perspective of what it’s like to grow up in a bordertown. Run Like the Devil is a documentary that focuses on homegrown hero Beto O’Rourke and his current run for the U.S. Senate against Ted Cruz.

Cash prizes of up to $5,000 will be awarded to independent filmmakers for the winning submissions. According to Corral, his main goal with the festival is to make it into an Oscar-qualifying competitive one, “you would be surprised how many stories have El Paso connections. The films we are screening all have something important to say.” Tickets for the festival are now on sale at ElPasoFilmFestival.org.
El Paso Film Festival is a fund of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation. To support the festival, learn more, or start a charitable fund of your own, contact us at 915-218-2644.

Femme Frontera

Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase began as a small celebration of local female filmmakers from El Paso, Las Cruces and Ciudad Juárez in 2016. The filmmaker collective is dedicated to showcasing films by women as well as advocating for women’s voices through media education, workshops, and community outreach. In the last two years, their mission has evolved and grown into an annual film showcase that highlights short films made by women from around the world whose stories challenge perceptions of women, gender roles, immigrants, border communities, and the LGBT community. Their latest Showcase premiers in El Paso on September 23rd and will go on tour around the United States in 2019. The group is also expecting to incorporate several international locations on the tour and hopes to provide other programs and events as part of the Showcase.

Femme Frontera is a fund of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation. To support the fund, learn more, or start a charitable fund of your own, contact us at 915-218-2644.