WATSONVILLE—The California Arts Council (CAC) recently announced the allocation of a record-breaking $30 million—the largest investment in the council’s 40-plus year history. A total of 1,534 grants have been awarded to nonprofit organizations and government programs across the state in support of the arts.
Watsonville Film Festival was one of the grantees. The organization was awarded a $19,000 Local Impact grant, which Executive Director Consuelo Alba says will help fund upcoming events and programs. Local Impact grants aim to support arts projects for small and mid-sized arts organizations in historically marginalized communities.
“Having this kind of support is really important,” Alba said. “It allows us to start planning ahead, and to be creative with what we do next.”
WFF’s annual festival was one of the first local events to be canceled after the outbreak of Covid-19. This was a huge blow to the organization, which relied on the festival as its main fundraiser of the year.
Future events, such as WFF’s annual Day of the Dead celebration that is usually held in the City Plaza and a new event in September for Hispanic Heritage Month, are up in the air. But Alba says she and her team are trying to make things work.
“This situation has provided us an opportunity to find new ways to reach people,” Alba said. “We’re re-imagining our events in different settings.”
Last month Alba launched the Virtual Watsonville Film Festival, offering free screenings of short films and Q&A sessions at watsonvillefilmfestival.org every week.
This week WFF is also offering audiences access to a feature-length film on its website for $10 (for a 3-day rental period). “The Infiltrators,” a Sundance-award-winning documentary-thriller by directors Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra, follows the true story of a group of undocumented youth who deliberately get detained by Border Control to go undercover at a for-profit detention center.
“It is a timely film,” Alba said. “We’re all talking about Covid-19 right now, but there are still other issues going on. We need to remember that.”
Alba said that the $10 viewing fee is necessary this time around, as the film is feature-length and in demand.
“By watching ‘The Infiltrators’ you are helping WFF recover from the financial loss we suffered… and from the loss we will undoubtedly suffer [later],” she said.
A film Q&A session will be held on May 21 with Paulina Moreno Mendoza from Community Action Board’s Thriving Immigrant Collaborative and local DREAMERS.
A bilingual version of the short film “Adiós, Amor” is also available to stream for free this week.
Alba said that the CAC has been “very flexible” with how the grant money will be used, as so many events and activities are being affected by shelter-in-place restrictions.
“It is very challenging for everyone right now, but especially for arts organizations—we are not deemed ‘essential,’” she said. “But even with that uncertainty, we are still getting this kind of support. And we really appreciate it.”
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Go here to watch “The Infiltrators” and support the Watsonville Film Festival.
