9th Annual Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase / Film Festival

Poster Design by Christin Apodaca, Web Graphic by NMCO

THE FILMS

Originally premiered Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 7 pm at the El Paso Mexican American Cultural Center.

AT DUSK I KISS YOUR BODY BURNT

at dusk i kiss your body burnt (2024) is a poetry short film that follows a young man as he remembers the touch of his lover against the hyper-militarized and hyper-surveilled U.S.-Mexico borderlands where he grew up. Addressed as a letter to his lost lover, the film grapples with how queer bodies experience and express desire amidst bordercraft and state violence.

Narrative Short Directed by Victor “Yayo” Meza Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico / El Paso, TX

color cielo (THe color of sky)

The hope that lingers in the farewell.

Narrative Short Directed by Cristal Gonzalez Avila San Juan Bautista, California

Super high: A period piece

Amanda battles excruciating period pain caused by fibroids. Desperate for relief, she experiments with a celebrity cannabis brand's edibles. A dosage mishap catapults her into a surreal, anxiety-filled journey until she awakens.

Narrative Short Directed by Bianca D. Lambert Atlanta, Georgia

ternura radical

A documentary that amplifies the voices in the fight for justice for Isabel Cabanillas, an artist and social activist murdered in an act of femicide, and the relentless search for Esmeralda Castillo Rincón, who disappeared in Ciudad Juárez. Through the lens of women who transform their pain into art, the documentary portrays a powerful form of protest and resistance against gender violence and impunity. These stories reflect the harsh reality faced by many families across the region and Mexico, highlighting the courage of those who continue to seek justice.

Documentary Short Directed by Celina Galicia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico

wherever that may be

In this story, we follow the journey of Rose, a young woman whose life is turned upside down when her health takes a turn. She loses everything or so it seems. She moves back in with her outgoing, fun loving grandmother named Jo. Their dynamic challenges a stereotype of what it means to be healthy. It is a role swap of what society typically expects of women their respective ages.

Narrative Short Directed by E.N. Cole Las Cruces, New Mexico

ser bruja (to be a bruja)

Amanda Montejo is a trans woman, make up artist, Guadalupana and a witch. This documentary portrait explores different facets of her spirituality and fragments of her past, revealing the duality of her being.

Documentary Short Directed by Carolina Erives Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

Yo mate a lucca (I killed lucca)

Carmen suffers a panic attack after facing the prospect of opening herself emotionally to her partner Lucía. A couple of soccer commentators relate the attack as if it were a game. Carmen will have to make a decision that will forever change her relationship.

Narrative Short Directed by Ana Moreno Hernandez Mexico City, Mexico