Dir. Teresa Suarez, Mexico, 2014, 88 min.

OC FILM FIESTA OPENING NIGHT!The 7th OC Film Fiesta presents a special Opening Night screening of ¿Que le dijiste a Dios? at the Bowers Museum featuring a tribute to Mexican music legend Juan Gabriel! Special guests include director TERESA SUAREZ and actor CARLOS YORVICK, star of the Juan Gabriel miniseries Hasta que te conocí.

¿Que le dijiste a Diós? is a musical comedy in the vein of Mama Mia that features the songs of Juan Gabriel and includes a special onscreen appearance by the music legend. This delightful film stars Erika de la Rosa (Eva La Trailera), Mark Tacher (Abismo de Pasión), Mar Contreras (High School Musical: El Desafio Mexicano) and recording star Victor Garcia.

Before the film, OC Film Fiesta teams up with Bowers' Thirsty Thursday to present a celebration featuring Happy Hour at Tangata, live music, art-making, tequila and wine tasting and access to the museum's new special exhibtion, Virgin of Guadalupe: Images in Colonial Mexico!

Presented in association with the Mexican Consulate in OC and the Bowers Museum.

Actor CARLOS YORVICK and director TERESA SUAREZ In Person!

OC FILM FIESTA FESTIVAL PASS

2016 Film Fiesta Festival Passes are $75, and gain entry and priority seating to films and festival parties, as well as discounts to special events, local restaurants and more.  Festival passes are available for purchase via EventBrite or at www.ocfilmfiesta.org.

INDIVIDUAL TICKETS AND THIRSTY THURSDAY HAPPY HOUR @ BOWERS

Individual Tickets to the Opening Night screening are $10 General for the film only.
Click Here to visit bowers.org to purchase individual tickets to the screening

Thirsty Thursday: Valle de Guadalupe Wine, tequila Tasting, Art & OC Film Fiesta Opening Night!
5p-8pm @ Tangata

Ticket Info for Thirsty Thursday:
$30 General
$20 Members
$10 Festival Pass Holders, Students & Santa Ana Residents (w/ ID). 18 and over.*
*Student tickets must be purchased in person at the Bowers or by phone at 714.567.3677. Santa Ana residents must purchase tickets in person

Click Here to visit bowers.org to purchase Thirsty Thursday tickets, which include the Happy Hour, Virgen de Guadalupe Exhibit and the 8pm screening.

8pm Screening in the  Norma Kershaw Audiitorium

9:30pm-Midnight. Afterparty at the Green Parrot Villa (across the street from the Bowers). Included with Festival Pass. $10 at the door.

2035 N. Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706
www.greenparrotvilla.com

The OC Film Fiesta is proud to present the Orange County premiere of IXCANUL (Volcano), the Guatemalan critical sensation, that is the first Guatemalan film shot entirely in a Mayan-dialect.

"This Mayan-Language Film Is The Best Thing In Theaters Right Now"

- The Huffington Post

On the slopes of an active volcano in Guatemala, a marriage is arranged for seventeen-year-old María by her Kaqchikel parents. María does not want to live in the modern world until it saves her life during a pregnancy complication.

https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/2266

Kick of Main Place's Restaurant week (Oct. 15-22) with this beautiful and powerful film! 

Presented n Kaqchikel with English subtitles.

Dir. Rene Tajima-Peña - 2016, USA, 79 min.

This important and heartbreaking documentary tells the story of Mexican immigrant women who were sterilized without their knowledge at LA county hospital during the 1970s. With the tireless help of an intrepid, 26-year-old Chicana lawyer and armed with hospital records secretly gathered by a whistle-blowing young doctor, the mothers faced public exposure and stood up to one of LA’s most powerful institutions in the name of justice. They came to have their babies. They went home sterilized. An important chronicle of an era in US health care whose effects are still being felt today.

Dir. Jorge Sanjinés, 1969, Bolivia, 70 min.

This powerful guerrilla-style film about an indigenous community that discovers a foreign aid group is sterilizing its women is credited with sparking the expulsion of the Peace Corps from Bolivia in 1971 for allegedly conducting illegal sterilization of Quechua women. A must-see for students of world and guerrilla fillmmaking and the impact of 1960s world health programs on indigenous communities.

Part of the Tribute to Jorge Sanjinés. Presented in association with Fundación Grupo Ukamau.

Dir. Jorge Sanjinés, 1966, Bolivia, 74 min.

This powerful human drama set on the banks of Lake Titicaca launched Jorge Sanjinés and Bolivia onto the international cinema scene when it screened at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. Lauded by the directors of the French New Wave, this debut feature by Sanjines is the first film to be shot in Aymara. Featuring stunning cinematography and compassion for indigenous people, Ukamau launched a revolution in Bolivian cinema that continues to this day.

Part of the Tribute to Jorge Sanjinés. Presented in association with Fundación Grupo Ukamau.

Dir. Jorge Sanjinés, 1969, Bolivia, 128 min.

Regarded as the most important film in Bolivian cinema, maestro Jorge Sanjinés’ 1989 masterwork follows the journey of Sebastián Mamani, a coffin maker in La Paz who travels back to his rural village to atone his years serving as a soldier in a brutal dictatorship by doing the Dance of Death. A profound depiction at power, corruption, resistance and redemption. Winner of the Concha de Toro prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival. In Spanish and Aymara with English subtitles.

Documentary about the restoration of the Cypress St. Mural painted by muralist and fine art painter, Emigdio Vasquez in 1979. Restoration by his son, Emigdio “Higgy” Vasquez in 2014. Directed by Katherine Bowers and Produced by Chapman University.

In Person: Muralist Emigdio Vasquez Jr. and Director Katherine Bowers.

Dir. Tadashi Nakamura - 2016, USA, 64 min.

MELE MURALS is a documentary on the transformative power of modern graffiti art and ancient Hawaiian culture for a new generation of Native Hawaiians. At the center of the story are two renowned street artists - Estria Miyashiro (aka Estria) and John Hina (aka Prime) - a group of Native Hawaiian youth, and the rural community of Waimea.

Set against the resurgence of Hawaiian language and culture of the past twenty years, Estria and Prime tell how their street art has taken them on personal journeys to discover their history, identity and responsibilities as Hawaiian people. Estria, who left Hawai'i to study art in San Francisco, made a name for himself as an internationally known graffiti artist before returning to reconnect with his Hawaiian roots. Prime, who grew up in the projects and became one of the first kings of the Honolulu graffiti scene, left a life of hustling and drugs after the birth of his first child and returned to the art when he realized it was a way to help youth.

Dir. Jorge Sandoval, USA, 2015, 60 min.

Las Tesoros de San Antonio – A Westside Story examines the personal toll and legacy of four South Texas singers of yesteryear: Rita “La Calandria” Vidaurri, Blanquita Rodriguez “Blanca Rosa”, Beatriz “La Paloma del Norte” Llamas, and Anita Janet Cortez “La Perla Tapatia.”

Dir. John J. Valadez - 2016, USA, 30 min.

The Head of Joaquin Murrieta is an insightful, irreverent and fascinating journey into the history of California that uses both fiction and documentary storytelling devices to tear open a painful and long ignored reality: the lynching of Mexican Americans in the southwest. In 1849, 19-year-old gold-miner Joaquin Murrieta blazed a four-year trail of revenge and rebellion following the theft of his land, lynching of his brother and the rape and murder of his wife by California settlers. The young Murrieta was killed by bounty hunters who cut off his head and displayed it across California in a jar, charging people a dollar to see their trophy, and enshrining Murrieta in California’s consciousness.

One hundred and sixty-two years later, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker John J. Valadez is convinced he has recovered the head, and together they embark on a quixotic, cross-country road trip through history, memory, and myth to bury the head of Joaquin Murrieta, and finally lay to rest a dark and troubled past, one that has chilling parallels with the filmmaker's own family story

See films from students in SAUSD’s media programs, including Santa Ana High School, Heninger Elementary and Valley HS.

Presented in association with SAUSD and the SanArts Conservatory.

Dir. Ricardo Arnaiz and Mike Kunkel, USA/Mexico, 98 min.

Back by popular demand, the OC Film Fiesta present an encore screening of El Americano, the family-favorite hit of last year’s festival! This animated instant classic about a young parrot named Cuco (voiced by Modern Family’s Rico Rodriguez) who must travel to Hollywood to enlist the help of his celluloid hero El Americano to save his family’s circus. Featuring Edward James Olmos, Cheech Marin, Kate del Castillo, Lisa Kudrow, Gabriel Iglesias, Adal Ramones and a children’s corrido by Los Tigres del Norte! Presented in association with Santa Ana Unified School District and the Mexican Consulate in OC.

Dir. Cecilia Domeyko - 2008, USA, 63 min.

"Code Name: Butterflies," is the first documentary to tell the powerful story of the Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic. In the 1950s, Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal, who were known by their secret name of "Butterflies," created a secret resistance movement against Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, one of the most bloodthirsty tyrants the world has ever known. When the dictator had them assassinated making it seem like an accident, the country rose up against Trujillo and a group of conspirators who had been plotting his death but had not dared to move forward, assassinated him. The courage of the Mirabals, simple wives and mothers who helped bring freedom and democracy to their country, is legendary. Today, the Dominican Republic owes much to these incredible women who were willing to sacrifice everything and to fight for what they believed in. The day of Mirabal sisters' death, November 25, has been designated by the United Nations as the "Day of Non-Violence Against Women" in their honor.

Dire, Peter Yates,1979, USA, 101 min.

Dennis Christopher captured hearts across America in the role of Dave Stoler, a small town cyclist with big time dreams of riding with the Italian racing team. Dave ponders life after high school and faces some tough life lessons with his friends in this 1979 classic. And when you consider that his friends are played by Jackie Earle Haley (The Watchmen), Daniel Stern (Home Alone) and Dennis Quaid (Great Balls of Fire!), you know it's going to be good.

A must-see celebration of cycling, being young and following your dreams.

Truth Seekers
Dir. Lani Cupchoy, 2016, USA, 21 Min.

Learn how a group of 5th graders from Montebello helped pass a bill to include the Mexican Repatriation in California textbooks. This inspiring real-life story shows that you should never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed 5th graders can change the world.

Director Lani Cupchoy will be in attendance for a Q&A.

Free Parking.

Dir. Ricardo Arnaiz and Mike Kunkel, USA/Mexico, 98 min.

Back by popular demand, the OC Film Fiesta present an encore screening of El Americano, the family-favorite hit of last year’s festival! This animated instant classic about a young parrot named Cuco (voiced by Modern Family’s Rico Rodriguez) who must travel to Hollywood to enlist the help of his celluloid hero El Americano to save his family’s circus. Featuring Edward James Olmos, Cheech Marin, Kate del Castillo, Lisa Kudrow, Gabriel Iglesias, Adal Ramones and a children’s corrido by Los Tigres del Norte! Presented in association with Santa Ana Unified School District and the Mexican Consulate in OC.

Dir. Teresa Suarez, Mexico, 2014, 88 min.

OC Film Fiesta presents a special encore screening of ¿Que le dijiste a Dios? at the Bowers Museum featuring a tribute to Mexican music legend Juan Gabriel!

¿Que le dijiste a Diós? is a musical comedy in the vein of Mama Mia that features the songs of Juan Gabriel and includes a special onscreen appearance by the music legend. This delightful film stars Erika de la Rosa (Eva La Trailera), Mark Tacher (Abismo de Pasión), Mar Contreras (High School Musical: El Desafio Mexicano) and recording star Victor Garcia.

Presented in association with the Mexican Consulate in OC.

The OC Film Fiesta is proud to present the Orange County premiere of IXCANUL (Volcano), the Guatemalan critical sensation, that is the first Guatemalan film shot entirely in a Mayan-dialect.

"This Mayan-Language Film Is The Best Thing In Theaters Right Now"

- The Huffington Post

On the slopes of an active volcano in Guatemala, a marriage is arranged for seventeen-year-old María by her Kaqchikel parents. María does not want to live in the modern world until it saves her life during a pregnancy complication.

https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/2266

Presented in Kaqchikel with English subtitles.

Dir. Trisha Ziff - 2015, Mexico, 89 min.

Attention photography fans! The 2016 OC Film Fiesta is proud to present THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH, the new Ariel Award-winning documentary about legendary Mexican photographer Enrique Metinides by Trisha Ziff, filmmaker of the phenomenal THE MEXICAN SUITCASE.

THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH is a film about fragility; about a man obsessed with photographing the accident who discovered that the fate of others was his way of connecting to life. What is it about these photographs? When the image of the accident becomes the object of desire? Through the footsteps of Metinides and the work of the contemporary tabloid photographers we discover Mexico City through a narrative of crime scenes and accidents, while we are confronted by our own fascination with death, morbidity, rubbernecking through Metinides’ gaze.

The Man Who Saw Too Much: trailer from 212BERLIN FILMS on Vimeo.

The OC Film Fiesta is proud to present SEOUL SEARCHING, the rebellious South Korean '80s internatinal teen comedy we've all been waiting for! 

Seoul, 1986. A raucous gaggle of Korean teenagers spill out of the Gimpo airport and onto buses that transport them to a location just outside the city. There, these high schoolers sent from all over the world—the U.S., Mexico, London, and Hamburg—are participating in a government-sponsored summer program to help them connect with their heritage. With a summer of partying ahead of them, they’re on a crash course to bring shame to their families, their ancestors, and their hosts—but with any luck, they might just figure out how to make friends, fall in love, and absorb some of their roots along the way.

Featuring the music of The Clash, OMD, Bow Wow Wow, The Go Gos, Madonna, Kim Wan Sun and more. In English and Korean with Subtitles.

Based on filmmaker Benson Lee’s own experience as a teenager, *Seoul Searching* pays homage to the John Hughes dramedies of the 1980s and adds its own flair of Korean drama to create a fresh, original film. With spot-on costuming, an '80s-infused soundtrack, and an exciting all-Asian cast just waiting to be discovered, *Seoul Searching* delivers an extended remix of heartfelt nostalgia, hilarity, and fun.  - Sundance Film Festival"...a tender story that’s more about the high stakes of youthful
connection than culture, proving that this universal tale
transcends borders."– LA Times

Dir. Jorge Gutierrez, 2014, USA, 98 min.

In the Mexican town of San Angel, Manolo (Diego Luna), Maria (Zoë Saldana) and Joaquin (Channing Tatum) have been friends ever since childhood. Although their lives have taken different paths -- Maria was sent to Europe, Joaquin joined the military, and Manolo studied to become a bullfighter -- one thing remains the same: Manolo and Joaquin both want to marry Maria. Little does the trio know that battling husband-and-wife deities have made a high-stakes wager on the love triangle's outcome.

Dir. Jose Maria Velasco Maidana, Bolivia, 1930, 69 min.

Don't miss this special OC Film Fiesta screening of Bolivia's sole surviving silent-era film. This timeless love story set during the Spanish conquest was thought lost for decades, but was rediscovered in 1989 and restored over the course of a decade. This fascinating film was written and directed by Jose Maria Velasco Maidana, an influential Bolivian filmmaker, composer, conductor and artist who was married to American painter Dorothy Hood; and stars important members of La Paz's early 20th Century artistic community including master painter Arturo Borda as an indigenous priest, avant-garde poet Guillermo Viscarra Fabre as an Inca leader and renowned sculptor Marina Nuñez del Prado as a young Quechua princess. Presented by Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA) in association with the Bowers Museum and the Cinemateca Boliviana.

Dir. Carlos E. Gonzáles, José Manuel Ramos y Fernando Sáyago, 1917, Mexico, 58 min.

Silent film with original live score by Camarata Santa Ana

A man (Arroyo Carrillo) is sent to Europe on a diplomatic mission. The ship in which he travels is sunk by a German submarine. In Mexico, his girlfriend Lupita (Cota) receives a telegram with the news and looks for relief in La Virgen de Guadalupe, saint patron of catholic mexicans. After reading a book about the Virgin legend, Lupita falls asleep. Next morning, she receives good news, her boyfriend is alive. Together they go to La Villa del Tepeyac (a church devoted to La Virgen de Guadalupe) and thank for the miracle.

Presented in association with the Mexican Consulate in OC, Bowers Museum and Filmoteca de la UNAM.

Dir. Carl Dreyer, 1928, France, 114 min.

Join us for an eclectic evening of art, music and Film Noir at the Bowers Museum. We will be screening the 1928 silent film 'La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc' with a live score mix of chant, string quartet and electronic percussion. Before the performance begins, catch a pre-show lecture about the making of the film and explore our special exhibition Virgin of Guadalupe: Images in Colonial Mexico. Enjoy a delicious dinner presented by Tangata or just sip on some wine! It’s Halloween weekend so, Film Noir costumes are welcomed and encouraged!