EL CHICANo Weekly
Vol 63, NO. 11
December 18, 2025
Ella Film Festival Brings Inland Empire's First Women-Centered Film Fest to KVCR By Manny Sandoval
T
he Inland Empire’s first women-centered film festival will debut Friday, Dec. 19, at KVCR Public Media in San Bernardino, with organizers promising a pink-carpet welcome, a resource expo, a women-in-film panel and an awards program built to spotlight filmmakers who say they’ve too often been left out of the industry’s main stages.
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The Ella Film Festival runs from 5 to 9:30 PM and was founded by San Bernardino Valley College Film, TV, and Media alumni Briana Navarro, Mariana Lapizco, Monet Sprague and Mars Clara. In an interview conducted Monday, Dec. 15, Navarro and Lapizco said all four are founders, while the two of them are leading the organizing effort.
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“We’ve been calling ourselves the Founding Mothers,” Navarro said.
PHOTO MANNY SANDOVAL Briana Navarro (left) and Mariana Lapizco (right) prepare Monday, Dec. 15, outside KVCR Public Media in San Bernardino ahead of the inaugural Ella Film Festival.
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The idea sparked earlier this year after Lapizco attended Sundance and later visited a Los Angeles festival dedicated to Latina women filmmakers.
After that event, she and Navarro began asking a question they couldn’t shake: Was there anything like it in the Inland Empire? “We thought, do we have one in the Inland Empire? I don’t think we do,” Navarro said. “That we know of,” Lapizco added, saying they researched and didn’t find an Inland Empire film festival built as a women-centered competition with submissions and awards. Naming the festival came next. Lapizco said the word “Ella” — Spanish for “she” — emerged after she and Navarro saw a mural in Los Angeles’ Fashion District welcoming people in multiple languages. “That’s the idea, right? That’s the goal,” Lapizco said, describing a longer-term vision for signage that reflects “she” and “her” across many languages. “We haven’t gotten there yet because of funding, but we definitely will.” Navarro and Lapizco said they leaned on relationships Film Fest, cont. on next pg.
The Spirit of Christmas Was Felt at the San Bernardino Family YMCA’s 48th Annual Christmas Parade
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Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr. Inland Empire Community Newspapers Delivers Holiday Joy to Office: (909) 381-9898 Muscoy Elementary Editorial: iecn1@mac.com Students Advertising: sales@iecn.com
PHOTO DENISE BERVER Folklorico dancers making their way down Highland Avenue on Saturday, December 13th.
PHOTO DENISE BERVER San Bernardino YMCA Exec. Director Jennifer Lopez (back left) with Councilman Juan Figueroa (back right), snap a photo with Santa.
PHOTO DENISE BERVER Inland Empire 66’ers mascot Bernie enjoying the holiday vibes with a child that won tickets to a 2026 ball game.
PHOTO DENISE BERVER Arroyo Valley High School Hawk Marching Band performing at 10 AM on the streets of San Bernardino.
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