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Maya Scherr-Wilson, PhD Candidate in Film and Digital Media, in Berlinale Talents
Maya Scherr-Willson, Ph.D. student, Film and Digital Media, recently participated in the Berlinale Talents, the annual summit and networking platform of the Berlin International Film Festival for outstanding creatives from the fields of film and drama series. This year’s theme is Listen Courageously: Cinematic Narratives in Times of Dissonance.
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Inês Pedrosa e Melo and Amy Reid Competing in Grad Slam
Inês Pedrosa e Melo and Amy Reid each won $250 for winning the first round of the UCSC Grad Slam and will be in the final competition at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in downtown Santa Cruz on March 1. The winner of that contest advances to the UC Office of the President system-wide Grad Slam…
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Danza a la Rebeldía: Student-Created Mural Unveiled at Baskin Visual Arts Center is a Celebration
From the moment Professor John Jota Leaños, Film and Digital Media, began the first day of ART 139: Murals and Movements by offering sage gathered from his garden, it was clear the course would provide a rich, immersive experience. Exploring the history of muralism in the context of social and political art movements across the Americas, students worked…
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Meloddy Gao premieres thesis film at film festivals
SocDoc alumna Meloddy Gao (’24) premiered her MFA thesis film, SWIMMING LESSONS, this fall at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. Gao also screened her film at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. [Taken from paff.org] SWIMMING LESSONS is a personal, reflexive film that follows a daughter of Chinese immigrants who yearns to understand her…
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John Ortiz at DOC NYC and IDA Documentary Awards
SocDoc alum John Ortiz (’24) recently screened his SocDoc MFA thesis film, JEHRY, at DocNYC in November 2024. JEHRY follows Ortiz as he explores the life and eventual murder of Costa Rican landback activist Jerhy Rivera. Rivera’s murder, which occurred in early 2020, came following a string of violent attacks and murders against indigenous Costa Ricans that…
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Tadashi Nakamura New Film at Sundance
SocDoc alum Tadashi Nakamura (’08)’s new film is premiering his newest film in the 2025 Sundance documentary competition. [Text taken from Sundance.org]: The film, THIRD ACT, tells the story of his father, Robert A. Nakamura “the godfather of Asian American Media”, his life and career, and the profound influence it had on Tad’s sense of…
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Ebadur Rahman Appointed Head of Committee to oversee the establishment of the July Mass Revolution Memorial Museum
Dr. Ebadur Rahman (FDM, PhD 2022) has been appointed the head of a committee tasked with transforming Ganabhaban – the former Prime Minister’s residence designed by Louis Kahn in the late 1960s – into the 36th July Mass Revolution Memorial Museum. His vision for the museum is to make it a global ecological landmark, serving…
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Prof. Soraya Murray Quoted in NY Times about Female Figures in Video Games
Film and Digital Media Professor Soraya Murray was recently quoted in the New York Times. In the article, Prof. Murray discusses how the industry is moving towards a more diverse-leaning landscape in modern video games in the face of critics claiming that female characters in video games are becoming “defeminized.” “Those with vitriol against how…
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Prof. Gustavo Vazquez’s Film Awarded Best Documentary at Cittadella Geo Film Festival
Film and Digital Media Professor Gustavo Vazquez received the Golden Earth Award for Best Documentary at the Cittadella Geo Film Festival in Cittadella, Italy. Prof. Vazquez’s film, Los Guardianes del Maíz (The Keepers of Corn), tells the story of indigenous famers in Oaxaca, Mexico and their efforts to keep the tradition of seed exchanges alive…
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Alumna Janet Chen’s Film Has World Premiere at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Janet Chen’s Film, Asian Bitches Speak, will have its world premiere at the 40th VC Film Festival/Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2024 on May 5, 2024. It tells the story of a mother-daughter journey that explores mental health and healing from intergenerational trauma amidst the rise in anti-Asian hate. The film was prompted by…
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Lalu Özban’s Film in SF Urban Film Festival’s Trans World-Building
The Neighbour, a film produced by Lalu Ozban, Ph.D. Candidate in Film and Digital Media (designated emphasis in Feminist Studies; designated emphasis in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies) and directed by Cedoy, was recently featured as part of the San Francisco Urban Film Festival’s Trans World-Building event at the Tenderloin Museum. Trans World-Building was curated by Kaiya Gordon (UCSC…
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PhD Candidate Allen Riley’s VIDEOFREAK on Display at the Museum of the Moving Image
Allen Riley has his video installation and arcade game Videofreak on display at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY through September 8, 2024. Videofreak reimagines the arcade game experience by emphasizing the art of video manipulation over traditional gameplay elements like scorekeeping and end goals. Inspired by the participatory ethos of the Portapak-wielding Videofreex art collective…