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Film and Media Arts

From moving pictures to an established industry, film and media have the power to capture our most powerful stories. Learn more about how it has evolved and helped tell diverse stories.

Fine Cut 2019 mosaic
A still from the short animated film "Wolf and Cub" depicts a Black father and son standing at the edge of a cliff, looking off to a vast desert landscape. In the middle of the desert landscape is a building. The son is piggy-backed on the father's shoulders and the father is holding some sort of staff.
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Fine Cut

An Animator’s Sudden Death Derailed His Film, So His Friends Finished It for Him

Jessica Pak holds one her chickens in her tailor shop.
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Southland Sessions

L.A. Photographer Captures the Stories Behind Koreatown's Businesses

City of Ghosts
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Artbound

Hybrid Animated Series Explores L.A.'s Rich and Complicated Histories for Kids

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Fredrika Newton and Dana King stand on either side of a bronze bust of Black Panther Party leader Huey P. Newton. Fredrika Newton, who was long gray braids, places her hand on Huey's cheek as she looks up at the bust with reverence. Dana King, who has gray, curly, shoulder-length hair topped with a purple knit hat, looks over at Fredrika with a respectful gaze. Surrounding the women are a crowd of people holding umbrellas. They sky above is gray and overcast.
Black Panther Party Leader's 'Love and Legacy' Captured in Sculpture and Documentary
Short documentary "For Love and Legacy," a film by A.K. Sandhu, explores the nexus of art, race, and legacy as it follows sculptor Dana King and activist Fredrika Newton as they build a monument — a bust of Black Panther Party (BPP) leader Huey P. Newton, Oakland's first public monument honoring a member of the BPP.
A black and white photo taken from below of composer Arnold Schoenberg conducting. He's holding a baton and gestures one of his hands as he faces an orchestra, which is out of frame. Sylvain Noack, the concertmaster, can be seen to the left, playing a violin.
The Exiles and Émigrés That Shaped the Sound of Early Hollywood
Talented composers fleeing Nazism made a new home for themselves in the United States and, in the process, helped create the vibrant sounds and the emotional pull of such Hollywood movies as "Casablanca," "Sabrina" and many more.
An image of two Vietnamese American artists with their works
The Women of the Vietnamese American Arts Scene in Orange County
Artists Kiều Chinh and Ann Phong would have never thought they would be part of the art scene in Orange County when Saigon fell in 1975. Despite decades of work, both continue to fly under the radar.
A man working in the field holds out his hand to the camera.
Photo Essay: Farmworkers Advocate for Their Right to Thrive
Photojournalist Julie Leopo takes us into the lives of farmworkers in Oxnard, as they navigate the complexities of working in the field, poverty and unstable futures.
An old black and white photo of Sidney Poitier directing behind a large film camera. He's wearing a brimmed hat that partially shades his face and a plaid collared shirt. Poitier looks directly in front of him and points two fingers at something out of frame.
How Sidney Poitier Paved the Way for Black Leading Men in Hollywood
Black filmmaking wouldn't be what it is today if it weren't for the countless pioneers that came before. Sidney Poitier revolutionized the film business with countless roles that veered away from demeaning stereotypes of Black life in Hollywood, but he also hungered to portray more complex characters that represent the Black experience.
A man holding a large video camera.
In Every Era, Black Filmmakers of L.A. Struggle to Tell Their Stories
Filmmaking is not only a way to tell a story, but to preserve memory. In every era, Black filmmakers like Gregory Everett, Zeinabu irene Davis, Ava Duvernay and Issa Rae continue to use film as a medium to keep their stories alive.
A collage image of the same African American man in different stages of his life.
No Longer Overlooked: Gregory Everett's Impact on Black Los Angeles
From his west side party series to his community work in the Crenshaw District, Gregory Everett has always been motivated by the larger perspective, but his impact stayed relatively underground. Learn more about this pivotal person in the Black L.A. community.
Grown men in wide-brimmed hats watch the goings-on at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena, a 6,000-seat facility designed expressly for charreadas.
How Pico Rivera Became the Epicenter of Charrería and Mexican Ranch Life in L.A.
For decades, the Pico Rivera Sports Arena has remained a cultural institution and cornerstone for generations of Mexican American families and the Latino community at large. As it flourished, so did charrería, Mexican rodeo.
A still from the short animated film "Wolf and Cub" depicts a Black father and son standing at the edge of a cliff, looking off to a vast desert landscape. In the middle of the desert landscape is a building. The son is piggy-backed on the father's shoulders and the father is holding some sort of staff.
An Animator’s Sudden Death Derailed His Film, So His Friends Finished It for Him
The short animated film was the last script written by CalArts animator and writer Marvin Scott Bynoe before his sudden death March 2020. Over a year later, the unfinished project was completed by over 80 CalArts students and professors as a labor of love.
An elderly man stands wearing a powder blue puffer jacket and a teal windbreaker underneath. His hands are in his pockets and a baseball cap sits on top of his head. Behind him is a gorgeous landscape consisting of a towering, snowcapped mountain to his left and a forest of trees of various shades of greens, orange and yellow.
'Your Friend, Ranger Doug' Tells the Story of Climate Change on a Human Scale
Five Chapman University students braved the Montana winter to tell the story of longtime park ranger Doug Follett as he confronts the decline of Glacier National Park and reflects on the legacy he leaves behind in short documentary "Your Friend, Ranger Doug."
A black and white image of a highway lined by trees with the mountains in the background.
Why the High Desert Is a Cloud Watcher’s Paradise
In the desert, the skies are illuminated by the setting sun. A dazzling display of swirls, slashes and streaks of the clouds rush by. High & Dry explores the dazzling cloud formations in the California high desert.
A graphic design poster of a movie theater with the words Outfest LA
Outfest LA Celebrates Nearly Forty Years of LGBTQ+ Cinema
Outfest strives to tell queer L.A. stories in all of their localized specificity, complex diversity and transnational reach in an era of pandemic isolation.
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