Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara 
Blue Horizons 2019 Film Premiere
- Friday, August 23, 2019 / 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (PDT)
- Pollock Theater
Join us for the premiere of several engaging and topical short films produced by students in the Blue Horizons Summer Program for Environmental Media. During this nine-week summer program, students learn elements that are essential to producing documentary films – from developing a film’s core idea and story, to thinking about its impact on its audiences, to the nuts-and-bolts of video production. After examining the critical issues of our region’s oceans and seashores, students develop their own stories and produce their own short documentaries. This year’s films are “Beyond the Gates,” “Cannabis Row,” “Climacito,” and “Sea Sick.”
The event will be followed by a reception in the Michael Douglas Lobby.
Blue Horizons is generously sponsored by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The Benioff Ocean Initiative Environmental Media Fellowship program, generously funded by Marc and Lynne Benioff, provides financial support for Blue Horizons students.
The program is cosponsored by the Carsey-Wolf Center, the Associated Student Coastal Fund, the Department of Film and Media Studies, the National Marine Sanctuaries Channel Islands, and UCSB Summer Sessions.
All available seats for this event have been reserved. A standby line will be formed at the door of the theater. We will admit patrons on a first come-first served basis if seats become available.
Beyond The Gates
“Beyond the Gates” explores the controversial push for public access at the beaches along Hollister Ranch in Goleta, California. The film highlights the ranchers’ concerns about opening their private property while also stressing members of the public’s desire to exercise their state right to coastal access. As legislation moves forward regarding public access at Hollister Ranch, California citizens must explore perspectives on all sides of the issue.
Fifth Eye Productions:
Aidan Dillon
Cameron Leingang
Ily Logeais
Kate Madigan
Quinn Wilson
Cannabis Row
“Cannabis Row” tells the story of how a plant has transformed Carpinteria, CA. When Proposition 64 was passed in California in 2016, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors rushed to change land ordinances so that cannabis could be cultivated within county lines. Carpinteria has quickly become one of the largest cultivators of cannabis in the state, and tensions are high between supporters and those who believe the newest crop is destroying their town’s character. The film examines the laws that changed allowing for cannabis’s rapid growth, the problems citizens have encountered with the plants’ odor, and the debate over the price of changing a town’s legacy.
Whatnot Productions:
Charlie Poukish
Katherine Swartz
Thomas Carloss
Henry Windle
Climacito
At first glance, the town of Montecito may seem like a little slice of heaven, but further examination reveals a community that has been ravaged by natural disasters. The film examines the resilience and community values exemplified by Montecito residents in the face of catastrophe. We see how challenges, including fires, droughts, and mudslides, have brought this community together and whether they have prepared it for the next, and possibly most grueling, hurdle yet.
NEAT Productions:
Taylor Fuchs
Elizabeth Joaquin
Annika Kao
Nidhi Khanolkar
Sea Sick
At the center of the California coastline, where rolling mountains touch the sea, is a paradise town: Santa Barbara. While Santa Barbarans share an intimate appreciation for their town’s natural wonders, they have a unique connection with their dolphin neighbors. However, the chemicals used on vineyards and farms across Santa Barbara county are silently polluting rivers, plaguing oceans, and hurting marine life, resulting in more and more dolphins washing up on our local shores. The harm Santa Barbarans are causing their dolphin neighbors and their ecosystem is now coming full circle, leaving not just the sea sick.
Land to Sea Productions:
Sarah Nunn
Jillian Li
Daisy Johnson
Nick Ely
Miranda de Moraes
