Fundraiser for Film Debuts ‘Dads’ Documentary 

The 2023 short documentary film The Dads featured five fathers of trans children who joined Dennis Shepard – father of 1998’s infamously murdered teen Matthew Shepard – for a weekend fishing trip. In the course of the outing, the dads found common ground across racial, geographical, and generational lines in their unconditional love for their “gender expansive” offspring. The film not only won a 2024 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Program, it also spawned a new organization. The Dads Foundation was founded to foster an inclusive and affirming community for all fathers and male-identifying caregivers of transgender children. These parents and caregivers are provided understanding, resources, and connection as they navigate the unique challenges and triumphs associated with supporting their children’s gender identity journeys.

The filmmakers are also putting the finishing touches on a feature-length version of The Dads, following the fathers over a year through the politically tumultuous time leading up to and in the aftermath of the 2024 election. As anti-trans legislation and hostility escalates nationwide, several families are forced to make an impossible choice: stay and fight, or flee the U.S. to protect their children. In the process, fatherhood becomes an act of radical resistance.

A Santa Barbara fundraiser is set for Thursday, July 24, at 6 pm at Community Arts Workshop where the short will be screened – it’s also available on Netflix – as well as an extended preview of the upcoming feature, which still needs to capture footage of the expat families. A discussion and Q&A with Director Luchina Fisher, Producer/subject Stephen Chukumba, and several additional fathers will be followed by a reception with the team. Visit www.thedadsfoundation.org or www.sbcaw.org/upcoming.

Friday Night Film Alternatives 

Movie lovers now have alternatives for free al fresco films on Friday nights this summer. UCSB A&L’s ongoing Summer Film Series continues its “Dog Days of Summer” screenings at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens. Next stop, Best in Show on July 25 – master mockumentarian Christopher Guest’s biting, all-star satire on the denizens of the dog show world. Come early to check out DJ Darla Bea’s curated two hour-plus playlist of 1950s rock, Caribbean soca, electro funk and doggie themed tunes for the series – with Bea in person tonight. (Visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu). Also that night, the Ojai Film Society launches its 37th Summer Series – featuring six free screenings under the oaks at Libbey Bowl on alternating Fridays (through October 3) – with Sally, the documentary about astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Visit https://ojaifilmsociety.org for the schedule and details. 

In contrast to UCSB’s entertainment-oriented slate, Ojai’s curated screenings carry the theme “Imagine A World,” which envisions a more just, expansive, and beautiful future, each film chosen to inspire courage, creativity, and connection by highlighting stories that remind us that another world is possible. 

Petro Departs Pollock, Melnick Moves in 

UCSB’s Carsey-Wolf Center Director Patrice Petro stepped down at the end of the 2024-25 academic year after nine years at the helm to return to full-time teaching. Swapping places, UCSB Film Professor Ross Melnick will step in as interim director for 2025-2026. His new responsibilities include shepherding the new Pollock Theater features series “Connectivity.” The series will be screening films that examine the evolving meaning of connection in our contemporary times, both as a technical feature of media and as a humanistic value and condition of social and public life. The series is meant to be a framework for thinking critically about the ways in which people use media to connect with ideas and with one another, from the shared experience of moviegoing to the collective bonds forged through storytelling and public dialogue. Visit www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu.