Who we are

Do you remember when going to see a movie meant the difference between a good day and a bad day? When it meant adventure, romance, tradition? When it meant escape?

Those days seem to be long gone. Aside from the ever-increasing cost of going to the movies, movies just aren’t fun anymore. Genres that started off fun and fresh have been driven to the ground due to oversaturation, and anything beyond those genres is relegated to streamer releases of varying quality.

We could just be two guys who complain about this on the internet. Or we could do something about it.

The Movie Palace is the brainchild of San Francisco-born brothers Cesar and Dan Abella, a production company that creates and produces films that are aimed at a discerning audience, that make movies that emphasize storytelling, character, tone and pace.

We make movies that we would have loved as kids. We grew up in a movie-loving environment and were privileged enough to see literally hundreds of movies in old, glamorous movie palaces in San Francisco. It was an easy way to see different people and brand-new worlds that two working-class Latino kids wouldn’t be exposed to otherwise. We want to make movies that make us fall in love with the characters, make us laugh, cry, and scream.

We have produced two short films and one feature film with extremely limited means. However, despite that, our films have won awards and have been distributed worldwide. These are small steps in a journey that we hope will lead to being part of a movement that returns moviegoing back to its rightful place as a cornerstone of contemporary American culture, both artistic and social.

This is a lofty goal, but we are nothing if not ambitious.