Film and Digital Media
- December 16, 2024
Award-winning independent filmmaker Trinh T. Minh-ha visits UC Santa Cruz
On Friday December 6th, 2024, University of California, Santa Cruz welcomed to campus the internationally acclaimed independent filmmaker, music composer and scholar Trinh T. Minh-ha for a screening of her 2022 documentary, What About China?.
- December 03, 2024
Professor Elliot Anderson named the inaugural director of the new AI lab for the Arts Division
The Arts Division’s new AI lab on campus, A4, has an inaugural director. Professor Elliot Anderson, who is also the chair of the Art Department, is using his years of experience bridging art and technology to run the new lab.
- October 17, 2024
UC Santa Cruz professor Anna Friz wins international prize in radio
Anna Friz, an associate professor of Film and Digital Media, has been raking in awards and honors. The multi-disciplinary artist who took a sabbatical last winter after receiving a Guggenheim fellowship, recently received the Karl Sczuka Prize for radio from SWR Germany.
- October 09, 2024
New AI-driven multimedia lab bridges art and technology
This year the UC Santa Cruz Art Division is introducing a state-of-the-art AI multimedia lab. The Ai Art Augmentation and Acceleration Lab, also known as A4, is aimed at assisting students across the Arts Division and includes $50,000 dollars worth of state-of-the-art equipment.
- October 09, 2024
Welcome the new faculty in the Arts Division
As a new quarter starts, the Arts Division is welcoming eight new faculty members who represent the creativity, diversity, and thoughtfulness that are key pieces of the division’s identity.
- August 01, 2024
UC Santa Cruz alumnus named semi-finalist in Student Academy Awards
Despite having only graduated last June, John Ortiz (M.F.A. ‘24, Social Documentation) is already finding success in the film industry. His documentary, Jerhy, is in the running for a Student Academy Award. He and his film currently rank as semi-finalists in the documentary category.
- July 02, 2024
Iconic concert film ‘Stop Making Sense’ playing at the Quarry Amphitheater
Of the many iconic figures who’ve come to Kresge Hall, none seem to be remembered as widely or as fondly as Talking Heads. Their 1977 performance and its history is what, in-part, led Jose Reyes-Olivas, the events and facilities general manager of the Quarry Amphitheater, to host a showing of the bands 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense.
- June 24, 2024
UC Santa Cruz alumna receives prestigious Sundance Fellowship
Brenda Avila-Hanna, who finished her MFA in Social Documentary in 2013, has won a prestigious fellowship at Sundance as part of their Producer Program. Her new film which combines fiction and documentary is her second ever feature film.
- June 10, 2024
The UC Santa Cruz Film and Digital Media Department celebrates 25 years
The Film and Digital Media Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz proudly marks 25 years, celebrating a legacy of success and innovation.
- May 30, 2024
The UC Santa Cruz Film and Digital Media Department presents: 'Echoes of Home'
To celebrate their achievements over the past two years the graduate film students are showcasing their works. The presentation at the Del Mar Theatre marks years of progress and the end of their time at University of California, Santa Cruz.
- May 15, 2024
UC Santa Cruz Arts Division Presents 'Find Your Path!'
Find Your Path! is a two-day experience that guides students through potential career pathways through both in person and online events.
- May 10, 2024
$1M grant to help prepare students for impactful careers in the arts
The UCSC entity Moving Image Lab, a new partnership between the Isaac Julien Lab and The Humanities Institute, will receive the prestigious Mellon Foundation funding that will provide the hands-on experience and career-building training in production, curation, and research and publication that distinguishes this project.
- April 17, 2024
Slug 48: The new 48 hour film challenge for students
The Department of Film and Digital Media is introducing the first event of its kind, Slug 48. Participating undergraduates will have 48 hours to create a film from start to finish including script writing, filming, and post production. Students can participate in groups or sign up alone, it all starts this Friday April 19.
- April 11, 2024
UC Santa Cruz Digital Arts and New Media program presents the 2024 MFA exhibition: "Embodiments"
The Digital Arts and New Media (DANM) program is showcasing the students’ best work in its annual MFA exhibition. Entitled Embodiments, the show features multimedia exhibits including visual novels, games and virtual reality as explorations into identity.
- March 18, 2024
April in Santa Cruz Creative Music and Arts Festival 2024: "A Time For Change"
The annual month-long celebration of the arts is back at UC Santa Cruz. There will be a dozen performances by talented professionals in art forms including dance, animation and much more.
- February 29, 2024
Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu launches her new book: "The Movies of Racial Childhoods"
To celebrate, Shimizu will be hosting a book launch on the University of California, Santa Cruz Campus at the Sesnon Gallery, where the book will be available for purchase from Two Birds Books. The book will be discussed in conversation with Shimizu and the Sesnon Gallery director Valeria Miranda.
- February 26, 2024
The Center for Creative Ecologies presents "Nuclear Nows: Contemporary Art, Radiation, and Militarized Ecologies”
This two-part symposium is the work of Zoe Weldon-Yochim, a Ph.D. Candidate in Visual Studies, in collaboration with T.J. Demos, Professor in the Department of the History of Art and Visual Culture and Director of the Center for Creative Ecologies, and will discuss the intersection of contemporary art, militarized ecologies, and nuclear nationalism.
- February 12, 2024
Innovation at the intersection: An alum’s trailblazing ventures in tech, film, and social change
Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler is an award-winning tech entrepreneur, a filmmaker and producer, a social justice advocate, and a scholar.
- January 22, 2024
Duke University Press publishes Arts Dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu’s new book: The Movies of Racial Childhoods
UC Santa Cruz’s Dean of the Arts Division, award-winning filmmaker and author publishes her fourth sole-written book, exploring contemporary representations of Asian American youth.
- January 09, 2024
UC Santa Cruz Division of Undergraduate Education appoints Soraya Murray as new Provost of Porter College
The Division of Undergraduate Education at UC Santa Cruz is pleased to announce the appointment of Soraya Murray as the new Provost of Porter College, effective July 1, 2024. Murray, an esteemed interdisciplinary scholar with a passion for mentorship, will bring a unique perspective to her new role.
