The Town of Yucca Valley is proud to announce the first edition of the Yucca Valley Film Festival to debut on November 15, 16 and 17 at the Yucca Valley Community Center.

The 3-day Festival celebrates filmmaking and will screen the best of short films by emerging filmmakers all over the world. Every attending filmmaker will have the opportunity to talk about their film and connect with the audience. Categories in competition will include short, animation, feature, student, documentary, script, visual arts and music video. Winners will also include the Audience Award and the Festival Award. Residents of Yucca Valley and the Morongo Basin will enjoy a movie festival representing the best of contemporary independent moves from local filmmakers, Los Angeles and throughout the United States, as well as Europe and Canada.

Yucca Valley has always been a welcoming place for movies and movie makers. In 2016, Tim Burton shot scenes of “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” on Old Women Springs Road. More than 50 titles are listed on Imdb with scenes shot here. The Town already lives to the rhythm of artists and creative minds, who settle in Yucca as the perfect place to create and find a receptive audience.
In 2019, the Town will offer its first Film Festival, with the objective to add to the heartbeat of the high desert community, establishing a family friendly signature event. Joshua Tree has the National Park and music festival, Indio has Stagecoach, Palm Springs and Palm Desert have Coachella…in 2019, Yucca Valley invites you to its own Film Festival.

3 Days of Festivities

The weekend festival will kick off with a Friday Opening Night that will include an Event Presentation, Red Carpet, Mayor’s Welcome, Short Films and Feature Film Yucca Valley Premiere.

Saturday will feature Screenings, Filmmaker Artist/Audience Talks and Audience Voting. Be a part of it all – screen films and interact with the filmmakers! Discover a director’s inspiration or participate in a script writers roundtable. Explore experimental and creative audio/visual works. Vote for favorites in a variety of categories. Awards and cash prizes will be presented in multiple categories including Best Short Film, Best Feature, Audience Award, Best Student Film, Best Documentary, Best Music Video, Best Animated Short Film, Best Visual Art, Best Script, and a special Yucca Valley Award for local talent.

Sunday is a fun-filled day of celebrating movies! Browse the Movie Themed Vendor Fair to purchase that special autographed photo or memorabilia. Enter the movie-themed costume contest, take the movie music quiz or try your luck in the festival raffle. Enjoy the Red Carpet event with presentation of awards, screening of winning films with audience Q&A, and hosted by Mayor Lombardo.

Youth Filmmaking Workshop

The heart of the Yucca Valley Film Festival is the Youth “Make Your Own Film” Workshop. The program takes place before the festival begins and includes the making of a real narrative short film, from script to screening. The workshop is offered to teens and young adults ages 14 to 22 years and is accomplished through two Saturday workshops as well as independent assignments. Under the guidance of film professionals, participants will join as a creative movie team to write, prepare, and shoot a short film on location in Yucca Valley. The short film will open the Yucca Valley Film Festival on Friday, November 15th. Space is limited, a final selection of students will be made from the applications received. Registration opens September 26 and closes October 18.

Register online at www.yucca-valley.org or in person at the Community Center. Don’t miss this amazing educational experience!

Film Industry Professionals

To execute this extraordinary event, the Town has engaged multi-award-winning director, scriptwriter and producer, Matt Beurois as well as French producer, performer, singer and songwriter, Auregan, as Festival Directors. Beurois is credited on more than 50 films including Little Wing, Iron Sky II, Back In Time and Hardcore Henry (Winner Toronto Festival), he recently debuted the feature film, The Barn, in 2018. 

Auregan’s duet with Billy Ray Cyrus, “Shelter in the Storm” was featured on the soundtrack of the critically acclaimed movie, Man of the Past. As a musician, she has penned more than 250 songs and performed 300 headlining shows, with three published albums. She produced the documentaries Bowie Full Colors and On the Bring of Fame, starring Sylvester Stallone and Gerard Depardieu. Yucca Valley residents, Auregan and Matt also created and produce the annual Paris Art & Movie Awards Festival, now in its ninth year and an important event for new filmmakers, with screenings on the Champs Elysees.

Film Festival Details

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The Yucca Valley Film Festival is part of the fall line-up of activities organized by the Town of Yucca Valley’s Community Services Department. The Town of Yucca Valley Fall/Winter Activities Guide is available at the Community Center or view it online at www.yucca-valley.org. For more information, contact the Community Services Office, Monday through Thursday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at (760) 369-7211.

Original Press Release to be found here.