8th Annual Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase

CURRENTLY ON TOUR

Poster by Camila Abbud

8th Annual FFFS Festival Schedule

Thursday, Sept. 7th:

  • Pitch Fest 

    • 6 pm - 3 locations

      • Aaron & George's Film Cafe - 105 Texas Avenue, El Paso, TX

      • Cafe San Angel - Calle Adolfo de La Huerta 245, Colegio, 32340, Juarez, MX

      • CMI Theatre - 2915 McFie Circle - Milton Hall 171, Las Cruces, New Mexico

    • Connect with regional filmmakers as they pitch their projects in order to seek additional funding, resources, advice, and to build community with filmmakers who have a lived connection to the experiences of regional women and nonbinary people and center those stories.

    • Free event

Friday, Sept. 8th:

  • FFFS 8 Official Shorts Program 

    • 7 pm 

    • Plaza Theatre - 125 Pioneer Plaza 79901

  • After Party at Paso Del Norte Hotel (directly across the street) - 9 pm

Saturday, Sept. 9th:

  • Student Showcase:

    • 10 am - 12 pm - Alamo Drafthouse Montecillo - 250 East Montecillo Blvd El Paso, Texas 79912

    • Watch a series of films created by youth and adult students as part of our Femme Frontera Summer Film program. 

  • Filmmakers’ and Panelists’ Lunch sponsored by the El Paso Film Commission / CreativElPaso

    • 12 pm - 2 pm 

    • Location: TBD

  • “Filming Borders & Breaking Barriers: A Guide” Panel Discussion

    • 3 - 5 pm 

    • A dialogue featuring filmmakers and policy experts from the U.S.-Mexico border who will discuss the logistics and difficulties of filming along borders, and how it influences how we share, challenge, and reclaim our border narratives.

    • Plaza Theatre

  • Feature film, Silent Beauty by Jasmin Mara López

    • 6 pm

    • Full film info at the bottom of this page

    • Plaza Theatre 

    • Engagement activity after screening - 7:30 pm

    FFFS Closing Afterparty - 9 pm (Paso Del Norte patio)

DISCLAIMER: Ticketmaster fees can be avoided if purchasing tickets on the day of each event at the Plaza Theatre box office. The Official Shorts event (Friday, Sept. 8th at 7 pm) has sold out every year so please arrange to arrive at the box office early.

THE FILMS

Premiering Friday, Sept. 8th at 7 pm at the Plaza Theatre. Tickets on Sale beginning Aug. 21st, 2023!

Con vista al rio               

The frustration of a rebellious border teenager will lead him and his younger sister to put themselves in grave danger, right along the wall that divides Mexico with the United States.

Narrative Short                                       Directed by Persia Campbell Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico

 

bailarina                   

Alicia only recognizes herself through her reflection in the mirror and the notes playing from her music box. Meanwhile, Alzheimer's consumes the rest of her existence.

Narrative Short                                       Directed by Verónica Palofox Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico                                         

Aurora and the House of lights                              

Aurora is 25 years old. She plays frantically in an arcade in order to win a giant teddy bear. She can’t stop because that would bring her back to reality, to what happened the day before. If she wins the teddy bear, everything will be okay, she will heal and be safe. But denial is only the first stage.

Narrative Short                                         Directed by Ángela Matiz, María Matiz Colombia

us in octaves                             

In a hyper color summer nightmare, two lovers are haunted by their last act of love: saying goodbye.
Us In Octaves is an official two part narrative music video for veteran producer Caural and told through an all Womxn & Non-Binary cast.

Music Video, Short                                       Directed by Alex Mastoon   Rockaway Beach, NY

 

The words In-between                            

The film explores the intersection of language, identity, and belonging among mixed race, indigenous and immigrant members of Gen Z, who talk about the pain of diaspora and assimilation, but also the power of language to connect them to home.

Documentary Short                                       Directed by Katia Kalei Barricklow United States

 

the little death

A woman finds her sexual awakening and her near demise in one fell swoop.

Narrative Short                                      Directed by Autumn Palen United States          

 
 

As Leaves in the wind

A story of two transgender women who migrate from their home countries seeking asylum and opportunities in a new continent. Their lives go through structural changes when they meet and take part in a new support network. Made by them for them.

Documentary Short                             Directed by Sofia Luz      Spain

 
 

STUDENT SHOWCASE

Saturday, Sept. 9th: 10:30 am at Alamo Drafthouse

The Student Showcase celebrates both youth and adult student works from our summer filmmaking programs. Students, ages 8+, share stories of identity, friendship, love, and life on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Tickets: $5 (Available for purchase only at Alamo Drafthouse Montecillo on the day of the event)

 

FFFS 2023 Featured Panel Discussion

Saturday, Sept. 9th at 3 pm

Where: Philanthropy Theatre - 125 Pioneer Plaza, El Paso, TX 79901

Free In-Person Event

*Registration is not mandatory but encouraged to guarantee you a seat.

 

SILENT BEAUTY

Directed & Produced by Jasmín Mara López

Saturday, September 9th at 6 pm in the Philanthropy Theatre at the Plaza Theatre. Join us after the film for a community engagement activity. Tickets on sale on Aug. 21st!

Synopsis

When director Jasmín Mara López sees a photo of her niece with her grandfather, she is flooded by painful memories of her own childhood sexual abuse at his hands—and the following 24 years of her silence. In this cinematically striking and poetic documentary, López bravely films her story as a willful act to accept difficult truths while finding beauty in the process of healing. As she defies the cultural silence that pervades her family and confronts her abusive grandfather, who is a Baptist minister, a world of generational abuse unfolds, and she quickly discovers she is not alone. Through archival family footage and intimate moments with her family, López has created a film about confronting painful truths and the beauty one can feel when they reach the other side of grief.

-Heather Haynes, Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival

Jasmín Mara López

Jasmín Mara López (Director/Producer) is a journalist, audio producer, and documentary filmmaker based in New Orleans and Los Angeles.

Born in the U.S. with familial roots in México, herchildhood was affected by issues experienced on both sides of the U.S.- México border. This instilled in her a strong passion for immigrant rights, youth empowerment, and social change.