Culture at a Click
While we’re spending more time at home with our imaginations, what better time to look to visionary artists and filmmakers like the ones below for a new way of seeing the world around us? “For me," says Pico Iyer, "movies have become a high-focus lens through which to see corners of faraway worlds that might otherwise be out of view.”
See some film-tastic features below, including a look at A&L's Art | Architecture on Film series (canceled before it could be announced), an archived conversation with cinema lion Werner Herzog and Pico Iyer, resources for aspiring filmmakers from our Online Student Ambassador program and staff film recommendations.
With deepest appreciation,
Celesta M. Billeci
Miller McCune Executive Director
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A Message from the Curators
We love the excitement of film screenings with engaged and discerning audiences of Santa Barbara filmgoers. So there we were this March, on the cusp of announcing another edition of Art | Architecture on Film, when – alas! – it was not to be. But fear not! Here’s the lineup and links to access the films for your next film fix!
– Roman Baratiak, Associate Director and Bruce Heavin, Program Advisor
A Day on the Grand Canal with the Emperor of China or: Surface Is Illusion But So Is Depth
A magical journey through China via artist David Hockney and a marvelous 72-foot long 17th-century Chinese scroll. (Philip Haas, 1988 / 2019 restoration, 46 min.)
Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint
An abstract artist before the term existed, Hilma af Klint's huge, colorful, sensual, strange works were without precedent in painting in 1906. Yet she is an all-but-forgotten figure in art history. (Halina Dryschka, 2019, 93 min.)
An uncensored look into the artistic process and personal relationships of large-scale installation artist Christo as, for the first time since the passing of his wife and partner, Jeanne-Claude, he sets out to realize a project they conceived together many years before. (Andrey Paounov, 2019, 100 min.)
Eames: The Architect and the Painter
A cache of archival material, visually stunning films, love letters, photographs and artifacts produced in mind-boggling volume by husband-and-wife team Charles and Ray Eames, America's most influential and important industrial designers. (Jason Cohn & Bill Jersey, 2011, 84 min.)
The Oyler House: Richard Neutra's Desert Retreat
In 1959, a government employee living in the tiny desert town of Lone Pine asked world-famous architect Richard Neutra to design his modest family home. To his surprise, Neutra agreed, leading to the design and construction of an iconic mid-century modern masterpiece. (Michael Dorsey, 2012, 46 min.)
A portrait of the beguiling New York Times on-the-street fashion photographer that movingly captures what made him unique, featuring previously unpublicized images and based on his own words. (Mark Bozek, 2018, 74 min.)
Examines the role of art and artistic passion in today’s money-driven, consumer-based society, featuring collectors, dealers, auctioneers and a rich range of artists, including market darlings George Condo, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. (Nathaniel Kahn, 2018, 98 min.)
Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future
What do the Chrysler Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, the film Destination Moon and America's space program all have in common? They were each touched by the creative vision of a forgotten artist named Chesley Bonestell. (Douglass M. Stewart, 2018, 96 min.)
Unfortunately, this film is not available online, but please visit their website for updates.
For more film festival fun, take advantage of the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection from Amazon Prime Video and SXSW. With 39 films composed of narrative and documentary features, short films and episodic titles, this one-time event will be free to all U.S. audiences with or without an Amazon Prime membership through May 6.
One of the most distinctive filmmakers of our time, Werner Herzog's edgy, larger-than-life films fuse the epic with the intimate, redefining the scale and scope of filmmaking to include more than 60 works shot on every continent. In his 2010 conversation with acclaimed author and essayist Pico Iyer, he discusses growing up in remote Bavaria, his wide-ranging projects and falling in love with the world. Video available through Friday, May 8. Use password "Herzog2010" to watch now.
UCSB student Aiyana Fraas was a member of A&L Event Staff who is now taking part in our OSA (Online Student Ambassador) program. As a Film and Media Studies major, she has some great resources for all things cinema:
"Film is one of those subjects that is simultaneously easy and difficult to keep up with in the current circumstances. Most people are watching more movies and TV shows than before quarantine started, but at the same time it is difficult for film and media creators to produce content. Film and television production is a very community-based activity that becomes a lot more difficult over virtual platforms. That being said, here are a few resources for film students and film buffs to look at and learn from."
Scrolling through seemingly endless streaming catalogs can feel like Groundhog Day (which, incidentally, is available to stream on Netflix). Whether you’re looking for poignant documentaries, lighthearted throwbacks, arthouse films or acclaimed fantasy flicks, our staff has you covered with recommendations to help you cut through the noise.
Ashley Aquino, Contracts Administrator & Executive Assistant
I'm all over the place. Lately I’ve watched (on Netflix):
Benjamin Harris, Performing Arts Coordinator
These are my favorites as of late. A few are a docuseries...
- Vela, a four-part docuseries about pro surfer John John Florence's open-ocean voyage to Palmyra Atoll.
- The Last Dance, a docuseries about the untold stories of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.
- Pirate Radio, a film set in 1966 about a crew of eclectic disc jockeys who broadcast rock and pop music to the UK from a ship anchored in the North Sea while the British government endeavors to shut them down.
Dana Loughlin, Director of Development
I recommend keeping it light with a blast from the past like Working Girl. Boasting an all-star cast and enough hairspray and shoulder pads to outfit a Bangles concert, this film is a perfect nostalgic escape.
If you want something more artsy-fartsy: The Square is streaming on Hulu.
