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]

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 subversion of racial stereotypes and Blaxploitation tropes. They also reflect on the film’s exploration of conspiracy theories in Black communities. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39633]

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 academics, and the future of anti-colonial resistance. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39575]

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 and how archival materials, oral records, and conspicuous historical absences drive his central critique. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39574]

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 been impactful for their own work as a comedian and screenwriter. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39565]

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 telling a story about the internet and discuss the larger implications of internet culture and political polarization in the United States. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39567]

Timothy Corrigan of the University of Pennsylvania joins moderator Patrice Petro to discuss Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s classic film Ali: Fear Eats the

Soul. 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 offer close readings of scenes from the film, analyzing themes of class, race, and gender and the social relations of melodrama. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 39573]

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 animation in crafting a fantastical world, and shares perspectives on the important role of music, a conversation that continued with input from composer Christopher Willis, who was in attendance for the screening. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39479]