Other Venice Film Festival

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As if Los Angeles needed another film festival! We mostly agree. It’s debatable, but many historians suggest the film making in Los Angeles was born in Venice, with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, The Keystone Cops and the Little Rascals all shooting in studios and locations here. ‘Hollywood’, as we all know it, was born later with major studios taking root in mid-town Los Angeles. Over the years, filmmaking greats like Roger Corman and James Cameron based their studios in Venice. Still today, Venice is home to many industry businesses, including production, casting, sound, special effects and post houses.

We call our festival the Other Venice Film Festival, well, because there already is a Venice Film Festival – in Venice, Italy. The festival is produced by a core team but each year it comes down to awesome volunteers and strong community support.

We created the Abbot Awards® to celebrate the audience-choice awards for the best works of the year. In 2005, the Abbot Awards® were expanded to the greater Venice community to recognize Excellence in Arts and Community Service.

We are a regional festival so being a local filmmaker is a bonus. However, in recent years the festival has expanded to include national and international filmmakers. We look for compelling subject matter and good production values. The types of films that play well to a Venice crowd are as diverse as the community itself. We want filmmakers to connect with other filmmakers as well as the audience. And it wouldn’t be Venice if we all didn’t have a good time while doing it.

Werner Herzog during an audience Q&A after screening Incident at Loch Ness in 2005

In addition to screenings we have Q&As and panel discussions with filmmakers. We also feature live music, DJs and other art forms. In 2006, we featured music by DJ Martin East, jazzy quartet Johnny Nau, soul/R&B/trip hop Diacoustic, punk Soccermom, psychedelic FormOf, and an electric cellist Shaun Darius.

Every year in our main lobby in we feature local artists. One year we had  large scale mixed-media paintings by artist and actress Lori Petty. We also showcase music and have had bands perform such as Venice locals

The Mermen

SugarBitch and Bay Area greats the Mermen, as well as great sets by DJ Vordo, DJ Jean-Paul, DJ Justin Michael, DJ Wiseacre and the Terpsichore Group have shaken the walls.

Each year the festival keeps growing and growing. Typically we screen over 100 films in two Venice theaters to sold out audiences. In addition to competition features, shorts and docs, experimental films and music videos, we showcase youth filmmakers and political subject matter. To see a full list of our archives, please click here.