Ella Film Festival Brings Inland Empire’s First Women-Centered Film Fest to KVCR

The Inland Empire’s first women-centered film festival will debut Friday, Dec. 19, at KVCR Public Media in San Bernardino, with organizers promising a pink-carpet welcome, a resource expo, a women-in-film panel and an awards program built to spotlight filmmakers who say they’ve too often been left out of the industry’s main stages.

The Ella Film Festival runs from 5 to 9:30 PM and was founded by San Bernardino Valley College Film, TV, and Media alumni Briana Navarro, Mariana Lapizco, Monet Sprague and Mars Clara. In an interview conducted Monday, Dec. 15, Navarro and Lapizco said all four are founders, while the two of them are leading the organizing effort.

“We’ve been calling ourselves the Founding Mothers,” Navarro said.

The idea sparked earlier this year after Lapizco attended Sundance and later visited a Los Angeles festival dedicated to Latina women filmmakers. After that event, she and Navarro began asking a question they couldn’t shake: Was there anything like it in the Inland Empire?

“We thought, do we have one in the Inland Empire? I don’t think we do,” Navarro said.

“That we know of,” Lapizco added, saying they researched and didn’t find an Inland Empire film festival built as a women-centered competition with submissions and awards.

Naming the festival came next. Lapizco said the word “Ella” — Spanish for “she” — emerged after she and Navarro saw a mural in Los Angeles’ Fashion District welcoming people in multiple languages.

“That’s the idea, right? That’s the goal,” Lapizco said, describing a longer-term vision for signage that reflects “she” and “her” across many languages. “We haven’t gotten there yet because of funding, but we definitely will.”

Navarro and Lapizco said they leaned on relationships they’ve built as filmmakers and as KVCR employees to make the first year possible. Both work in production roles at KVCR Public Media — Navarro with a focus on KVCR programming, and Lapizco with a focus on FNX, First Nations Experience programming.

“Our starting point was definitely KVCR because we were looking for a venue,” Navarro said. “But then we were just like, why don’t we just ask KVCR because we work here.”

They also credited support from a KVCR community engagement manager who helped connect them with potential partners.

“Vanessa, shout out to you,” Lapizco said. “Thank you so much for your help.”

Organizers listed Inland Empire Community News, Apex Lighting and Grip, Ingenuity Slate Inc., Bloom Energy Drink, 909 Media House, KVCR and the Consulate of Mexico among supporters and partners.

The festival’s schedule begins with a “pink carpet” and a resource expo, followed by introductions and the first part of the film screening. Organizers said they’re splitting the screening so attendees don’t sit for a continuous 90-minute block. After an intermission, the festival will host a women-in-film panel moderated by IECN co-publisher Denise Berver, then return to the remaining films before an awards ceremony and a closing mixer intended for networking.

Lapizco said the Consulate of Mexico will contribute an exhibition tied to the golden era of Mexican cinema, featuring women artists and actresses connected to that period.

“They’re going to give us an exhibition of the golden era of Mexican cinema,” Lapizco said. “So there’s some culture involved in it.”

The festival will screen 10 films chosen from nearly 30 submissions, organizers said, spanning documentary, live action, stop-motion and psychological horror.

One standout, Lapizco said, is “Cambio,” a film she described as following an immigrant father working at a restaurant while struggling to send money to Mexico. She said the story shows hardship — including living in tents — and ends with the father eventually bringing his family to the United States.

“It definitely evoked that emotion that they were trying to convey,” Lapizco said, adding that she teared up while watching it.

The awards program will include Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography, with prizes sponsored by Inland Empire-based Apex Lighting and Grip. Navarro said Best Picture will receive $1,000 worth of lighting and grip equipment rentals, Best Director will receive $500, and Best Cinematography will receive $250. Organizers also said they plan to award additional categories including Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Editing.

While the festival is built to elevate women behind the camera, Lapizco said the submission process highlighted how lopsided some industry roles remain — especially in cinematography.

“When we were going through the submissions on FilmFreeway, we saw a lack of women cinematographers, women in camera. We had none,” Lapizco said, adding that the cinematographers on the initial pool of submissions were men. Organizers extended the submission deadline and reached out directly to women cinematographers they knew, offering a delayed-submission code.

“We need women’s cinematographers to submit,” she said.

Navarro framed the festival as a push for authenticity in storytelling — particularly when women’s lives and experiences are filtered through men’s perspectives.

“I’ve always seen films like that too, where it’s like a man writing a story for a woman’s perspective,” Navarro said. “And I’m thinking, OK, well, they’re not really getting it right. It’s always inauthentic.”

Lapizco said women’s perspectives are not only valid — they’re singular.

“I think nobody can tell a story like you,” she said. “Because we all come from different backgrounds, different experiences.”

In the interview, the organizers also pointed to misconceptions about the Inland Empire’s arts scene — including the idea that creative careers can’t be built locally — while describing the region as collaborative, supportive and filled with film-ready locations.

“There’s so many beautiful locations here too,” Lapizco said.

Navarro said the long-term ambition is to build something bigger than a one-night event — a festival that grows into multiple days with workshops, screenings and expanded opportunities.

“Think about it like a Sundance Film Festival, but a film festival rooted here in the Inland Empire,” she said. “We definitely want to reach an international audience and grow.”

Tickets are sold on Eventbrite, organizers said, with admission priced at $8 plus fees. They said a student discount code, “STUDENT2025” (all caps), provides 50% off. Organizers also said they are still accepting volunteers and are welcoming last-minute vendors for the resource expo, noting tabling is intended to be free.