Jennifer Venditti is a casting director (CSA) and filmmaker who launched her casting career in 1998 within the fashion industry, where she pioneered revolutionary street casting techniques that challenged the status quo in response to the industry's lack of diversity and conventional notions of beauty.
While scouting, Jennifer's empathic journey to understand the people behind the faces led her to direct and produce the award-winning feature-length documentary "BILLY THE KID” ( 2008). This breakthrough film garnered the film community's attention, which began seeking her out to cast projects when traditional techniques fell short.
Jennifer's distinctive casting philosophy is poignantly captured in her New York Times profile feature by Jon Caramanica: "You can tell a Venditti production — which typically blends nonprofessional actors with professionals — from the creases, the unexpected patina, the uncanny gestures that seem to unfold at a slightly different speed than most fictional work. From a distance, it can appear to be an aesthetic choice, but in actuality, it’s a philosophy that manifests visually."
In 2022, Jennifer's exceptional casting work on HBO's "Euphoria" earned her both an Emmy nomination and an Artios award (2021), showcasing her remarkable talent for discovering performers who leave a profound and lasting cultural impact.
Jennifer's unique casting is apparent across a wealth of TV and film projects, including the Safdie Brothers' "Uncut Gems" and "Good Time," Andrea Arnold's "American Honey," Nathan Fielder's "The Rehearsal" (HBO), and the soon-to-be-released director Park Chan Wook's next TV project with HBO/A24, an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "The Sympathizer," starring Robert Downey Jr., and Showtime's "The Curse," starring Emma Stone.
Jennifer’s book "CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION: THE ART AND ALCHEMY OF CASTING," released by A24 in 2022, is an illuminating work that offers insights into her casting philosophy, which serves as the guiding lens through which she approaches all her work and life.
Her insatiable curiosity inspires her to explore other mediums and continue to engage with visionary storytellers in service to her relentless inquiry into the human experience.