The Department of Film and Media Studies is designed for those who are captivated by the large screen and the small screen. As home to the Carsey-Wolf Center for Film, Television and New Media, we have become one of the world’s leading film and media research centers, fostering a new generation of visionaries with a stake in the future of screen media.
We focus on film, television, and new media around the world. Our 400 undergraduates cultivate critical and analytical skills through the study of media objects and practices. Students have the opportunity to interact closely with distinguished faculty on research projects and to meld theory with practice through a vibrant mix of activities, such as the Screenwriters' Co-op, Reel Loud Film Festival, and Media Fields Journal.
The Department hosts the long-running AFI Routledge book series.
Film and Media studies News & Events
Ian Kellett, a UC Santa Barbara professor co-leads the Coastal Media Project. It’s a nine-week, 12-credit intensive summer course focused on environmental media production and documentary studies, offered through UCSB’s Carsey-Wolf Center. It combines a passion for film with environmentalism as students adventure through nature, telling meaningful stories.
Filmmaker and director Persis Karim visited UC Santa Barbara for a screening of her film The Dawn is Too Far, hosted by the Center for Middle East Studies. The film details how art serves as a cultural creative outlet for many Iranian immigrants who moved to America.
Cinema sound editor Javier Umpierrez joined UCSB Film and Media Studies professor Greg Siegel for a post-screening discussion on the 2021 fantasy mystery film Memoria, which was the inaugural feature of “Panic!,” a fall series presented by UCSB’s Carsey-Wolf Center. Umpierrez spoke about his role in Memoria’s sound design and the film’s portrayal of bodies and locations recording history.
The story of how UCSB college band Rebelution put themselves on the map, garnering a global audience of millions and a Grammy nomination. A feature story written by UCSB student Emily Ferguson.
Screenwriter, producer, and UCSB educator Wendy Eley Jackson speaks to a student from the campus' Film and Media Studies department about her experiences within Hollywood’s film industry. Having gained acclaim working on several well-known films and television shows, Jackson uses her knowledge and resources to mentor her students towards successful careers in the film industry.
This spring, UC Santa Barbara’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted an annual contest to highlight creative student voices across the campus. The following are the winning submissions in the Photography category.
This spring, UC Santa Barbara’s Humanities and Fine Arts Division hosted an annual contest to highlight creative student voices across the campus. The following are the winning submissions in the visual art category.
As part of its “Storytelling for the Screen” series, the Carsey-Wolf Center hosted queer and Native American director, writer, and producer Erica Tremblay for a post-screening conversation about her film, “Fancy Dance” with moderator Lisa Parks, a professor in UCSB’s Film and Media Studies department.
Allen Schultz, a Writing and Literature major specializing in film and screenwriting at UC Santa Barbara, took on the job of production manager in the student-produced film, “Overture". In this interview, he delves into the logistics of creating a student-made film about a young boy, who is both blind and deaf, overcome by his love for music as he experiences the vibrations of sound. Allen also discusses his rewarding role as director in his own short film “Disposable,” a story about life as a UCSB student and Jewish identity.
Lily Fitzgerald, a third-year UC Santa Barbara Film and Media Studies student, started baking cakes in the neighboring community of Isla Vista in 2022. Shortly after, she founded her business “Sunshiney Cakes,” and has since been baking these whimsical, wildflower-topped cakes and posting them to social media.
Humanities and Fine Arts Dean Daina Berry and Film lecturer Wendy Jackson joined student moderator Maya Johnson for a panel discussion celebrating Black life in America. They discussed a variety of topics surrounding Black life both personally and within academia, in honor of Black History Month this February.
UC Santa Barbara's Carsey-Wolf Center hosted UC Irvine film professor Lucas Hilderbrand and UCSB Ph.D. student Graham Feyl to discuss the film classic, "Paris is Burning." The speakers said the film had a major impact on the LGBTQ community, on cinema, and on pop culture.
UC Santa Barbara’s Carsey-Wolf Center hosted the filmmakers Valerio Ciriaci and Izaak Liptzin to discuss their film Stonebreakers. The speakers talked about the protests surrounding the Columbus monuments during the Black Lives Matter movement and finding new ways to memorialize history.
UC Santa Barbara’s Carsey-Wolf Center hosted Cuban writer-director Miguel Coyula and actress Lynn Cruz to discuss their 2021 film Corazón Azul. The filmmakers spoke about the challenges they faced over the decade it took to produce the film, specifically, government censorship in Cuba.
UCSB's Department of Film and Media Studies recently hosted Dewitt King, a UC Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow in Film and Media Studies at UC Irvine, for a lecture on anti-Blackness and the sex-based economies within the pro wrestling scene. He told the story of a pro wrestler, Lio Rush, and his experiences with the industry and how he joined the subscription-based platform OnlyFans.