The Yucca Valley Film Festival will welcome two influential figures from Southern California’s tourism and cultural sectors, highlighting the festival’s growing role in connecting art, culture, and tourism at the county and state levels.
Discover Inland Empire CEO Freddy Bi will speak during opening night, while Arts Connection Executive Director Alejandro Gutierrez Chavez will deliver the festival’s closing remarks and mentor filmmakers on Sunday, November 8.
Freddy Bi, President and CEO of Discover Inland Empire, will deliver an address focused on tourism and culture during opening night.
Representing San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Discover Inland Empire promotes a region of more than 4.7 million residents. Under Bi’s leadership, the organization has advanced destination marketing initiatives that support local communities and build connections between international visitors and local destinations.
“Freddy’s participation is really important to us” states festival director Matt Beurois.
“Freddy knows firsthand the role that cultural events do play in destination marketing, particularly in communities like ours, outside major metropolitan centers”.
Bi’s participation highlights the fact that collaboration across county lines is key to attracting visitors, supporting local businesses, and creating opportunities for local economies.
The festival will also welcome Alejandro Gutierrez Chavez, Executive Director of Arts Connection, the Arts Council of San Bernardino County.
A first generation Chicano educator, social entrepreneur, and nonprofit leader, Gutierrez Chavez works to expand access to arts and culture, and strengthen cultural infrastructure across the county.
Gutierrez Chavez will serve as a mentor during the festival’s mentorship session on Sunday, November 8, before delivering the closing address. His involvement brings a regional cultural leadership perspective to the festival, along with knowledge of grant funding that can be useful to filmmakers exploring ways to finance their projects.
Since its inception, the Yucca Valley Film Festival has served the local Morongo Basin community. Through steady, measured growth, the event has also become part of the local economy and helped put Yucca Valley on the map for artists from around the world.
“We are at a time when the relationship between culture and tourism is increasingly relevant, even indispensable. Film festivals and cultural events such as YVFF do contribute to the local economy, but also directly shape how visitors and artists perceive our area and its identity” explains Beurois.
Both opening and closing nights are open to the public, free of charge.
The eighth Yucca Valley Film Festival, with the Town of Yucca Valley as its main sponsor, takes place November 6 to 8, 2026, at the Yucca Valley Community Center.
Come represent your community.