MADE IN VENICE is the inside story of the skateboarders of Venice, California (aka Dogtown) and the struggle to make the dream of a skatepark come true. This feature-length documentary film captures the firsthand stories and recollections of 40-plus years of skateboarding in Venice – the birthplace of modern skateboarding - that starts with the Z-Boys, and continues with its legendary street skaters, and the iconic Venice Skatepark. Never-before-seen Super-8 and early video footage, along with rare black and white stills, take you back to innovative demos on the Boardwalk and skating the walls of the Pavilion, as the Venice skaters pushed the boundaries of street skating and put it on the global map. MADE IN VENICE takes you on a rippin', shreddin' ride through the world of skateboarding in the second most visited tourist spot in SoCal, told by some of the most colorful characters you'll ever see on film.
LONG VERSION SYNOPSIS:
MADE IN VENICE is as close as you’ll come to the heartbeat of skateboarding, from its birthplace on the streets of Venice — aka “Dogtown”— to the local skateboarders who have held it up as “tradition” from the early ‘70s, and still do today. This is the documentary film that captures the firsthand stories and recollections of 40-plus years of skateboarding, from its birthplace Dogtown that started with the now-legendary Z-Boys, and continued with the street-wise skateboarders turning Pro in the 80s, to pioneering “street skating”, and to their heroic achievement – getting the Venice Beach Skatepark built.
In candid and direct interviews, MADE IN VENICE captures the stories of the Venice legends and locals – counterculture characters who offer their insider’s look back at the early days of surviving the rough streets. They lived for skateboarding, and made it into a “lifestyle.”
Never-before-seen Super-8 and early video footage, along with rare black and white stills, take you “back to the day” — from innovative demos on the Boardwalk to skating the walls of the Pavilion — as the Venice skaters pushed the boundaries of street- skating and put it on the global map.
As you’ll see, when these guys skated the graffiti covered Venice Pavilion, it was all attitude — edgy, raw, dangerous, Punk Rock infused moves and speed. This was their unquestioned “Mecca” for skateboarding. Skaters came from all over the world to “ride” the Pavilion.
In the year 2000, when a city improvement plan turned their beloved Pavilion into a pile of rubble, the skaters realized they had to band together to do what seemed impossible: To finally get a skateboard park in Venice.
MADE IN VENICE documents the skaters’ challenges. How they had to trade fists for words to fight the battles at City Hall and get their points across. They created an official organization – the Venice Skate Association (VSA) – to gain respect. But there was still plenty of bull***t politics, secret meetings and special interest groups to stand up to throughout the struggle from concept to construction. Finally, the day arrived they had all been living for – the Venice Skatepark Dedication Day – one you’ll never forget after experiencing what’s possible. No matter what odds are stacked against you!
World famous street-skate pioneer, Jesse Martinez, is featured in MADE IN VENICE, and was there every step of the way, from the dream, to the first shovel of dirt, to designing the park with a group of legendary Venice skaters, to his unforgettable speech on Dedication Day, surrounded by thousands of people from all over West Los Angeles who came to celebrate the new skatepark and the heroes who made it happen for the community.
This is no ordinary skateboard story; it’s a “heroes’ journey,” featuring some of the most unlikely heroes you’ll ever meet… on film or in life. Because not only did the skateboarders of Venice dream of, believe in, design and build their skatepark, they can be found there today, cleaning off every speck of graffiti, and teaching world-class skateboarding tricks and techniques to the next generation — the Venice skateboard pros of the future. That’s what “community” means to the skateboarders of “Dogtown.” Tradition.
MADE IN VENICE tells it like it is, authentic, right down to the grit and grind of the struggle, and awesome success, of the Venice skaters. This is the their story of how they got a multi-million dollar, world-class skatepark for their community - forever known as Dogtown and the birthplace of skateboarding - just steps away from the waves, right on Venice Beach.