We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Beurois. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt below.

Matt, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The Yucca Valley Film Festival appears to be a win-win. For any filmmaker or artist who seeks to stand, being a part of it is a win as our rooms are full of people!

It is also a win for the local community, on several levels: the festival puts the Town on the map for hundreds of filmmakers every year, and for every edition, we have between 50 and 110 filmmakers flocking into town. They participate in the festival, but they also enjoy the local restaurants, bars, stay in local hotels, and discover how dynamic and alive our part of the Mojave Desert is.

Matt, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We started producing the Yucca Valley Film Festival in 2018, the first edition took place in 2019. Then in our second year… Covid hit! At that time, one of our other events, the Paris Art and Movie Awards, was facing the same challenge, and our teams had produced an amazing interactive, international digital edition. We used that successful experience and all the necessary tools to produce two massive digital editions of the YVFF, in 2020 and 2021. That allowed us to reach more than 20,000 viewers each year… We wouldn’t have had a big enough room to make it in person!
Last year, we came back for an in-person event, and we could feel a strong appetite for our program of events. The local community showed up in numbers, and for the filmmakers who were struggling to find a real festival to present their latest work, the YVFF was the place to be.
This year, we received more film submissions than any other year, and we are going to celebrate our 5th anniversary edition with a bang!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

As a filmmaker myself, I know that one of the first steps to make an independent movie is to find a location. After you make short films in your kitchen and your backyard, you start renting studios, places, anything you can.

When I am producing movies today, my first thought is: a movie is an opportunity for on screen promotion. So why not go to the small towns, middle sized cities, and work with local governments to make your film useful to their tourism needs?

If your movie can serve others, others might help you create your movie.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Back 10 years ago, there were 5,000 film festivals in the world, and most of them were very independent, small events. If you made it to a festival, you would stand out because festivals were the main quality stamp. Today, there are more than 13,000 film festival events listed worldwide. The offer got diluted, and I believe the number of real in-person festivals has shrunk dramatically.
The Yucca Valley Film Festival is a community event, serving its community and showcasing everything we offer here in the Hi-Desert. But it has also become a place to be, especially for the L.A based filmmakers who are looking for a creative space to help them grow.
It is a great place to be at, and we are trying to fulfill this mission every year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yuccavalleyfilmfestival.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yuccavalleyfilmfestival/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yuccavalleyfilmfestival
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyYuccaValley
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yuccavalleyfilmfestival/videos
• Other: https://filmfreeway.com/YuccaValleyFilmFestival

Image Credits
Sandra Goodin, Auregan, Ton Windeknecht, Matt Beurois.