Valentina
What’s it rated? PG-13
When? 2025
Where’s it showing? Friday, April 24, 7:45 p.m., at the Palm Theatre in SLO;
and Saturday, April 25, 11 a.m., and Monday, April 27, at 1:15 p.m.,
at Downtown Centre Cinemas in SLO. Tickets at slofilmfest.org.
Tatti Ribeiro directs this tale of Valentina (Keyla Monterroso Mejia), a young woman living on the El Paso-Juarez border whose life is a shambles. She’s broke, has unpaid parking tickets, and is caught in the OmniBase program—a failure to appear/failure to pay system that allows parking fees to compound, potentially leading to arrest and jail. We follow her over 48 hours as she tries to sort out her financial mess, deals with a jerky tow truck driver, and does odd jobs all around town while also meeting family obligations and petitioning the El Paso City Council on behalf of impoverished people caught in OmniBase.
What makes the film so unusual is Mejia is the only professional actor—all other people who appear are El Paso residents, and their interactions are almost entirely unscripted. The handheld camerawork and wandering feel makes Valentina seem like documentary with real and unrehearsed interactions. You really gain an understanding of what life is like in this bustling border town.
Despite grinding poverty and a repressive system, Valentina and the real-life people she meets find joy and meaning in life. The film demonstrates the potency of independent filmmaking. (in English and Spanish; 82 min.)
—Anna Starkey
This article appears in April 23 – April 30, 2026.