Introducing, Santacon... the Documentary
Trailer Dropped & NYC World Premier on November 13, 2025
Ho ho ho Santas,
Santa is excited to share that a new documentary about Santacon is premiering on November 13th in NYC and there’s also an online screening!
“Welcome to SANTACON: An immersive documentary about how great ideas can transform into something else entirely… and what it’s like to accept and live in a world you no longer understand.
Told with exclusive access to the event’s original creators and with countless hours of never-before-seen home movies from the ‘90s, you’ll be transported back in time to a world of awe, wonder, and endless possibility.”
Check out the trailer which just dropped today! (It’s only at this link right now.)
My Involvement
When I first heard about this project a few years ago, I worried it might be another “shit-on-Santacon” hit piece.
But it’s not that at all.
A little over a year ago, I got a text from John Law, who introduced me to the director, Seth Porges. We chatted on the phone, and I shared my passion for all things Santacon and Cacophony Society. A few months later, we were filming in my friend’s Silverlake living room — me in front of the camera, reflecting on how these events shaped my life, and how I continue to find meaning and beauty in the absurdity of Santacon.
One of the coolest parts of the film is the inclusion of Scott Beale’s archival footage from the early Santacons (SF, Portland, LA, and NYC). I know Scott from those early SF Cacophony days — the CellSpace parties, Tommy’s Joynt meetings, and our crossover with the SF Tech/Burner community. His footage really captures the vibes of those events, and it’s so much fun to see the chaos of those events (like Santa in Chicken John’s punk mosh pit) and the utter insanity of Santas arriving in PDX after flying from SF and being greeted by some serious law enforcement!
I haven’t seen the final cut, but I have a good feeling. Seth interviewed some of the heavy hitters who truly understand the nuance, joy, and magic that make Santacon what it is.
So yes — I’m hopeful, excited, and heading to NYC for the premiere on November 13.
(HMU if you’re going too!)
Who’s this Seth Guy?
If you’re like me, you might be wondering: Who’s this Seth guy, and why did he make a documentary about Santacon?
Meet Seth Porges: producer, director, and creator of How To Rob A Bank (Netflix) and Class Action Park (HBO Max). A longtime journalist, Seth was previously the technology editor at Popular Mechanics magazine, a columnist for Bloomberg Businessweek, and has appeared in roughly 50 episodes of the Travel Channel’s Mysteries at the Museum. His book, Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us, came out in 2023.
I asked Seth a few questions about Santacon: The Documentary.
Q & A with Seth Porges (Director)
1. What got you interested in making the Santacon documentary?
It all began when I ran into my old friend Scott Beale. Somehow, Santacon came up in conversation. All I knew about Santacon was “eww, gross.” But then he started telling me about the Cacophony Society and the people who created Santacon and what it used to be. I was riveted. But what really got me was his off-handed mention that he had personally video-taped several of the early years of Santacon. It was seeing that footage that made me realize this could actually be a movie.
2. What was the most surprising thing you learned while filming it?
I come from a world in which we all know that we’re supposed to be disgusted by Santacon. But watching the old archival footage of the Santas in the 1990s, the biggest thing that jumps out at me isn’t that the Santas are acting all that different from the Santas in modern Santacon… but that the people around them are. Nobody had ever seen a bunch of Santas before, and so there was no script for how to respond. That meant that you saw this incredible tapestry of responses. Some folks were awash in joy and wonder. Others in terror. It was beautiful.
3. You met a lot of colorful characters, can you share any fun stories that didn’t make the final cut?
I had so much fun hanging out with the characters in this story. John Law, in particular, is always fully of surprises. One of the first times I hung out with him, he said he was going to bring me to the roof of a fancy hotel in San Francisco. I assumed he meant a rooftop bar or restaurant. Nope. He meant we were going to sneak up to somewhere we probably weren’t allowed to be. I asked him what he would do if he got caught, and he told me that he can pretend to be a confused and lost old man. As somebody a few decades younger than him, I realized I was on my own.
4. Where can people watch it?
The movie is premiering at DOC NYC film festival on November 13. Folks outside of NYC can watch it by buying tickets to a “virtual” premiere screening hosted by the festival: https://www.docnyc.net/film/santacon/
5. I’m in LA (and many on my list are too) will it be showing here?
Hopefully soon! But nothing to share in this regard just yet.
HV note: As soon as Santa hears about an LA screening, Santa will tell you!”
See you soon, Santas,
I, for one, can’t wait to see the glorious chaos of Santacon unleashed on screen. May it remind us all why we fell in love with this absurd, beautiful experiment in the first place.
And I hope to see *you* Saturday, December 13th, for our OG Los Angeles Santacon!
Ho ho ho,
-Santa Vescent