Yucca Valley Film Festival opens submissions for 8th annual event

The Yucca Valley Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 8th annual event. Filmmakers from the Morongo Basin and beyond are invited to showcase their work on one of the desert’s most visible creative stages.

Since its 2018 launch in collaboration with the Town of Yucca Valley, the Yucca Valley Film Festival has grown from an idea into a nationally recognized event. Festival founder Matt Beurois says community support was immediate.

“We were very happy to see that on the first day of the festival, it was a sold-out house. It was really a joy to witness the birth of the Yucca Valley Film Festival.”

In recent years, the festival has expanded its national reach. Beurois said there is coverage in more than 400 media outlets across the United States and Canada, with additional attention in parts of Europe. The festival has also earned a spot in the top 100 Best-Reviewed Festivals on filmfreeway.com. 

This year’s festival is scheduled for November 6 through 8. Programming typically features 40 to 70 short films, each under 20 minutes.

Submissions are now open, and Beurois says local filmmakers are especially encouraged to participate.

“There are a lot of movies and a lot of opportunities, and we really want to support local filmmaking and local filmmakers. Short content: any genre or any form. It can be narrative. It can be fiction. It can be a documentary, a music video, or dance.” 

Films made in the desert or created with desert-based collaborators are also considered local. Student filmmakers are another growing focus. The festival is seeking to build stronger partnerships with local school districts, Copper Mountain College, and regional education programs throughout San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Submissions close at the end of September. For more information, visit yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com.