Microcinema

Our Microcinema features a curated selection of films created by Venice Arts' students, who make documentary, personal, and narrative works, primarily in short-short forms (3-5 minutes). They have also written and produced a 20-minute documentary short, an 8-part web series, animations and experimental films. 

How does a summer film workshop become a 'force for change' for a teenager?

Watch Leo's journey from angry young man to filmmaker and photographer.

personal stories

A young immigrant contemplates leaving the only home she's known to return to her country of birth  (Home Town); a family talks about how making art helps their autistic children (Adrian and Alejandra); a transgender teenager discusses her transition (Phoenix); a young man narrates the story of his family’s trek from Mexico to the United States (Once in a Lifetime); a girl communicates with her deceased mother (Daughter's Last Wish), and a teen explores her relationship with her brother, who has autism (Dear Jason).

documentary | community journalism

See the Venice community from a new perspective in these short docs exploring the community's history (Venice Streets), black surfers (Breakline), Boardwalk performers (Voices of Venice), Pier fisherman (Right Here, on Venice Pier), and longtime residents and gentrification (Ghost Town). Watch the trailer for a 30-minute coming of age documentary about an African-American ballet dancer coping with a host of challenges as she prepares for a major global competition (Lotus).

Animation & Experimental Film

Explore the transformative power of music (Happiness is a Leaf), Venice dogs voiced by their owners (Dogs of Venice), and a strange virus that only affects bullies in these three animated shorts (Billy Virus).

Narrative Films

Delve into the power of dreams (Daydream Believer), a mysterious ghost story in the Santa Monica Mountains (Solistice Canyon), and the story of a young Latino actor typecast by producers (No Soy) in these short narrative films scripted, directed, and edited by our students,

pushing buttons web series

This eight-episode web series, written directed and produced  by teens in our Advanced Film Workshop, follows a young music producer's meteoric rise from high school student to high-profile performer. After a humiliating public meltdown and arrest brings her career to a screeching halt, Amanda has no choice but to take an honest look at her family and to discover who she truly is.