UC Santa Barbara (Audio‪)‬ UCTV

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 voiceover and outside excerpts, the scientific concepts explored throughout, and the research undertaken in the development process for the film. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39639]

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 cliches and stereotypes in South Asian and Muslim representation onscreen and share perspectives on authenticity and a new generation of filmmakers. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39736]

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 against police brutality and systemic racism, and share perspectives on documentary film’s delicate tension between history and memory. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39636]

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 of cinema, memory, and nostalgia. Moreover, Wilkins discusses his use of 35mm press kit photos in the film and multiple meanings behind the term “stillness.” Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39637]

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 for trans communities of color, and Paris is Burning’s significance in the history of trans representation onscreen. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39635]

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 development of the film over the years and reflect on what independent cinema means in Cuba. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39634]