Director Don Hertzfeldt joins moderator Miguel Penabella (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of his films ME and It’s Such a Beautiful Day. They discuss his time as a UCSB student and his early interest in animation, as well as the development of his new film. Hertzfeldt also shares insights into his influences from silent cinema, and h…

Composer Christopher Willis joins moderator Tyler Morgenstern (Assistant Director, Carsey-Wolf Center) for a discussion of his work on Schmigadoon! They discuss how theatrical and movie musical history, as well as Willis’ musicology background, informs the music of the show. They explore the challenge of composing an underscore, and incorporating t…

Director Lynn Hershman Leeson joins moderator Letícia Cobra Lima (History of Art & Architecture, UCSB and curator of A Box of One’s Own) for a discussion of her film !Women Art Revolution. They discuss her history as an artist, and the difficult process of piecing together a narrative from hundreds of hours of footage, interviews, and extensive arc…

Writer/director Sam Kadi and actors William Atherton and Rizwan Manji join moderator Juan Campo (Religious Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of their film The Citizen. They share their experiences making the film and drawing inspiration from real Arab-American stories. They also discuss the continued relevance of the film’s themes, including issues o…

Filmmaker Sreemoyee Singh joins moderator Shiva Balaghi (Area Global Initiative, UCSB) for a discussion of her film And, Towards Happy Alleys. They discuss the impetus for the film and Singh’s research into the cinema of Iran, as well as her travels to the country. Singh reflects on her experiences documenting Iranian filmmakers like Jafar Panahi a…

Producer Angela Laprete and actor Lindsay Watson join moderator Tyler Morgenstern (Assistant Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center) for a discussion of their film The Wind and the Reckoning. They discuss the film’s origins and telling the story in the ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi language. They also speak on the development of the script, its approach to genres lik…

Director Sam Pollard joins moderator Wendy Eley Jackson (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of his film Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes. They discuss his long and remarkable career as a documentary filmmaker and the life of jazz musician Max Roach. They also reflect on Pollard’s varied documentary subject matter throughout the decades,…

Director and co-writer Erica Tremblay joins moderator Lisa Parks (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of her film, Fancy Dance. They discuss the development of the film and Tremblay’s three-year-long journey to study the Cayuga language in preparation. They also discuss Lily Gladstone’s central performance, the role of dance as a central…

Director Kemp Powers joins moderator Mireille Miller-Young (Feminist Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of his film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. They discuss the development of the film, the origins of characters like Spider-Punk, and various artistic influences. Powers also shares his experiences working with a large, diverse animation team a…

Director Nicole Newnham joins moderator Kyna McClenaghan (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of her film The Disappearance of Shere Hite. They discuss the origin of the film and her interest in Shere Hite, as well as the archival research undertaken in making the documentary. Together, they also detail the work of Shere Hite in the cont…

Filmmaker Jess X. Snow joins UCSB's Heidi Amin-Hong to discuss a selection of Snow’s films and their broader artistic journey. As a multidisciplinary artist, Snow's work encompasses poetry, visual art, and film, often addressing themes like the model minority myth, community care, mutual aid, and the Asian-American immigrant experience. They also e…

Writer/director Gregg Araki joins moderator Bhaskar Sarkar (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of his film, Nowhere. Araki reflects on post-punk and do-it-yourself subcultures, as well as his memories taking film classes at UCSB as an influence on his work. He also discusses the cult following and home distribution of the film, the lega…

Filmmaker/curator Márton Orosz joins moderator George Legrady (Media Arts & Technology, UCSB) for a discussion of György Kepes: Interthinking Art + Science. They discuss the career of György Kepes and his groundbreaking work at MIT, and presenting his life onscreen. They also explore the development of the field of art and technology in the twentie…

Actor Meg Ryan joins moderator Brad Silberling for a discussion of the romantic comedy classic When Harry Met Sally. They share behind-the-scenes stories of the film’s late screenwriter Nora Ephron and the enduring legacy of the film. They also reflect on the development of the film’s script and iconic characters, the process of shooting scenes and…

Associate producer Steve Starkey and screenwriter Peter S. Seaman join moderator Tyler Morgenstern (Assistant Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center) for a discussion of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. They discuss the early development and complex visual effects of the film. They also discuss the state of Walt Disney Studios in the 1980s and the ind…

Director Deborah Stratman joins moderator Alex Lilburn (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of her film, Last Things. Stratman discusses the varied ecological, geological, literary, and cinematic inspirations of the film and thinking beyond anthropic time scales. Together, they also discuss the structure of the documentary, the use of vo…

Kashif Shaikh, co-founder and president of Pillars Fund, joins moderator Mona Damluji (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of the film Polite Society. Shaikh discusses working closely with director Nida Manzoor and themes of sisterhood, class hierarchy, and patriarchal power in the film. Together, they also discuss ways of subverting cli…

Filmmakers Valerio Ciriaci and Isaak Liptzin join UC Santa Barbara moderator Stephanie Malia Hom to discuss their film, Stonebreakers. They detail the origins of the project and their interest in monuments as a trigger for political action and historical discourse. They also discuss their experiences filming protests and broader political action ag…

Filmmaker James N. Kienitz Wilkins joins moderator Tyler Morgenstern, Assistant Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center, for a discussion of Still Film. They discuss its narrative and formal structure, as well as its thematic interests in the problems plaguing contemporary Hollywood. They also reflect on the film’s use of language and larger questions o…

Lucas Hilderbrand of UC Irvine joins UC Santa Barbara moderator Graham Feyl to discuss the film Paris is Burning. They review the history of its exhibition and the film’s enduring legacy as a powerful portrait of queer life, resistance, beauty, and art. They also discuss the unique structure of the documentary, the cultural contexts of drag balls f…

Director Miguel Coyula and actor Lynn Cruz join UC Santa Barbara's Kiley Guyton Acosta and Cristina Venegas to discuss their film, Corazón Azul. They discuss the allegorical significance of its imagery, which draws from Cuban political and historical contexts for its alternate reality narrative. They also share insights into the long, complicated d…

Filmmaker Juel Taylor joins UC Santa Barbara moderator Mireille Miller-Young for a discussion of his film They Cloned Tyrone as part of our Black Hollywood series. Taylor details the development of the film and its narrative and thematic inspirations and ideas. Together, they discuss each of the three main characters and the film’s playful subversi…

Filmmaker Alejandro M. Flores Aguilar and moderator Giovanni Batz discuss the film Ixiles: Voices from the Shadows of Time. Aguilar details the origin of the project, as well as the historical contexts of Indigenous resistance in the Ixil region of Guatemala. They also discuss issues surrounding ethnographic research, the responsibilities of academ…

Filmmaker Anthony Banua-Simon joins moderator Patrice Petro to discuss his documentary film Cane Fire. They explore the historical and colonial relationships between the plantation economy, the film industry, and tourism in Hawai’i, and larger questions posed by the film. Banua-Simon also discusses his approach to interrogating Hollywood history an…

Writer/producer Gabe Liedman and moderator Tyler Morgenstern discuss the film Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, a screening programmed alongside a workshop on comedy writing. Liedman discusses the collaborative work of comedy and the unique comedic style of the film. He also shares his favorite jokes and moments in the movie, and how the film has …

Director Arthur Jones and producer Giorgio Angelini join moderator Chelsea Kai Roesch from UC Santa Barbara to discuss their film "Feels Good Man." They talk about working with artist Matt Furie and unpack the social and political contexts behind Pepe the Frog and its cooptation by the alt-right. They also reflect on the cinematic challenges in tel…

Timothy Corrigan of the University of Pennsylvania joins moderator Patrice Petro to discuss Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s classic film Ali: Fear Eats theSoul. Together, they examine the larger body of work and influences of the German filmmaker, which include Brechtian aesthetics and classical Hollywood melodramas like that of Douglas Sirk. They also …

Filmmaker Sam Kadi joins moderator Juan Campo, professor of religious studies at UC Santa Barbara, for a discussion of the film Lamya’s Poem. Together, they consider how the film employs magical realism to interweave scenes from the lives of contemporary Syrian refugees with the experiences of 13th century poet Rumi. Kadi discusses the uses of anim…

Māori novelist Witi Ihimaera, author of the 1987 novel The Whale Rider, joins moderator Nicola Daly (University of Waikato) for a post-screening discussion of Niki Caro’s 2002 film Whale Rider. Ihimaera discusses the novel’s relationship to Māori stories and cultural practices, his writing process, and the film’s enduring legacy. This event was pre…

UC San Diego Library’s Signature Event Series kicks off with a conversation with filmmaker and author Mason Engel. Engel talks about his current work, “Books Across America,” as well as his past films and his novel “2084.” The discussion is moderated by Audrey Geisel University Librarian Erik T. Mitchell. Series: "Writers" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39…

Professors France Winddance Twine (Sociology, UCSB) and Lisa Parks (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) join Marc Francis (Assistant Editor of Film Quarterly) in a conversation about power dynamics and inequality in the tech world of Silicon Valley, showing and discussing clips of the shows Super-Pumped and WeCrash. The topics they discuss expand upon th…

Writer/director Todd Field joins moderator Tyler Morgenstern (Assistant Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center) in a post-screening discussion of TÁR. Field details the origins and development of the film, including the creation of protagonist Lydia Tár. He elaborates on the public persona she curates in the film and larger thematic questions of exploi…

Director/executive producer David Mandel joins Patrice Petro (Dick Wolf Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center) for a post-screening discussion about the HBO miniseries White House Plumbers. In their discussion, Mandel details the origins of the show and distinguishes it from other noteworthy historical adaptations of the Watergate scandal, emphasizing…

Shelley Stamp (Film & Digital Media, UC Santa Cruz) joins moderator Kelsey Moore (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) in a post-screening discussion on George Cukor’s classic 1944 film Gaslight, sharing thoughts on genre, the origin of gaslighting as a term, and the film’s historical legacy. Their conversation also dives into the complexities of gender a…

Director Yoruba Richen joins moderator Mireille Miller-Young (Feminist Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of her film The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. Richen elaborates on the overlooked but significant breadth and impact of Rosa Parks’ lifelong contributions to the Civil Rights movement in and beyond the Montgomery bus boycott, …

Del Zamora (writer, director, and producer) joins moderator Ben Olguín (English, UCSB) in a post-screening discussion of The Last Brown Beret, an adaptation of a play by Alfredo Ramos that explores Chicanx activism and history in Los Angeles. Together, they discuss the impact of the civil rights movement that arose in the 1960s and the connections …

Writer Eliza Jiménez Cossio joined moderator Chip Badley (English, UC Davis) for a post-screening discussion of the show Our Flag Means Death. Cossio shares her experiences as a writer and details various casting insights during the pre-production of the show, including their unique approach to adapting familiar characters and bringing in guest sta…

Yvett Merino (Producer, Walt Disney Animation Studios) joins moderator Dolores Inés Casillas (Chicana and Chicano Studies, UCSB) in a post-screening discussion of Encanto, the acclaimed Disney animation film about a multigenerational family with magical powers in the mountains of Colombia. In their conversation, they discuss the importance of Latin…

Director Paromita Vohra joins moderator Bhaskar Sarkar (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) in a discussion of her film Partners in Crime, which dives into the world of copyright law, piracy, and the fluid nature of authorship. She dives into concepts like the cultural commons and the complicated nature of artistic value. She also details the social and …

Lucy Fischer (English and Film Studies, University of Pittsburgh) joins moderator Patrice Petro (Dick Wolf Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center) in a post-screening discussion of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, a psychological thriller about the rivalry between aging Hollywood sisters. In their conversation, they illuminate the similarities between …

Director Ramona S. Diaz joins moderator Miguel Penabella (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of her documentary A Thousand Cuts. She details her experiences closely following Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa and the Rappler team’s fight for press freedom in the Philippines, as well as observations from pol…

Artist Vishal Jugdeo and poet vqueeram join moderator Cathy Thomas (English, UCSB) to discuss their film Does Your House Have Lions, which features a queer household of activists and academics in New Delhi living under the shadow of increasing authoritarianism. They discuss the film’s exploration of different forms of queer intimacy and propose pos…

Filmmakers Joyce García and Alvaro Parra join moderator Alexandra Lippman to discuss their two documentaries on cumbia sonidera, or Colombia-inspired dance music, in Mexico City and Los Angeles, "Yo No Soy Guapo" and “Sonidero Metropolis.” They explore the cultural significance of the sonidero in shaping regional music scenes and tastes, as well as…

Doris Berger, co-curator of Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898-1971 at the Academy Museum, joins moderator Peter Bloom to discuss the film Carmen Jones and the legacy of actress Dorothy Dandridge. Berger explains the backstory of how the Regeneration exhibition was originally conceived and developed, detailing her experiences digging through archival…

Writer/director Maysoon Pachachi joins moderator Mona Damluji for a discussion of her film "Our River...Our Sky," which tells the story of ordinary people living in Baghdad under occupation. Pachachi details the origin of the project and the film’s early development, including casting considerations and lessons learned from her documentary work. Sh…

Director Julia Mintz and executive producer Eva Haller engage in a post-screening discussion of their film Four Winters, where they provide insights into the making of the documentary. Mintz details the process of collecting and editing footage of countless interview subjects to tell the heroic story of Jewish partisans during the Second World War,…

Roman Koropeckyj, Professor in the Department of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures at UCLA, joins moderator Sasha Razor for a discussion of Sergei Parajanov’s film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, sharing insight into Ukrainian culture and history. Koropeckyj discusses the making of the film and details the complexities of Ukr…

In this enlightening conversation, Ray Santisteban, director and producer of the documentary "Time of the Phoenix: The First Rainbow Coalition," shares his insights on activism, coalition politics, and social change. Santisteban delves into his journey of making the documentary and how it marked the beginning of his filmmaking career. He highlights…

Production designer Akin McKenzie joined moderator Mireille Miller-Young (Feminist Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of his work in visualizing the world of The Woman King. The discussion revolved around McKenzie’s extensive research from out-of-print books, photos, and other archival materials to disentangle complex historical events …

Writer/director Antonio Dikele Distefano and scholar/filmmaker Fred Kuwornu discuss the film Autumn Beat with Claudio Fogu. Distefano details his experiences writing books and magazines and his transition to cinematic work, as well as his experiences growing up as a young Black man in Italy. Kuwornu elaborates on the evolving Black cultural renaiss…