Pictured: JOSIE director Jacqueline Barragan (left) and Cenicero de Dios director Celina Galicia.
Photo by Diane Sierra
Jacqueline Barragan, a relatively new filmmaker, took the $1,000 First Prize and $250 Audience Flavorite Award in the 2021 Plaza Classic Film Festival Local Flavor Awards, presented by TFCU.
Barragan received the recognition for her 18-minute documentary JOSIE, about her mother’s battle to overcome abuse.
It was the first time in the awards’ four-year history that a filmmaker took top honors and topped the audience vote.
It was also the first time in Local Flavor Awards history that female filmmakers claimed all of the honors.
The slightly mystical, Juarez-set Cenicero de Dios by Celina Galicia was selected for the $750 Second Prize.
The comical Salvandor a Salvador by Luisa Gonzalez, “loosely” based on a true story, was chosen for the $500 Third Prize.
JOSIE and Cenicero de Dios also were selected for the 2020 Femme Frontera Showcase.
Seven of the 13 selections in this year’s two Local Flavor shorts programs were either directed by or produced by women, another first for the long-running local filmmaker showcase. Both programs were held in the Abraham Chavez Theatre, as was the awards ceremony.
The James Arrabito feature film submission, I See a Darkness, was screened out of competition in the Plaza Theatre.
A total of 13 short films comprised the 2021 Local Flavor shorts programs, sponsored by the Texas Film Commission.
Seven entries were shown in Local Flavor I on July 30 in the Abraham Chavez Theatre:
• Screamless (Scream spoof), Nicholas Venecia
2:07 minutes
• Neighbor of the Year (pandemic satire), Robert Holguin
10 minutes
• You’ll Find Love (music video), Karla Armendariz
3:25 minutes
• I’ve Got the Flashdrive, from the Hit Broadway musical Vampire, Vampire, Who’s Got the Vampire (experimental), Jeremy Alice Long
4 minutes
• Once an Eagle (music video), Galen Ivey
3:50 minutes
• Can’t Have It Both Ways (music video), Jenn Garcia
8:39 minutes
• JOSIE (documentary), Jacqueline Barragan
14:04 minutes
Six titles were screened in Local Flavor II on August 6 in the ACT:
• Sweet Light (animated music video), Eric Coughanor
4:14 minutes
• Salvando a Salvador (comedy), Luisa Gonzalez
11:51 minutes
• In This Moment (music video), Jenn Garcia
4 minutes
• Lavasola (drama), Manuel Urueta
8:05 minutes
• True Love Will Find You in the End (music video), Arantza C. Shaeffer
3:20 minutes
• Cenicero de Dios (drama), Celina Galicia
14:06 minutes
James Arrabito’s 78-minute drama I See a Darkness was screened out of competition August 7 in the Plaza Theatre.
Musician-director Billy Townes’ Border Lords II was shown under the Local Flavor banner on August 6 in the Chavez Theatre. It was scheduled for the 2011 Plaza Classic Film Festival, but the screening at the El Paso Museum of Art was canceled due to a water leak.
The 2021 Local Flavor Awards were held August 8 in the Chavez Theatre, sponsored by TFCU.
Local Flavor was curated by filmmakers Zach Passero and Lucky McKee, and Plaza Classic Film Festival director Doug Pullen, program director of the El Paso Community Foundation.
Submissions for the 2022 Local Flavor showcase will open in March. Check this page for news and the submission form.
The deadline for submissions has passed. Thank you for your interest!
