Film and Television (Audio)

Moderator Cristina Venegas joined Chicano and Chicana Studies Professors Gerardo Aldana, Giovanni Batz, and Daina Sanchez to discuss Wakanda Forever and Indigenous Worldbuilding. Professor Gerardo Aldana served as a consultant on the film’s representation of Mesoamerican cultures and played the role of UN assembly chairperson in the film. The panel discussed the politics of representation and the...

Guests Elizabeth Gabler (President, 3000 Pictures) and Marisa Paiva (Executive Vice President, 3000 Pictures) join moderator Emily Zinn (Associate Director, Carsey-Wolf Center) for a post-screening discussion of their 2022 adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s classic, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Together, Gabler and Paiva discuss how they came to adapt D.H. Lawrence’s classic novel for through a feminist le...

Composer and filmmaker Clarence Barlow joined moderator Peter Bloom (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of Barlow’s pioneering work on composition and experimental film, including: Uccelli Ungheresi (1988), Kuri Suti Bekar (1998), Estudio Siete (1995/2015), )ertur( (2015), Evanescent Evidence (2021), and Zero Crossing (2001). Barlow shared insights on the development of...

Guests Trinankur Banerjee (Film & Media Studies, UCSB) and Bishnupriya Ghosh (Global Studies & English, UCSB) join moderator Bhaskar Sarkar (Film & Media Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of Satyajit Ray’s The Hero (1966). Together, Ghosh, Sarkar and Banerjee discuss how The Hero became one of Ray’s most iconic films thanks in part to the star power of beloved screen couple Uttam Kuma...

Guests Pujita Guha (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) and Bishnupriya Ghosh (Global Studies & English, UCSB) join moderator Bhaskar Sarkar (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of Satyajit Ray’s The Golden Fortress (1974). Together, Guha, Ghosh, and Sarkar discuss the literary origins of Ray’s film, its popular appeal in the 1970s in India, and how it helps us to better unders...

Director James Hayman joins moderator Patrice Petro, (Dick Wolf Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center) for a post-screening discussion of episode 51 of The Sopranos. Together, they explore how Hayman created a riveting, nuanced portrait of mafia and family life. Hayman offers insights into matching the darkly comedic style of the series, and how his education in film and media studies has shaped his...

Moderator Ben Olguín joined filmmaker Ellie Walton and poet Sami Miranda for a post-screening discussion of the documentary La Manplesa: An Uprising Remembered. Together, they discussed the importance of artistic collaboration and community, the relationship between art and activism, and current events that echo the story of injustice in DC’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Walton reflected on the ex...

Moderator Mireille Miller-Young joined Diversity in Cannes founder Yolonda Brinkley and filmmaker Wendy Eley Jackson to discuss this important initiative and to celebrate the achievements of global Black women in film. Collectively, they outlined the background and impact of the initiative and strategies for Black women and their allies to create global change. They also reflected on the serious r...

Screenwriter Katie Silberman discusses the writing process for the hit coming-of-age film “Booksmart” with moderator Matt Ryan. Silberman reflects on her work with director Olivia Wilde and the creation of key scenes and themes in the film. Breaking down the script, Silberman explores the importance of pacing, character development, and emotional authenticity and examines the challenge of developi...

Adapted from the 1998 short story “Story of Your Life” by acclaimed science fiction author Ted Chiang, “Arrival” (2016) centers on communicating with tentacular alien visitors, whose language changes one’s experience of time. Introspective and immersive, “Arrival” imagines a fantastical calligraphy alongside questions of alienation, race, and motherhood. Professor Jennifer Rhee joins Melody Jue to...

Paul Espinosa, an award-winning filmmaker and producer, is the President/CEO of Espinosa Productions, specializing in films focused on the U.S.-Mexico border region. He has been involved with producing films for over 35 years and is professor emeritus in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University. He has worked with public television stations in San Diego and Dallas as a Senior...

Writer/director Oualid Mouaness discusses his film 1982 with moderator Paul Amar (Global Studies, UCSB). Mouaness details the development of the film and the importance of depicting an honest representation of the war in Lebanon, especially as a means to bridge gaps between older and younger generations. He explains the significance of telling 1982’s story through a child’s perspective and the uni...

Acclaimed co-writer/director Abderrahmane Sissako discusses his film Timbuktu with moderators Richard Watts and Peter Bloom. Sissako details the development of the script and its connection to real-world news stories from Mali. He also recalls the political and logistical challenges during the film production. Watts and Bloom discuss the poetic qualities of the film, and in his own words, Sissako...

Professor Stephanie Malia Hom (French and Italian Studies, UCSB) joins moderator Anna Brusutti (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) to discuss Italian series Inspector Montalbano to conclude a yearlong screening series on global television. Brusutti provides a thorough breakdown of the history of Italian television broadcasting and distinguishes it from other national contexts. Hom explores the show’s S...

Director/co-writer Pamela B. Green and producer/co-writer Joan Simon discuss their documentary "Be Natural: The Untold of Alice Guy-Blaché" with moderator Cynthia Felando. Green and Simon explain the 10-year-long process of researching to make the documentary, as well as their respective inspirations for discovering more about the pioneering film making of Alice Guy-Blaché. Green also discusses he...

Moderator Jean Beaman joined doctoral candidate Leonard Cortana and Professor Ricado Jacobs to discuss Murder in Paris: The Assassination of Dulcie September. They explore the legacy of Dulcie September, her antiapartheid activism and work in the African National Congress (ANC), and the aftermath and ongoing investigation of her assassination. Cortana and Jacobs also examine the importance of medi...

Screenwriter David Koepp discusses with moderator Matt Ryan how wrote the iconic film, Jurassic Park. Koepp breaks down his process of adapting the novel by Michael Crichton, as well as how he worked with director Steven Spielberg to bring the film to life. He describes working from Spielberg’s storyboards to draft key sequences such as the entrance of the T-Rex. Koepp also shares stories from the...

Rick Rosen, WME Agency co-founder and representative for writer/director Hagai Levi, discusses Scenes from a Marriage and the state of global television with moderator Patrice Petro. Rosen details the development of the HBO miniseries and the challenges of adaptation from Ingmar Bergman’s original Swedish television series. He explains the vision of Hagai Levi for this contemporary retelling and a...

Filmmaker Ann Kaneko spoke with moderator Kelsey Moore about the process of directing and editing her documentary, Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust, which depicts an alliance between former Japanese American WWII prisoners, Native Americans, and environmentalists to defend their sources of water. Kaneko describes the decisions behind the structure of the film, as well as its focus on a...

Moderator Stephanie Malia Hom joined Professor Joan Roman Resina to discuss Death in Venice and the work of filmmaker Luchino Visconti. Resina contextualized the film within the larger context of Visconti’s German trilogy and his long, storied career. He also discussed the film’s adaptation from the Thomas Mann novella. Resina examined the idea of decadence in the film and the aristocratic Venetia...

In this inaugural episode of The Art of Change, filmmaker, film scholar and Dean of Arts at UC Santa Cruz, Celine Parreñas Shimizu, talks about her personal history as well as her vision for the Arts Division at UCSC. She is well known for her work on race, sexuality and representations, and is the first Asian American female arts dean in the UC system. The daughter of political refugees from the...

Moderator Jennifer Tyburczy discusses the production and impact of HBO miniseries Veneno with star Daniela Santiago. Santiago talks about the process and pressures of portraying transgender icon La Veneno, and the importance of representation both in front of and behind the camera. She detailed the significance of La Veneno, including her famous charisma and glamor, as well as the struggles she fa...

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, screenwriters of "Captain America: The First Avenger," discuss the film with moderator Matt Ryan. Markus and McFeely cover how they adapted the beloved comic book hero to the screen, and their collaboration with director Joe Johnston. They explained in detail how they crafted the characters of Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Peggy Carter, as well as some of...

UC Santa Barbara's Script to Screen, hosted by Matt Ryan, was invited onto the 2022 Santa Barbara Film Festival red carpet to interview filmmakers from many 2022 Oscar-nominated movies. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 37995]

Eric Roth, screenwriter of Dune, discusses the film with moderator Matt Ryan. Roth talks about how he tackled adapting Frank Herbert’s novel to the screen, and his collaboration with director Denis Villeneuve. He also talks about various details of his process, such as how he approached portraying the characters of Paul and Lady Jessica, and bringing the world of Dune to life with his portrayal of...