Carsey-Wolf Center at UCSB

This past spring, filmmaker Courtney Stephens joined us for a screening and discussion of her film John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office, co-directed by Michael Almereyda. She was joined by moderator Joshua Baldelomar (Film and Media Studies, UCSB), and they discussed the development of the film, the legacy of John Lilly’s life and influence on popular culture, and the research put into the documentary.

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Courtney Stephens

This year, the Carsey-Wolf Center was delighted to welcome the legendary documentary filmmaker Gordon Quinn to the Po***ck Theater for a discussion of his lifelong commitment to the direct cinema movement. He was joined by moderator Naoki Yamamoto (Film and Media Studies, UCSB), and together, they discussed Quinn’s interest in Richard Leacock and Joyce Chopra’s short documentary Happy Mother’s Day (1963), as well as Quinn’s own film Home for Life (1966) and his work co-founding Kartemquin Films, an independent film collective that has produced a wide range of award-winning documentaries.

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Kartemquin Films

This past season, director Wendy Eley Jackson (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) joined moderator Laury Oaks (Feminist Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of The Other Roe, which uncovers the story of Doe v. Bolton, a historic Supreme Court case that provided the broader legal framework that shaped reproductive rights for generations. In this clip, she discusses the legal interconnectedness of Doe v. Bolton and Roe v. Wade and the importance of having a political roadmap and plan.

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Wendy Eley Jackson

This past spring, filmmakers Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls joined moderator Miguel Penabella (Carsey-Wolf Center, UCSB) in a discussion event where they talked about the making of their film, Grand Theft Hamlet. The conversation explored the film’s origins during the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges of staging Shakespeare in Grand Theft Auto Online, and the creative possibilities of online gaming as a space for performance and community. They also examined forms of digital storytelling and the evolving relationship between theater, film, and interactive media.

This event was presented in conjunction with the UCSB Library exhibition Infinite Variety: The Many Lives of Shakespeare’s Texts.

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Earlier this year, director Ashish Avikunthak and cinematographer Rumi (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) joined moderator Vivek Karthikeyan (Art, UCSB) to discuss their film Devastated (Vidhvastha), which addresses extrajudicial killings of Muslim men in India via dramatic readings of the Bhagavad Gita. They situated the film within the “Cinema of Prayoga” tradition, tracing its lineage beyond Western notions of the experimental, and explored ritual and violence, minimalist filmmaking, and cinema as a ritual practice.

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Earlier this year, filmmakers Yasha Levine and Rowan Wernham joined moderator Rich Farrell (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) to discuss their film Pistachio Wars, which examines Stuart and Lynda Resnick’s agricultural empire, The Wonderful Company, and its influence on California water politics. The conversation explored the film’s evolution from investigative journalism to documentary form, California water history, agribusiness power, culture jamming, and the challenges of opaque systems of corporate influence.

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Rowan Yasha Levine

This past year, filmmaker and artist Sanaz Sohrabi joined moderator Mona Damluji (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) to discuss Scenes of Extraction, her second entry in a film trilogy exploring the histories of oil in Iran and their global ramifications. They traced Sohrabi’s path from photographer to filmmaker, examined her archival and installation-based methods, and explored how her exhibitions interrogate colonial extraction. The conversation also considered the film’s contemporary resonances with the 2026 Iran War.

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This past spring, we were delighted to welcome filmmaker Anthony Shim, who joined moderator Miguel Penabella (Carsey-Wolf Center, UCSB) to discuss his acclaimed film, Riceboy Sleeps. The conversation explored the film’s autobiographical roots, its portrayal of the Korean immigrant experience, and the complex balancing act of blending personal memory with fictional storytelling. Shim also reflected on casting, the significance of food and family in the film, his distinctive visual approach, and the creative decisions behind shooting on 16mm film.

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Anthony Shim RICEBOY SLEEPS