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The Venice Heritage Museum (VHM) announces the 3rd Annual Venice Heritage Museum Film Festival following two consecutive years of sold out events.

The single day, outdoor festival takes place on Saturday, October 20th from 7-9 PM at the Venice Heritage Museum (228 Main Street, Venice, CA 90291).  Tickets on sale HERE.

“The Venice Heritage Museum is excited to continue our annual Film Festival, especially following last year’s enthusiastic response from our community,” says museum manager Anthony Carfello. “This year, we’ll once again bring together a wide range of perspectives and stories from Venice that each present a different portrait of the same place.”

The event will feature filmmakers such as Joshua Enoch Williams (introduced by Gerry Fialka), Sarah Niemann, and Stanley Mitchell.  Food for sale will be provided by festival sponsors Zavalas Pies, All Chill Ice Cream and Davy Jones Liquor Locker.

All proceeds from the VHM Film Festival directly benefit the Venice Heritage Museum’s programming and free admission policy. Since opening in March 2024, the museum has been dedicated to preserving, nurturing, and celebrating stories of Venice’s diverse cultural heritage through initiatives such as Community Archives, the annual Film Festival, and the flagship comprehensive Oral History Project that captures the experiences of long-time locals. The museum serves as a dynamic platform for Venice’s living history.

 

FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM (more details TBA)

WADE IN THE WATER: (short version) by David Mesfin

Wade in the Water: A Journey into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture (2023) Braiding historical accounts with modern-day testimonials, this film dismantles the racial barriers of conventional surf culture, delves into the overlooked history of Black surfing’s legacy, and honors its current movement.

David Mesfin is a director, writer, and producer who was born in Ethiopia and grew up in St. Augustine, FL, where he was immersed in local surf culture. After moving to the West Coast to study at Cal State Long Beach, he connected with a community of Black surfers that introduced him to the historical context of surfing in Africa, spawning the creative inspiration and community-based collaborations that have bloomed into Wade in the Water.

IN VENICE: (selections from trilogy will screen) by Sarah Niemann and Svenja Albers

“In Venice (2022) is a series of three short portraits that follows the lives of Myriah, Terrell and Solayman,” the directors explain. “Their individual stories are tied together by their mutual deep connection to Venice. A unique and colorful place that serves as a creative space and emotional outlet for many.”

Sarah Niemann is a director based in Berlin and Los Angeles, highlighting authentic human stories with a strong focus on environmental themes.

VENICE AMERICA: by Stanley Mitchell

(2024) Stanley Mitchell is a documentarian and lifelong resident of Venice.  Collecting several years’ worth of archival footage, this film considers the many changes faced by Venice’s Oakwood community over the last three decades.

THE SOUND OF PAINT (excerpt) by Joshua Enoch Williams

(2024) Produced over the course of 15 years, this documentary film chronicles the life and work of Venice artist Vincent DiGaetano.

The filmmaker, Joshua Enoch Williams, studied photography at the San Francisco Art Institute and has been an L.A. County lifeguard for 20 years.

WHERE HAS ALL THE (AFFORDABLE) HOUSING GONE? by Judy Branfman

(2024) The film was produced as part of an exhibition and program series with the same title, featured at Venice’s Beyond Baroque in 2023. Branfman demonstrates through data and people’s stories how the Venice community has lost much of its affordable housing stock.

Judy Branfman is an artist, filmmaker, writer, and research scholar at UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment.

Additional screenings will include:

Selections from the VHM archive highlighting the Venice Boardwalk in the 1980s and 1990s, and Venice as a destination, as presented in Video Postcard: GREETINGS FROM VENICE (1986), THE ACTS OF VENICE BEACH (1997), and VENICE, CALIFORNIA USA: BARRON’S TRAVEL VIDEOMAGAZINE (1993).

Curated selections of Venice shown on film and video throughout the twentieth century, starting with Charlie Chaplin in Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914) will also be part of the evening’s presentation.

Venice Heritage Museum online:

About the Venice Heritage Museum

The Venice Heritage Museum (VHM)’s mission is to preserve, showcase, and nurture Venice’s diverse historical legacy. The museum gives visitors to Venice the opportunity to experience stories, collections, and archives from one of the country’s most culturally rich and innovative communities: Venice, California. Venice’s accepting and progressive past is on display, highlighting both well-known and more obscure stories and showcasing their relevance to the Venice of today.

 

About the Venice Heritage Foundation

The Venice Heritage Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded for the specific purpose of building Venice’s first-ever museum, which opened to the public in March 2024. The Foundation’s multigenerational volunteer Board of Directors shares a passion for the preservation of Venice’s past and present.

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