NBC Palm Springs is already covering the upcoming Yucca Valley Film Festival!

Tod Macofsky, host of NBC’s The Desert Entertainer, invited festival director Matt Beurois to KMIR & Entravision’s studios to discuss the festival’s growth and its expanding local impact.

Each year, the festival presents between 45 and 75 films across a concentrated three-day program of screenings, panels, and industry networking events (see 2025 program for reference).

From Friday evening through Sunday, the Yucca Valley Community Center is fully transformed into a working festival venue, complete with red carpet areas, photo activations, screening spaces, signing tables, and complimentary popcorn.

The programming team is actively seeking short-form storytelling (recommended under 20 minutes), including fiction, documentaries, animation, music videos, dance, and experimental work. All genres are welcome, with the program designed as a dynamic mix of forms and styles, ranging from drama to western, and from science fiction to comedy, maintaining a competitive and discovery-driven lineup.

While the festival continues to draw strong participation from the Hi-Desert, organizers are now expanding submissions from Palm Springs, Palm Desert, the broader Coachella Valley, and the Low Desert. A 40% submission discount is currently available for Riverside County filmmakers and can be requested via email.

Details and ways to submit can be found here.