OPENING NIGHT EVENT

The 2026 American Documentary and Animation Film Festival will kick off its 15th annual event with the screening of several shorts featuring stories about music (musicians) and dance (dancer). The films and live performances are set for the Camelot Theatres at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, Palm Springs, Thursday, March 25, 6 pm, noted AmDocs Director and Founder, Teddy Grouya.

Our 2026 event will showcase some inspiring and socially relevant films, complimented by some musical performances, featuring:

Sheila del Bosque Fuentes is a multi-award-winning Cuban flutist, conductor, composer, and educator. As a conductor, she has served as Assistant Conductor of the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra and has worked with the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile. She was selected as a 2024 Carlos Miguel Prieto Conducting Fellow with the Orchestra of the Americas and a 2025 Conducting Fellow at the National Orchestral Institute and Festival (NOI+F). She is currently a conductor with YOLA (Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles) and founder of The New Way Orchestra, an initiative advancing equity, innovation, and cross-genre collaboration in classical music. She has led orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, and Buffalo Philharmonic in masterclass settings.

Ariss Janae Durazo is an accomplished local singer/songwriter based out of the Coachella Valley area. She found her love for singing very early on in life. At just 13-years-old she became a lead for a 30-piece jazz band, and from there developed her own powerful vocal style performing with various bands over the years. Ariss has now progressed to performing at events and venues like the NAMM show, the BNP Paribas, the Acrisure Arena, and very recently sang the National Anthem at the nationally televised 2025 Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix. She has sung for icons like American actor Frankie Avalon, Glenn Frey of the Eagles, and is presently also a backup singer for Patrice Morris of the iconic vocal group “The 5th Dimension”. Ariss’ versatile background in music has allowed her to grow in all genres as a vocalist, and right now she is a lead vocalist alongside American Idol singer Jared Yates in their new cover band called “Radio Ready” that performs all throughout Southern California. For Ariss, singing is her passion, a beautiful way of expression, a way to bring people together, and when she performs she hopes to do just that.

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