What The Press Is Saying About The Movie

  • L.A. TIMES

    “If the 2001 documentary “Dog Town and Z-Boys” engagingly gave Southern California’s skateboard culture its influential due, then “Made in Venice” comes across as its scrappy, but no less lovable, kid brother.”

  • Vice

    “Dogtown and Zephyr may have sparked the skate scene in Venice Beach, but it was the unruly Venice locals, headed by Jesse Martinez, who doused it in gasoline to see how high the flames would go… Jonathan Penson’s new documentary Made in Venice focuses on the 20-year battle to get the Venice skatepark-the most expensive skatepark in the world, according to the film-built, but it could just as easily have been about Martinez. For more than three decades, Martinez has been the lifeblood of the humble Venice community, and he was the driving force behind getting the park built.”

  • Thrasher

    “Jesse Martinez has been in the game for a long time. Peep the vid of the Venice scene and the influence they had on the skateboard world. When Jesse talks, you listen and he has a Thrasher tatt. A true lifer gets it on wax for all to see. Check it.

  • Venice Paparazzi

    “Made in Venice – the movie – a must see! This film is an essential piece of history, acknowledging and paying tribute to the ground soldiers whose tireless efforts brought to fruition a skatepark on the sand that millions now enjoy.”

  • Gronner’s Blogtown

    “This wonderful film tells the story of how the dream of a Venice Skatepark came to be a fantastic reality, and the struggle that went into it… It’s incredibly lump in the throat touching at times, and laugh out loud funny at others.”

  • N.Y. Skateboarding.Com

    “This movie will help others prepare for all the bs surrounding government projects. Thank for making this.”

  • SkateDaily.net

    “Made in Venice celebrates the hard work and countless hours that it takes to not just build a skatepark but to build a skate community.”

  • Tony Hawk Foundation

    “Made in Venice – The Movie is a story about skatepark advocacy in one of the most colorful places on the planet. Check it out!”

  • The Berrics

    They fought for a skatepark to keep DogTown alive, is the mantra of Made In Venice, a film documenting the history of Venice Skatepark. With footage shot over 40-years ago, some seen for the first time, Made In Venice takes you through the history of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, to the current skatepark on the sand. Essentially, the film is a window into skateboarding’s history, paying tribute to those who fought to keep a skatepark in Venice to forever keep skateboarding rooted where it was born.

  • The Skateboard Mag

    “The saga of Venice Beach Skatepark, one of skateboarding’s most remarkable David-and-Goliath stories, gets the documentary treatment this week with the release of Made In Venice. Many of the young skaters who travel from far and wide to skate there may be unaware of the harrowing journey involved: the acres of bureaucratic red tape; misinformed or just plain antagonistic opponents gumming up the works. The whole experience wasn’t exactly a day at the beach.”

  • Skate Slate Magazine

    “Venice Beach has some of the deepest skate history, but not always had a skate park. There are 40-plus years of skateboarding history in Venice, going all the way back to the Z-Boys. What many don’t know and often most [especially tourists] take for granted is that the park wasn’t built without a 20-year battle culminating in 2009 after a 10-month build. The dream was to give Dogtown the iconic park we all see today.”

  • Vans / Facebook

    “Be sure to check out Christian Hosoi discussing the 20-year battle to get the Venice Park built in the Made In Venice movie. Hosoi recalls his humble beginnings skating Venice & Marina Del Rey, and learn more about the battle for the Venice Beach Skatepark & how OG, Jesse Martinez, continues to fight for the park. The film is now open in select theaters. The archival photos & footage provided by our friends at Juice Magazine are so epic; you don’t want to miss this one.”

  • Juice Magazine

    Made in Venice, is bursting with skate history, struggle and victory, as it traces the pioneering days of skateboarding in L.A. in the ’70s and slams into the pivotal ’80s, when skateboarding took a revolutionary turn into the birth of modern day street skating. The story transitions through the ’90s with highlights from the now destroyed Venice Pavilion Not only is Made In Venice a cult classic in the formation, but it should inspire skaters to trying to get a skatepark in their town.

  • Jeff Pearlman / Sports Blog

    “Jesse Martinez, the legendary skateboarder fought to bring a skate park to Venice Beach. So how is a 51-year old survivor rewarded for endless injuries, a horrific beating and a city’s scorn? Why, by starring in the magnificent new documentary, Made In Venice.”

  • Concrete Wave Magazine

    This is a stunning feature-length documentary that carries the viewer through the history of Venice to present day, as it tells the story of the decades it took a relentless crew of skateboarders, surfers, and civic activists to convince the City of Los Angeles to build a skatepark in the area that gave birth to modern skateboarding.