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What Would We Lose in a World Without Books?
The young, independent author and filmmaker Mason Engel is probably best known for his science fiction novel “2084.” But it might be his latest project – the ambitious documentary “Books Across America” – that will surely get him noticed for his love of literature as he travels to all 50 states, reading 50 books and […]
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Dance Music: The Multicultural Story Cumbia
At UC Santa Barbara’s Carsey-Wolf Center, filmmakers Joyce García and Alvaro Parra joined moderator and DJ, Alexandra Lippman, to talk about their two documentaries on cumbia sonidera, or Colombia-inspired dance music, in Mexico City and Los Angeles, “Yo No Soy Guapo” and “Sonidero Metropolis.” García and Parra have explored the world of Sonidero extensively in […]
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The Making of Timbuktu with Abderrahmane Sissako
In this Carsey-Wolf Center Global presentation, acclaimed co-writer/director Abderrahmane Sissako discusses his film “Timbuktu” with moderators Richard Watts and Peter Bloom. “Timbuktu” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and in 2016 was voted as one of the top 50 films of the 21st century. Sissako details the development of the […]
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Bringing Dinosaurs to Life: How a Best-Selling Novel Became a Major Motion Picture
Screenwriter David Koepp had only six motion picture screenplay credits to his name when he was tapped to help best-selling author Michael Crichton adapt one of his novels for the silver screen. Even as a novel, “Jurassic Park” was ahead of its time – using futuristic DNA cloning techniques to return dinosaurs to the planet […]
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Go Behind-the-Scenes of Long-awaited Film, Dune
It was the most anticipated science fiction movie in recent years. Fans around the world eagerly awaited the release of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune which has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. With a creative process that spanned nearly five years, Dune did not disappoint! In this episode […]
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Script to Screen: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Don’t miss this episode of Script to Screen where Destin Daniel Cretton, director and co-writer of Marvel’s Shang-Chi, answered questions about the film from moderator Matt Ryan. Cretton discussed a wide range of topics, including the casting of legendary actors Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh, as well as the intense physical training and emotionally complex […]
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Global TV
Television has traditionally been understood through national frameworks, corresponding to national networks of television distribution. The Carsey-Wolf Center series “Global TV” explores the way some contemporary television programs and formats have become unmoored from their national contexts of production and distribution. The series spotlights a number of recent shows that showcase this phenomenon, including a […]
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Of Faith and Resilience
Commercial filmmaking often follows promising trends, whether consciously or not, and the result may be a spate of similarly themed movies appearing on the market at roughly the same time. For example, in the 1980s one such trend was the so-called “save the farm” films, in which Hollywood stars struggled valiantly to hold onto scenic […]
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The Future of Cinema
Since its inception in 1885 with the Lumiere Brothers’ public screening of La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in Lyon), cinema has been a collective experience, the modern equivalent of gathering around the campfire for storytelling. It continues to shape our perceptions, our attitudes, and the larger culture by […]
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Genre-bending is Not for the Faint of Heart
Blending movie genres can be a tricky business, one often as not doomed to failure. Combining horror and comedy is especially fraught, since the two genres would seem to be mutually exclusive if not diametrically opposed in tone & subject matter. A few brave filmmakers have forged ahead regardless, including Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, […]