The 14th OC Film Fiesta finds a home for this year’s ‘amazing lineup’

For the past 13 years, the annual OC Film Fiesta has taken place all around Orange County.

“We started in 2010 with the focus of celebrating the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution of 1901,” said Victor Payan, director of Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA) and founder of the OC Film Fiesta. “So we had a lot of films about Mexico and the revolution, but from around the world, and from that we have gone on to showcase different cultures that are in Orange County.”

Touted as “the premier cinematic celebration of the nation’s diversity and multicultural heritage” and presented by MASA, the 14th OC Film Fiesta takes place virtually and in-person from Oct. 12 to 29, featuring films from Mexico, Argentina, Valenzuela, Italy, Spain, Greece, Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and Taiwan.

“In previous years we have also had films from Bolivia and Central America, from North Africa, so it is always exciting and fun,” said Payan. “These are films you are not really going to see anywhere but here. If you are looking for refreshing international films that are not Hollywood films, we have a really great selection.”

This year’s Film Fiesta includes everything from features, shorts, documentaries and experimental films dealing with human stories, comedy, artist profiles, history, rock music, surfing, police brutality, immigration and refugees.

“We received a record number of entries from around the world this year, and we are excited to once again offer an amazing lineup of independent films that truly deliver on representing Orange County,” Payan said.

The film fest will start rolling with the California premiere of Mexican director Ricardo Arnaiz’s new film “Héroes” on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7pm at the AMC Orange 30 cinemas. “Héroes” tells the story of a group of students from the Chapultepec Castle Military Academy, known as the Niños Héroes, as they face an invading army in 1847 during the Mexican-American War. It’s the first live-action film from the Mexican animation pioneer.

While the first film of the fiesta screens at AMC, many of the events will take place at Media Arts Santa Ana’s new venue that opened last year, Tele Visions & Giga Bytes, located at 1666 N. Main in Santa Ana.

“TVGB’s is a digital makers space, and this is the second year we are having the festival in our space,” said Payan. “It is centrally located, 17th and Main, close to the Bowers, close to Santa Ana College.”

With an acronym modeled after New York’s famous punk movement venue CBGB, TVGB opened last June as a home for MASA’s educational programs and festival screenings. The space will allow MASA to put down roots in a way that will foster more community growth.

“It gives us a lot more freedom to program more events where people can come and really be a hub of activity,” said Payan.

Payan said they have plans to expand the space with an art gallery opening next month.

“We‘re opening a new gallery right next door in November called MASARTE, which is us because we are MASA, but it also means ‘more art’ in Spanish,” Payan said.

OC Film Fiesta is made possible by support from the California Arts Council and Dreamocracy in America. MASA is a project of the nonprofit Community Partners, and proceeds from the film festival benefit MASA’s free media arts programs for youth and adults.

“TVGB has year-round programming, so coming to our festival will connect you to year-round free and low-cost classes,” said Payan. “We do film-making, Garage Band, podcasting, we have a 35-foot green screen … We have video game developers that meet there, a songwriters showcase. So it is really a great chance to see our space and see how community members can interface with us and learn or create multimedia or digital art.”

Each Friday evening during the Fiesta, events are planned for TVGB, like a Friday, Oct. 13, screening of Arnaiz’s popular Spanish language 2007 animated feature “La leyenda de la Nahuala.”

Payan is also expecting a good turn out for the Friday, Oct. 20, screening of “It’s Gonna Blow!!! - San Diego’s Music Underground 1986-1996,” which focuses on a time period when San Diego was touted as “the next Seattle.”

“It is a documentary chronicling the legendary San Diego rock scene of the ’80s and ’90s,” said Payan.

Film lovers can find festival passes, which provide priority admission to all festival screenings and events, for $75 at ocfilmfiesta2023.eventive.org. A Virtual Only pass is available for $50.

“We are super affordable and a lot of our screenings are free,”Payan said. “The accessibility is important to us.”

A full schedule of screenings can also be found at the website.

“There is something for everybody,” said Payan.