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“The Long Valley” shines a light on Salinas agriculture community

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MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The Salinas Valley's agriculture and immigrant community are in the spotlight at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

"The Long Valley," a 13-minute documentary short film, was selected for the festival as one of the 57 shorts selected out of more than 11,000 submissions. Many involved in the project are locals from Monterey County and alumni of CSU Monterey Bay Cinematic Arts and Technology program.

The film focuses on the daily lives of immigrant workers who work as the backbone of one of the state's most vital agriculture regions. Those behind the project say they wanted to highlight them and the landscape of Salinas Valley.

“I feel it shows really nice our culture as hard workers, as an immigrant who come to another country to look for a better future and how they live here, but also dreaming for what it is for the future in their life and the past," "The Long Valley" executive producer Ana Sanchez said.

The team is honored to be selected for the annual film festival. After the first showing at Sundance, the team plans to hold a screening on the Central Coast.

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Sergio Berrueta

Sergio Berrueta has been in the news for quite awhile going from studying print media to entering the realm of broadcast.

Originally from Bell Gardens, California, in Southeast Los Angeles. Berrueta started his professional news career in Eureka as a newscast producer for North Coast News (now The Northstate’s News) at KAEF ABC 23 in 2022. He pivoted a year later in 2022 going from behind-the-scenes to in front of the camera as a multimedia journalist for Redwood News Channel 3 (KIEM/KVIQ) also in Eureka.

Berrueta studied journalism at Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt) earning his Bachelor’s Degree. Berrueta was a staff writer, page editor, social media manager and editor-in-chief of the university’s El Lenador, the only bilingual publication in all of Humboldt County.

Before moving to the North Coast, Berrueta had earned his Associate’s Degree at East Los Angeles College in 2019 after beginning his educational journey in 2012. He also was on staff for the ELAC’s publication, ELAC Campus News, having been a staff writer, page editor, and online editor.

Outside of news experience, Berrueta has also been in education as an AmeriCorps tutor in East Hollywood from 2017 to 2019 and served in a government role as a National Hometown Fellow for Lead for America with the City of Arcata in 2021.

When not focusing on news, Berrueta is an avid amateur cinephile having written about films in free time. He also writes poetry, attempting to get through a backlog of video games, enjoys visiting new places along the California Coast, and trying to keep up with the latest music and podcasts.

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