Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara 
CWC Classics: Mulholland Drive (in 35mm)
- Thursday, October 22, 2026 / 7:00 PM - 10:15 PM (PDT)
- Pollock Theater
- Screening Format: 35mm film projection (146 minutes)
- With John Trafton (author of Los Angeles and Film: A Cultural History of 20th-Century Hollywood)
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Director: David Lynch
Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller
The Carsey-Wolf Center is proud to present a special 35mm film screening of David Lynch’s 2001 masterpiece Mulholland Drive, a dreamlike vision of Los Angeles and the seedy underbelly of the film industry. Newly arrived in Hollywood with hopes of becoming a movie star, plucky young ingénue Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) encounters an enigmatic woman (Laura Harring) suffering from amnesia. As the two attempt to uncover the woman’s identity, their investigation leads them into a nightmarish conspiracy that plunges them deeper into the city. Meanwhile, filmmaker Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux) finds himself caught in a series of increasingly ominous circumstances while casting his latest film. Originally conceived as a television pilot for ABC, Mulholland Drive transformed into a feature after the project failed to move forward. Its episodic structure remains visible in its fragmented, surreal narrative. The film garnered numerous accolades, including a win for Best Director at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Named after the titular road that stretches from the Hollywood Hills to the Santa Monica Mountains, the film carries the weight of the city’s cinematic mythology. As Lynch observed, “You feel the history of Hollywood in that road.”
John Trafton (author of Los Angeles and Film: A Cultural History of 20th-Century Hollywood) will join moderator Miguel Penabella (Carsey-Wolf Center, UCSB) for a pre- and post-screening discussion of Mulholland Drive.
This event is free but a reservation is recommended in order to guarantee a seat.
Biographies
John Trafton (Chapman University and Occidental College)
John Trafton is a film historian, author, and educator specializing in the relationship between cinema, history, and place. He teaches cinema and media studies at Occidental College and Chapman University and is the author of Movie-Made Los Angeles and Los Angeles and Film: A Cultural History of 20th-Century Hollywood. His work explores how movies have shaped the cultural geography and historical imagination of Los Angeles and other cinematic landscapes. He is also co-host of the podcasts Moving Histories and This Movie Saved My Life.
Moderator Miguel Penabella (Carsey-Wolf Center, UCSB)
Miguel Penabella is Assistant Director of the Carsey-Wolf Center and an alumnus of the Film and Media Studies graduate program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he received both his MA and PhD. His completed dissertation examines conspiracy, spectrality, and melancholia as theoretical frameworks for examining historical revisionism in the Philippines and the links between former presidents Ferdinand Marcos and Rodrigo Duterte. He has also written on cinematic temporality and slowness. He is a former coordinating editor of Media Fields Journal.
This event is sponsored by the Carsey-Wolf Center.
CWC Classics
The CWC Classics program celebrates cinema’s rich history, bringing classic films back to the big screen for critical viewing and discussion. These events feature filmmakers, academics, and professionals who can contextualize the production and historical impact of the films. The series occasionally presents classic films in their original 16 or 35 mm formats. CWC Classics events celebrate the history and significance of cinema’s enduring legacy.