10 Years of Fearless Voices: The Femme Frontera Film Festival Returns to El Paso

A Decade of Bold Storytelling on the Border

Ten years. Ten years of uplifting the voices that get drowned out, sidelined, or simply never given a seat at the table. The Femme Frontera Film Festival is celebrating a milestone decade, and this year's 10th Annual festival promises to be its most powerful yet.

Running June 11 through 14, 2026, at the Mexican American Cultural Center (201 W. Franklin Ave.), Femme Frontera is bringing together filmmakers, storytellers, and community members for four days of cinema that challenges, moves, and inspires.

What Makes Femme Frontera Different

There are several wonderful film festivals in El Paso but this one is a bit more than just a film festival. It's a platform built on a belief: that the stories told by women and gender-expansive filmmakers from the U.S.-Mexico border deserve to be heard, celebrated, and supported.

"The Femme Frontera Film Festival is a platform for the voices too often unheard," said Co-Director Jackie Barragan. "We believe now is the time to come together as a community to amplify underrepresented voices while celebrating the art of cinema in order to spark dialogue, challenge perspectives and inspire change."

Highlights from the 2026 Festival

This year's program is stacked. Local filmmakers Daniella Balarezo and Hannah Hollandbyrd, recipients of the 2025 Femme Frontera Film Grant, will be showcasing their film La Chingada. The inaugural Femme Frontera Fellowship, backed by the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, and the Wallace Foundation, will feature a public pitching event where three selected fellows present their projects to both audiences and industry professionals. This year's fellows are Mizar Martin (Tijuana, Baja California, México), Naomi Castañeda (El Paso, TX), and Jacqueline Baylon (Chihuahua, México/Santa Teresa, New Mexico).

Courtesy of Femme Frontera

A special screening of Traces of Home, a documentary by Palestinian/Mexican filmmaker Colette Ghunim, will be followed by a live conversation with the director. The film follows Ghunim as she takes her parents back to find the ancestral homes in Mexico and Palestine that they fled decades earlier. It is an unflinching meditation on displacement, identity, and the meaning of belonging.

Rounding out the weekend are workshops, including a Stop Motion Workshop and a Rapid Response and Community Care Workshop, filmmaker panels, and events celebrating Pride Month.

Courtesy of Femme Frontera

El Paso, This One Is For Us

There is something deeply fitting about Femme Frontera calling El Paso home. This city exists at a crossroads, shaped by cultures, histories, and people who have always had to fight to be seen and heard. Femme Frontera was born from that same spirit.

Whether you are a filmmaker, a cinephile, or simply someone who believes great stories can change the world, this festival is calling your name.

For tickets and more information, visit femmefrontera.org.