The Rotten City Cultural District team is busy prepping for what is thought to be the city’s first dedicated film festival. The event will be held on Saturday, February 8th at AMC Bay Street 16.
The all-day festival will consist of six thematic blocks of short films covering topics like community resilience, innovation, environmental stewardship, and the city’s fascinating history. It will also feature a block of independent works from local Pixar creators.
There will be panel discussions with the curators and directors giving attendees the opportunity to ask questions. The event will also include film workshops and events in their downstairs gallery space throughout the day.

What is the Rotten City Cultural District?
Emeryville was selected in 2017 as one of the state’s first California Cultural Districts by the California Arts Council. The ambition of these districts is to advance the arts and culture within the state.
Emeryville branded its district as “The Rotten City Cultural District” which is of course a nod to a quote by former Alameda County District Attorney Earl Warren. Warren infamously called the city out as “The Rottenest City on the Pacific Coast” for rampant bootlegging and corruption during the prohibition era.
While not exactly flattering, the city and local businesses have embraced it throughout the years.

Emeryville’s “district” differs from the others in that instead of covering a particular neighborhood, it covers the entire city.
The designation combines the city’s “Art & Innovation” aspirations spotlighting the city’s vibrant art scene that includes Jered’s Pottery, The 45th St. Artists’ Cooperative, The Emeryville Celebration for the Arts, The Compound Gallery and the soon to be open Gallery 4509.
It also spotlights the city being home to technological innovators like Pixar Animation Studios and visionaries like Wareham Development.
This designation has opened up funding opportunities that the city has leveraged to help support new programs.
ABG Art Group Awarded Contract to Support RCCD
In 2024, the city selected ABG Art Group in tandem with District Works to manage programming for the district.
ABG has led countless other local creative endeavors and have a large portfolio of creative achievements that they have helped bring to life. District Works specializes in event management and urban place management.
The ABG team consists of Co-Directors Sorell Raino-Tsui and Trent Thompson, and Director of Business Management Erica Enriquez.

It’s a bit of a “homecoming” for Raino-Tsui who was born and raised in Emeryville and is the son of noteworthy architect Eugene Tssui). “It’s an exciting opportunity to create connections between artists, local businesses, and community partners,” says Raino-Tsui.
“We are grateful for the partnership with ABG Art Group and District Works and are confident that their breadth and depth of talents will bring about a transformative experience for both artists and the community at large,” provided City of Emeryville Community & Economic Coordinator Amber Evans.

The team immediately engaged with various creative groups within the city undertaking a “vision quest” to better understand the unique desires of the Emeryville Artist Community.
Their initial efforts will be focused on building a sustainable infrastructure for the district as well as branding and promoting it to businesses and residents.
Since kicking things off last June, they’ve hosted artist mixers and fronted a block party. They’ve also opened a dedicated space at Bay Street (donated by properties owners CenterCal Properties) that has hosted galleries, workshops, and helped sell the wares of local artists.
They’re also working on populating a Database of local artists to help connect the local artist community with resources, grants and other opportunities.
Their collaborative efforts with the city are slated to run through 2026.
Inaugural Emeryville Film Festival
This film festival will be their biggest undertaking yet and an ambitious venture for a small city.
“An inaugural local film festival requires a lot of work,” said ABG Co-Director Trent Thompson. “But we hope this will plant the seeds for something enduring that will flourish and be a source of pride for the city for years to come.”
Films for the festival are divided into six blocks which include:
- Beyond The Lamplight / 12:00 PM / Curated by Blake Bauman
- The Past Is Not Dead / 1:45 PM / Curated by Rick Tejada-Flores
- Lives Adrift (Films from the Berkeley Film Foundation) / 3:30 PM / Curated by Isabella Miller
- In Search of Home / 4:45 PM / Curated by Jess Alvarenga
- Creative Process / 6:30 PM / Curated by Sean D. Johnson
- Resilience and Reckoning / 7:45 PM / Curated by Theresa Fortune
The “Beyond The Lamplight” block will feature six short films curated by Pixar employee Blake Bauman showcasing what Pixar creatives work on in their free time.
Local filmmaker and event curator Rick Tejada-Flores will be compiling a variety of historically important pieces in “The Past is Not Dead” block including Shellmound by Andres Cediel and “Mudflat” by Ric Reynolds. Tejada-Flores wrote and directed the Sundance recognized The Fight in the Fields that documents the life and struggles of labor icon Cesar Chavez.
The “Resistance and Resilience” block will feature stories of Black survival exploring the roots of inequity and the fight for justice. The block will debut the short film Negus In Nature documenting the outdoor adventures of a group of younger Black adventurers who are trying to reconnect with nature.
Their will also be a “Day of Films: Cinema Celebration” that will feature an exciting collaboration with Fishnets & Film, which is producing the special segment “Drag Me to the Cinema.” This event will include five additional blocks of films, part of the ongoing project by queer artist Robby Kendall, also known as their drag queen persona, Ms. Sweet Nothing.
Awards at the festival including a “Best of Fest” award for each category selected by a panel of industry professionals as well as an Audience Award to be decided by attendees of event.
Other supporters of the festival besides the City Of Emeryville include CenterCal Properties and AMC Theaters.
A ticket for each block of films is $15 with VIP Festival Pass tickets that give you access to all blocks set at $45. Emeryville residents can get a FREE ticket with the promo code “RCCD” (code only works for individual tickets not the festival pass).
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Just asking: I can get one ticket to one film but NOT a whole festival pass to all fims with code RCCD?? Tx.
Yes, the code only works on single tickets so if you want to go with a friend/partner, it looks like to have to register separately. I’m not sure if you can register for all 6 blocks individually.
I understood the RCCD code gives you a $15 discount to the all day pass however I believe at this time the all day pass is sold out