Fist Up Film Festival: Opening Night – Honoring Our Ancestors (Short Films)

16th Annual Fist Up Film Festival 2025

Opening Night: Honoring Our Ancestors (Short Films)

Wednesday, October 1st, 2025 | La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley, CA

The Fist Up Film Festival returns for its 16th year at La Peña Cultural Center! This volunteer-led, 100% POC-run festival presents films that connect global and local struggles, amplify marginalized voices, and create space for dialogue, solidarity, and community action.

Admission is free with suggested donations, ensuring everyone has access to the power of film.

Doors 6:30 PM | Screening 7:00 PM with post-film community discussion to follow.
Please note: RSVP does not guarantee you a seat. Seating is first come, first served, so we encourage you to arrive early!

✨ Come early to order food and drinks from Los Cilantros Restaurant next door and grab the best seat!

FILMS THAT HONOR OUR ANCESTORS:

We Still Love Here + Q&A with Director Sean Havey and Producer Andres Cediel

“We Still Love Here” is a short documentary told through the eyes of die-hard fans, capturing the final home game of the Oakland A’s in intimate detail. As Oakland bids farewell to its last pro team, the film reflects on the Coliseum as a refuge—a place where the city’s diverse community came together to celebrate baseball, belonging, and “The Town” itself.

Painted Ones - Directed by Julia Nacario

An Oakland-based Bisaya tattoo artist rediscovers and unlocks indigenous Filipino histories through ink. The film was created out of an abundance of love for my Visayan culture and its people. In pre-colonial Philippines, tattooing was an integral part of self-identification and status amongst the Visayan people. Today, 500 years after the Spanish colonized what they dubbed “Las Islas de los Pintados”, many Filipinos have lost touch with this prolific tattoo tradition of nearly 4,000 years. PAINTED ONES sets out to explore modern ways Visayan people and their descendants can recover their roots with authenticity, learning, and care against a history of cultural erasure.’

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1057628549?fl=pl&fe=vl

Standing Above the Clouds (Short) + Q&A with Director Jalena Keane-Lee & Producer Amber Espinosa-Jones

Hawaiians, including Pua Case and her daughters, protest the construction of telescopes on the sacred Mauna Kea, highlighting the environmental and cultural impact, while showcasing the resilience of their movement and sisterhood.

Trailer :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_TFxgSbnvc

Hija de Florinda (Florinda's daughter) - Directed by Shenny De Los Angeles & Amanda Morell (iiritu)

hija de Florinda is a poetic offering, meditating on the spiritual connection between protecting the land and protecting our children. Set in the Florida Everglades, a young Naomi learns from her grandmother how to nurture nature's grief with the ancestral practice of controlled burns. Integrating archival footage of Black Dominican Farmer and Abolitionist Mama Tingo's (Florinda) history, this film invites us to mourn with Mother Earth as she calls in all of her children.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1067567941?fl=pl&fe=vl

Boat People - Directed by Kjell Boersma & Thao Lam

As a child in Vietnam, Thao’s mother often rescued ants from bowls of sugar water. Years later they would return the favour. BOAT PEOPLE is an animated documentary that uses a striking metaphor to trace one family’s flight across the turbulent waters of history.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/806780124?fl=pl&fe=sh

We Are Taino - Directed by Emmanuel Phillips

Follow Maekiaphan, a Taino woman from the U.S. Virgin Islands on her journey to reclaim her Taino heritage and to become the first woman Kasike (chief) of the Taino tribe.

We will also have #MakeItBay present to talk to us about thier exciting work!

About Fist Up Film Festival

Welcome to The 16th Annual Fist Up Film Festival! We believe watching a good film can change your life…We believe some films are made to be discussed…

Join us October 1st - 5th in Berkeley, California. We believe that Social Justice films don't have to make the audience feel horrible about the state of the world. We focus on uplifting stories that show our power!

Check out the program and RSVP for each night: Lapena.info/FistUp (case-senstive)

Volunteer at La Peña

Sign up to volunteer and enjoy free entry plus snacks and refreshments! Shifts are designed to be manageable, so you’ll still have plenty of time to experience the event, enjoy the program, and connect with the community. Your support helps make these events possible!

Sign up to Volunteer: Lapena.info/volunteer

Accessibility

We strive to make La Peña a welcoming, accessible space for everyone. If you have any specific needs or questions about accessibility, please contact us at least one week in advance, and we’ll do our best to accommodate. Email us at info@Lapena.org

• La Peña is a wheelchair-accessible venue with step-less entry, wide doorways, and accessible restrooms.
• Masks are strongly encouraged. If you’re experiencing COVID-19, cold, or flu-like symptoms, please consider staying home to protect our community. HEPA air purifiers operate throughout our space.
• All-gender restrooms available

Getting to La Peña

• Public Transit: The 18 bus line stops directly across the street (Shattuck & Woolsey), and Ashby BART is just two blocks away.
• Parking: Free street parking is available, or park at the Ashby BART station for a fee.
• Bike-Friendly: Bike racks are available outside our cultural center

Questions?

Contact us at programs@Lapena.org or visit www.Lapena.org