Los Angeles is often seen as the place to launch a filmmaking career, but Castro Valley is making its own mark. This past weekend, The Chabot Theater hosted their fourth annual Locals Only Short Film Festival, showcasing talent from across the Bay Area.

The two-night festival provides a rare and unique opportunity for aspiring filmmakers, allowing anyone to submit a short film regardless of their filmmaking expertise. There’s only one rule to enter: you must be a Bay Area resident, or you must have made your short film in the Bay Area.

“The Locals Only Short Film Festival is the physical expression of our mission and vision, which is to provide a space that our local community can engage with the Bay Area filmmaking community,” said Alex Largusa, The Chabot’s executive director.

Dozens of locally produced short films screened across several blocks. The festival dedicated its first night to music videos, while the second night consisted of narrative short films, both live-action and animated.

The Chabot introduced an additional block this year, titled “Students Only,” containing short films created by students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

“A lot of our student submissions are hyperlocal… and Castro Valley is a family town. If our community is predominantly families, we want to serve that demographic,” Largusa said.

Each festival block concluded with a filmmaker Q&A session and a small award ceremony, with categories such as Audience’s Choice and The Marquee Award, the most prestigious award of the festival.

The Marquee Award winner for the adult narrative block was “The Recipe,” directed by Oakland native Natalia Delgado, in her directorial debut, and written and produced by San Francisco native Emma Faun Ferguson.

The short film centers around a woman refusing to share a recipe with her friend, sparking a heated argument between them. Ferguson felt inspired to write the film based on the intricacies of her own female friendships.

“In my experience, there are a lot of passive-aggressive things happening, and there’s a lot buried that doesn’t get talked about, so I wanted to explore that in this one setting,” Ferguson said.

Delgado felt drawn to the emotional subtlety of the script, stating, “There are a lot of things left unsaid, but then there’s the [friends] coming back to [the thought of], ‘Let’s remember we all love each other. It’s not that serious.’”

Delgado believes the most compelling short films are rooted in personal experiences, further suggesting it provides a strong creative foundation for beginner filmmakers.

“A lot of the filmmakers [tonight] mentioned lived experiences… and I feel if you’re going to write, direct, or produce your first project, I think it’s important for it to be personal,” she said.

Largusa considered this year’s festival to be another success, and confirmed that planning is underway for Locals Only 2026 next August.

Largusa also encourages anyone to make a short film, emphasizing that the collaborative nature of making a film, along with the chance of screening it at Locals Only, allow local artists to develop a stronger connection with each other and the Bay Area community at large.

“Just make it! That’s the biggest step. Don’t make it for the festival, make it for you. Make it because you want to make it. Make it because you need to make it,” Largusa passionately stated.

“I think creating is integral to human thriving, and to celebrate that is wonderful for us,” he added.