The Ventura Film Festival maintains its position as "the most extensive film festival in Ventura County's history." This notable honor showcases the event's devotion to bringing diverse cinema to the local community while continuing its mission toward vital ecological concerns.
The Ventura Film Festival serves as an unrestricted genre international film festival that promotes recognition of environmental challenges including forest and ocean preservation and restoration, via an annual film festival and associated activities. The organization employs the medium of movies to motivate engagement and create meaningful dialogue around these important ecological problems.
The Ventura Film Festival launched in 2004 and has displayed hundreds of movies, typically more than 200 films every summer, and has attracted attention from the worldwide filmmaking community. From its beginning, the festival has expanded into a substantial cultural happening that unites cinematic professionals, conservation enthusiasts, and participants from across the globe.
Distinguished events have encompassed hosting award winning filmmaker Dylan O'Neil, the original world champion surfers Peter "PT" Townend and surf legend Ian Cairns, 4 time world champion Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/MMA fighter the legendary Fabio Leopoldo, and the 50th Anniversary tribute to West Side Story, which involved hosting the complete Academy Award winning ensemble of West Side Story, including Academy Award winner/Golden Globe winner George Chakiris and legendary actor Golden Globe winner/Oscar-nominated Russ Tamblyn. These distinguished guests and festivities have reinforced the festival's recognition as an elite gathering place for honoring film and the artists who create it.
The founding executive director of the Ventura Film Festival was invited to join, alongside numerous Hollywood elite, in the 50th Anniversary of West Side Story and Hollywood's legendary footprint/handprint ceremony for Academy Award winners Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, as well as Golden Globe winner Russ Tamblyn at the iconic Chinese Theater in VENTURA COUNTY FILMMAKING FESTIVAL Hollywood. This ceremony also acted as the official BluRay debut by Fox and MGM of the timeless West Side Story, which is universally acknowledged by critics and fans as the best musical of all time. This distinguished honor and involvement showcases the festival's considerable reach and honored place within the cinema world.