“We are underserved by film festivals and other cultural organizations,” said Brenda Avila-Hanna. “We are a filmgoing community, and we deserve a good festival.”

Avila-Hanna is a board member for Watsonville Film Festival (WFF), an event and non-profit organization that highlights films directed by Latinx filmmakers. Their 13th annual film festival is currently running from March 6–25, with over 40 different films will be shown in theaters across the Central Coast, from Santa Cruz to Salinas. 

WFF began as a grassroots collective in 2012 dedicated to collecting and presenting narratives surrounding the local, majority Latinx, community. Now, 13 years later, WFF has grown into a non-profit organization that offers year-round programming such as the film festival and Watsonville’s annual Día de Muertos festival. 

Included amongst this year’s lineup are multiple award-nominated films including “The Long Valley,” directed by Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. WFF also features multiple films by UC Santa Cruz alums. 

“I was about to quit filmmaking two years ago because of my experience being a Latina filmmaker and not really feeling part of the conversation,” said Viviana Raker, director of “El Rancho de Pasión” and ‘24 UCSC graduate. “My senior year, I got more involved in other local projects, in the Watsonville Film Festival, and that’s where I got my spark back, because of that community.”

According to WFF’s website, only 4.5 percent of on-screen characters in the past 10 years have been Latinx. In addition, Latinx directors represent less than five percent of directors overall. 

“Latinos make up a huge percentage of moviegoers, but, when it comes to representation on the screen and behind the screen, the numbers lack a lot,” said Hector Aguila, WFF programs director. “We want to show and tell stories by the community for the community … because one of our goals as a film festival is to break the stereotypes and break any stigma around our community.”

Of particular focus during this year’s film festival is the 1985 Watsonville Cannery Strike, which is, according to the City of Watsonville, “one of the most significant battles for economic and social justice in the history of Santa Cruz County.” The strike consisted of over 1,000 mostly Mexicana and Chicana workers and lasted 18 months. This event fundamentally altered the economic and political landscape of Watsonville and led to the election of Watsonville’s first ever Latino mayor in 1991.

This year is the 40-year anniversary of the Watsonville Cannery Strike, and, in celebration, WFF included the 1989 documentary “Watsonville on Strike,” directed by Jon Silver, as part of its programming. In addition to the documentary screenings, a cannery strike photo exhibit is currently on display at the Watsonville Public Library until May 30, along with a strike commemoration panel on March 15.

“We had such a huge demand for the ‘Watsonville on Strike’ film that we booked a second showing, and that was sold out within the weekend,” Aguila said. “There’s so much history here in Watsonville, from the farmworker strikes to the cannery strikes. It’s been 40 years since, and people are still showing up and passionate. It’s a part of history that needs to be told.”

Through providing a platform to Latinx filmmakers and highlighting films that tell stories of the surrounding community, Watsonville Film Festival hopes to carve out a space for Latinx voices to be heard. 

“We’re not making these films to please the powers that be or the systems that have not been very kind to us,” Avila-Hanna said. “We’re making this art for ourselves, and that is why it’s so important, because we have us. It’s a place where we can see each other in community.”

WFF’s online schedule provides a detailed list of programming, including the availability of future screenings.