Inland Film Festival Spotlights Inland Empire Identity and Overlooked Local Stories

From Moreno Valley liquor stores and Hemet mobile homes to the pressures confronting young athletes, Inland Empire filmmakers are bringing distinctly local people, places and experiences to the big screen.

More than 80 filmmakers gathered at KVCR Public Media for the Inland Film Festival’s 2026 Nominee Reveal and Mixer, celebrating projects rooted in communities and experiences often overlooked by Hollywood.

Arts Connection hosted the Sept. 4 event ahead of Screening Day for the third annual Inland Film Festival, scheduled for Oct. 17 from noon to 8 p.m. at Regal Cinemas, 450 N. E St. in downtown San Bernardino. Inland Empire Community News is a media sponsor of the festival.

The screening will feature emerging and established filmmakers representing a range of stories and perspectives. Before the nominees were announced, participants discussed the experiences behind their work and the importance of building a stronger regional film community.

For Christian De Leon Gonzalez, that identity can be found in familiar Moreno Valley locations, including a liquor store, a bus stop near March Air Reserve Base and a park behind Moreno Valley College.

Those settings became the backdrop for “You Got a Light?,” his short film about a man searching for a lighter after a difficult day. Beneath its stoner-comedy premise, the story follows a character struggling to open up about what is happening in his life.

De Leon Gonzalez said he tried to capture “the weirdness of the IE” and the uniqueness of the people who live there. Compared with some of his experiences working in Los Angeles, he said the Inland Empire “just feels genuine.”

The film also reflects his desire to portray people of color beyond the tragedies and stereotypes frequently emphasized in mainstream entertainment.

“Sometimes I feel like our stories have to be tragic for them to be worth being in Hollywood,” he said. “Not all of our stories are tragic. Some of our stories are funny. Some of our stories are serious, but not necessarily tragic.”

Adriana Garcia, a Jurupa Hills High School student from Fontana, brought a different concern to the festival through “Pressure to Perform,” a documentary examining how intense expectations affect young athletes.

Garcia directed and produced the project through KVCR’s 10 Weeks of Film program, working primarily with fellow student Alan Torres. She drew its central idea from playing sports and observing changes in her younger brother.

Garcia said her brother initially dreamed of becoming a professional athlete, but his attitude shifted as winning became increasingly important to his team and coach.

Garcia said her brother was being raised with the message that “if you don’t win, then you’re not enough.” Watching that change frustrated her because, she said, “he is enough.” The documentary asks adults to reconsider placing such intense pressure on children who are still developing.

Garcia said festivals provide an entry point for emerging artists who may not know how to present their work or meet other creators. Events like this give lesser-known artists a chance “to speak up,” she said, describing them as “a stepping stone” for people trying to grow.

Representation also drives filmmakers Lizbeth Calleja and Mayra Cortez, whose project, “Tú y Yo,” follows Latino characters of different generations navigating love, family and personal change in a Hemet mobile home community.

“I want to see people who look like my neighbors, people who I grew up around,” Calleja said. “I want to see them on the big screen.”

Because Latinos remain underrepresented in the industry, Calleja said she values opportunities to cast performers with backgrounds similar to her own and tell stories drawn from those communities.

Cortez said the production included local residents and crew members and was written “out of love” for Hemet, rather than through negative perceptions of the city. One character rejects the idea that a fulfilling future requires leaving the Inland Empire for Los Angeles.

Cortez said “sharing love for the IE is representation” because many people approach the region with the attitude that “it’s not L.A., so it’s not great.”

Colton animator Adriannah Quiroz said the festival introduced her to a creative community she did not know existed when she moved from Mississippi nearly five years ago.

Her roughly three-minute film, “I Thought of This One in My Car,” grew from images she imagined while listening to music and storyboards she had kept for years. Quiroz said the festival offered a chance to step beyond the isolation of animation and connect with other artists.

Quiroz said she wanted to “see what other people are doing,” broaden her horizons and become part of the filmmaking community.

For the filmmakers, those connections demonstrate that the Inland Empire is becoming a creative center with its own voices, stories and production opportunities.

“This is the future of Hollywood,” Cortez said. “This is Hollywood right now.”

Get tickets to the 2026 Inland Film Festival Screening here: givebutter.com/iff-2026-screening-day