Giving Tuesday! Be A Part Of 90291: VENICE UNZIPPED

Today is "Giving Tuesday", when you get hit up for your end of the year charitable donations. As all of the holiday frenzy begins and the year 2018 is coming to a close, it's a good thing to stop and reflect and think about ways we can all give. It's almost become a trite saying now, that it's better to give than to receive, but that feeling of helping someone else in some - ANY - way, really is what it's all about. I've never been that comfortable asking for help, but then I think about the homeless problem and all the ways that they all NEED help, and I can suck it up myself to try to help them/us. Because as we all know in Venice, it really does affect us all.

90291: VENICE UNZIPPED has been shooting all over Venice the past month, which means we've used up most of our fundraising so far, and need more to continue telling our Venice stories by shooting more, editing, and marketing it to get it out there. And it's gonna be GOOD. I've laughed. I've cried. I've been outraged. I've been inspired. I've been encouraged. I've been moved ... and all of that is just from watching as we film. It's going to be something else once it's up  on the screen.  Everyone will be able to see and feel themselves and their communities worldwide, as this income inequality problem is everywhere - and doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.

Affordable housing and the homeless crisis are hot button issues these days in Venice, and there's a lot of complaining about it, without many solutions being offered up by the complainers. I wrote about the VNC meeting with the Rose project being discussed last week, taking no real side on it, because I'm not sure housing just a few families makes much of a dent in the problem, but I do know that something simply MUST be done.

One charming gentleman (I'm dripping in sarcasm here) called me a "Silicon Beach girl" on the Venice Community Facebook page for my efforts, which tells me that people often really have no idea what they're talking about, and should maybe just zip it until they do have some understanding on any given topic. I'm still fuming about that one a little bit, as I can't stand that lame (mainly real estate developer) term, and everyone who knows me knows it. But you still have to speak your truth to power, and do that the best that you can.

So, I'm here, asking if readers might like to contribute toward our making the film that I truly believe will share with the world what is happening with the art and artists of Venice ... and how we can make sure that this place remains something special.

You'll meet our artist families ... one homeless, one in transition, and one doing great, as well as hearing from members of our community that make the place still one of the most interesting and eclectic places on the globe (indeed, in walking around on the Boardwalk and Abbot Kinney you mainly hear foreign tongues, so everyone from everywhere seems to know and love our Venice). You'll be a fly on the wall at contentious Town Hall meetings, where you can really see where priorities tend to line up according to one's fiscal standing, rather then their humanity. You'll learn about Venice history, and how we got here. You'll see the absolute squalor that some of our community lives in, and also see the events that make the very same town radiate with joy and fun. You'll see it all, the awful AND the wonderful.

We need funds to continue telling these crucial stories. We need funds to live on also, as none of the principal members of the production team have taken any salary on this project this entire year, doing other odd freelance things to keep ourselves going the best we can while doing this absolute passion project. We all feel that income inequality is THE issue of our time, and we want to try to do something about it. Once people are talking about an issue, traction builds, and that tends to become action. That is our goal for this film.

If you are able, please go to our IDA (International Documentary Association) page and make an end of year tax deductible donation to this, we feel, very worthy cause. This is the story of this time and place in Venice, and ALL of the people who make up this last beach community of color, this place where art meets crime/eviction, and this place that lives in our hearts, now and always.

We can't wait for you to take part in, and to ultimately see our vision for 90291: VENICE UNZIPPED come to fruition with your help. Thank you for your consideration!


DONATE HERE!

Leaning Into The Wind - The Art Of Andy Goldsworthy

If the world has been wearing you down, and you need something that is pure loveliness to watch, do check out Leaning Into The Wind, a documentary about the art of Andy Goldsworthy.

Goldsworthy sees our world in a completely unique and beautiful way. His work is always about our relationship with nature, whether out in a forest or right in the middle of a city (where I'm fully going to do the Goldsworthy trick of laying down on the pavement to leave your shape behind, if it ever rains again in Los Angeles!).

I had just been to the concert for Pathway To Paris the night before I saw this wonderful doc, so the environment and its endangerment were stuck in my frontal lobe as I sat down to watch. Patti Smith read a poem about our connection to this planet, and ended it by saying, "Nature gives us everything." Watching Leaning Into The Wind put an exclamation point on that statement, in an unforgettable way.

Some people just have a different way of viewing life, and Goldsworthy is one of them. He poses the question of why do we take the road, when we could go through the hedge? The flow of people through a city is like a river, and you can feel our past and present - and future - unite, if only you take the time to stop and think, and truly FEEL.

This film was a beautiful escape from what we think of as the "real world", into what truly IS real - Nature. Check it out. Let's talk. Let's feel. Let's save this beautiful Earth.

Leaning Into The Wind (2018) is available now on ITunes.

Venice Families Needed!

Back to school! Back to business! And that means we're shifting into high gear with 90291: VENICE UNZIPPED. Everyone is coming back from Summer holidays and lazy days, and we're making a BIG casting push to find the right families to tell their stories about living in Venice within different income brackets - and the time is now, as we're about to commence filming this month.

You've probably seen the flyers up all over town ... We still need a lower income/possibly homeless family, a middle class (whatever that means anymore, and that is part of what we're exploring), and a wealthy 1% type family, all sharing the same community. We'd like them all to have kids, and now that school is back in session, to see how they different backgrounds affect the young ones as well.

Ideally, the families would love Venice like we do, understand how special this place is, and want to live here for that reason. Venice is a creative vortex, so really, may the best background stories win!

Income inequality is really THE topic of our times, in my opinion, and obviously contributes to the vast homeless crisis that Los Angeles as a whole is currently embroiled in. We want to hear from real Venice people, and hopefully come up with solutions together.

Please helps us find the very best families to represent our Venice ... and then look for the stories to be told on the big screen when 90291: VENICE UNZIPPED hits theaters near you!

Please contact 90291casting@gmail.com with any suggestions and/or for more information.

THANK YOU!!!


Flyer info:

Do you (or anyone you know) live in Venice? Do you have an interesting story to tell? Do you know a family who might be interested in participating in a provocative feature documentary 90291: VENICE UNZIPPED about our growing income divide in Venice and America? Please contact 90291casting@gmail.com for more info, and please fill out the casting questionnaire here: https://90291casting.wufoo.com/forms/zsi4g3v0xivbj1/

Award-winning filmmakers are searching for three families to profile in their film - one homeless, one middle class, and one wealthy who all live in the Venice CA 90291 zip code.

• looking for families with unique/ unusual stories

• diverse backgrounds a plus

• families must live in Venice CA

• families should have one child under the age of 18

• filming begins late Sept onwards

• filming will take place intermittently over the next year

• project will require approx 4-5 days total of filming (1 day every couple months)

The documentary's point-of-view is investigative, fact-based, and compassionate. We are long-time Venice residents and will be extremely conscientious of people’s space and time! We want to humanize and personalize the struggles, challenges, and joys of three diverse families who share the same 90291 Venice zip code.

Link to a “sizzle” video about the project is here: https://wdrv.it/5b54d127c

Thank you for your support & please spread the word!

FB & Insta: @unzippedmovie

90291: VENICE UNZIPPED - Now Casting For Venice Families!

I hope you were able to attend our awesome fundraiser at The Lantern House for our upcoming documentary 90291: Venice Unzipped, because you'd have a good idea of what we're trying to accomplish with the Venice stories that we'll be telling. If you were not there (sorry!), you can still get involved, and one of the best ways would be to help us cast our families.

We're looking for three families to embed with over the next year for a few shoot days in increments over the duration. We need a family from the three income levels the U.S. categorizes as low income/homeless, middle class (whatever that means anymore, and one of our topics of discussion), and a wealthy/1% style family. Ideally, each family would have at least one child under 18, so that we can explore what the different economic backgrounds deal with as an entire family, with school, activities, jobs ... all of it.

Income Inequality is THE topic of our times, as far as I'm concerned, along with the homeless and opioid crises (both of which will be addressed, because they have to be - they're a part of it all), and we want to open up a discussion, in an attempt to find solutions everyone can live with. I keep saying it, but we're all in this together, and that simply must be remembered. All citizens affect the Community, and Venice has always been mostly about the Community.

Venice is under the lens of our microscope, but it's really the story of the entire country. The entire globe, really, as income inequality is certainly everywhere. We're all just such a part of Venice, and it's the last frontier in the United States ... you can't go any farther West than 90291. This is a film for everyone, everywhere ... but especially our Venice.

Please reach out to  90291casting@gmail.com if you have any excellent casting ideas, and always feel free to donate to the cause HERE! Thank you, Venice Community! You're the best. 

Sorry To Bother You ... But You HAVE To See This Movie!

Boots Riley was already one of my most favorite, most creative, most cool dude I've ever known from having toured with him on Tom Morello's Justice Tour back in 2008 ... and then I just saw his absolutely brilliant new film Sorry To Bother You. WOW. Now I bow down all the way to the floor. Again ... WOW.

Though being presented as a comedy, it's really more of a whip-smart social satire, and I actually felt super emotional when leaving the theater. Some of that was pride and admiration for my old friend, but a lot of it was more like American shame, of which there is a whole lot to go around these days.

I don't want to say any more about it really until everyone has seen it - and EVERYONE should. THIS weekend, so the box office for it explodes and more actually smart movies can be made as a result. I fear that many of the biting points being made will be lost on the audience that goes in thinking it's like a Dumb And Dumber comedy ... but that's exactly who needs to get it.

There is a lot of magical realism going on in this film, stuff like "That could never happen". Then you watch the news yesterday, and a one year old baby is brought alone to an immigration court and expected to understand ANYTHING that is going on, and you start to think events happening in Sorry To Bother You might not be so far-fetched after all.

I enjoy movies the most when I don't know anything about them going in, and that applies extra to this work of art. Just go. And let's please talk about it after, as it warrants a real conversation on a national, if not global, level.

Riley already killed it as the frontman of The Coup and in Street Sweeper Social Club (his band with Morello), as a heavy, meaning it activist, and as the coolest dancer around, but now he can add film auteur to his excellent resumé ... and expect to reap all the rewards that go along with that. I'm so So SO impressed. Heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to Boots - and to everyone involved in this film that will definitely be THE most talked about film of Summer 2018. Thank you, Boots ... this country really needs you, now more than ever.

Sorry To Bother You opens everywhere this weekend. GO!

90291: VENICE UNZIPPED - A Film For Our Community

Friends ... all you have to do is walk down any street in Venice to know that there is a massive issue with income inequality in our community. I believe it is THE issue of our time for our entire country. The way that you begin to understand any issue is through the stories from the people that it affects. So, when feeling an intense need to DO SOMETHING about it, and sharing stories about it, you start to come up with ideas for solutions ... and the way to do that is always knowledge. Learning about the roots of an issue, and going from there.

My friends Colin Gray and Megan Raney Aarons ("The Sibs") are longtime Venice residents and filmmakers, with several successful documentaries already under their belts, and they saw the same multi-million dollar houses with tent cities in their Venice backyards that I did, and once we got to really talking about it all, we felt that Venice could be zoom-lensed on as an example of what is happening across this nation ... and begin to do something about it.

90291: VENICE UNZIPPED is the film we are setting out to make. We'll embed with three families - one homeless, one middle class, and one wealthy - living in almost unimaginably different circumstances here in Venice. We'll also talk to friends and neighbors across all income and cultural divides, interview local and national thought-leaders from multiple points of view, and attempt to make some sense of it all. Will it be a cautionary tale about what not to do to a vibrant, diverse community ... or a success story about how people came together to preserve what is wonderful and historical about this place, and how we looked after our own? Time will tell ... and shooting begins soon.

All films take funds to create, and we are holding our first fundraiser at The Lantern House in Venice on June 16th, and we would love for all of you to be involved. Come to the fun event. Send a little (or big, if you can!) tax-deductible donation via our fundraising link HERE. (A detailed equity investment prospectus is also available upon request HERE. Donate to our silent auction of unique Venice items (let us know asap if that's a way you'd like to contribute, so that we may also promote you in the process!). Share your own stories with us, or point us in the direction of a good tale. This is going to be a film for our entire community, and thus, entire community involvement is crucial to telling the whole story.

We are also starting our search for the three families we’ll be embedding with in our documentary.  If anyone has a suggestion for a family who might be willing to participate in our film, please contact us HERE.  We’re looking for one homeless couple / family with or without kids, one middle class family with kids, one wealthy family with kids.  We will be very mindful of everyone’s time and space.  The plan is to film these families for 6-8 days total, each family, over the next year.

The fundraiser information, donation links, and the link to our brand new trailer are again all below. Please read, watch, share, and chime in to let us know what you think! This project is for all of us.

As a friend of Venice Beach and this eclectic, world renowned community… We Want You!  Come be a part of our feature documentary's grass roots fundraising event on Saturday June 16th from 7- 9pm.  Hot links to RSVP and for tax-deductible donations are in the attached PDF, as well as below.  

What:  90291: VENICE UNZIPPED fundraiser

Where: The Lantern House, Venice

Parking: Bike, walk, or park on street

RSVP: 90291veniceunzippedrsvp@gmail.com

Support: To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit:  https://www.documentary.org/project/unzipped

Sizzle link: https://wdrv.it/5b54d127c

The film:  90291: VENICE UNZIPPED is a provocative feature documentary about income inequality in America, told through the lens of one community and three families living in the same 90291 zip code, but at the opposite ends of the growing income divide.  In the film, we’re embedding in Venice, California, the once gritty, artistic and working class beach city, now the epicenter of gentrification in Los Angeles and a growing homelessness crisis. We’ll follow three families - one homeless, one middle class and one wealthy - living in almost unimaginably different circumstances, while putting a human face on Venice’s vanishing working and middle class.  We’ll then follow a proposed homeless housing project that’s splitting the community in two, make connections to gentrification and affordable housing issues in other cities, and investigate how poverty is being criminalized in America.  Is Venice, the last beach city of color, a cautionary tale about an eclectic community’s demise, or can solutions be found for protecting other income diverse cities across the United States?

Style: The film's point-of-view is investigative, fact-based, and deliberately non-partisan.  Rounding out our embed coverage will be interviews with local and national thought-leaders from multiple points of view.  

The team: Brought to you by long time Venice locals - writer / director Colin Keith Gray and producer Megan Raney Aarons (AKA “The Sibs” - Atari: Game Over, Being Canadian, Freedom’s Fury);  journalist / co-producer CJ Gronner (Blogtown); political consultant / co-producer, Marc Baranov;  EPs Amaechi Uzoigwe (Run The Jewels) and Lorien Gabel (Interlog, PINGG); Supervising Producers Matt Green (Refuge Wild) & Andrea McHugh (Hell’s Kitchen, Oprah Winfrey Show, Ghost Hunters); Emmy award winning editor Mohamed El Manasterly (The Square); DP Tyler Heckerman (The Cape); and Emmy award winning VR director, Ben Tricklebank (Clouds Over Cuba). Project is produced by GRAiNEY PICTURES and EVO Films USA.  

Schedule: We'll film Summer of 2018 through Spring 2019. Plan is to then complete the film by Fall 2019 in time for submission to Sundance and other premiere festivals. Goal is to then debut at a major festival and release the film Summer/Fall 2020 in advance of the 2020 Presidential elections. A larger social impact campaign will then launch around the film release to provoke further debate on the issues . Project elements include a virtual reality (VR) short film, an interactive website, an augmented reality app, and a comprehensive educational initiative.

Giving Back:  With a topic this pressing, we feel it’s important we give back.  90291: VENICE UNZIPPED will donate ten percent (10%) of the film’s total profits to leading grass roots organizations and NGOs that are actively engaged in income inequality & homelessness issues in Venice, and across America.

Funding: The project is being funded through a combination of equity investments in the Unzipped Movie LLC, non-recoupable grants, crowd-funding contributions, and tax-deductible donations to the film through its' fiscal sponsor, the International Documentary Association (please make donations by clicking on the Make A Donation tab above). A detailed investment prospectus (PPM) is available upon request.

Why you?  We'd truly value your involvement & support at our fundraiser as we craft, cast & compose this important story.  Filming to begin this Summer across Venice. 

We can't wait to make and show you this film! THANK YOU!!!