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Admission is free. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.
(Dis)placement: Fluctuations of Home opens with the works and words of community organizers and filmmakers. Through meetings, poetry and visual arts education and collaboration, these artists engage profoundly with their communities. The films in this program depict the ongoing housing struggles from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. The evening includes films by UCLA alumni: L.A. Rebellion filmmakers Charles Burnett (’69, M.F.A. ’77) and Shirikiana Aina (M.A. ’82), Los Angeles Filmforum programmer and educator Diego Robles (’06) and 2025 UCLA Luskin Institute Activist-in-Residence Lupita Limón Corrales.—Associate Programmer Nicole Ucedo
Brick by Brick
U.S., 1982
Brick by Brick is an unflinching documentary portrait of late-’70s Washington, D.C., where Black residents face displacement amid rising gentrification. Juxtaposing the iconography of national monuments with scenes of homelessness blocks away, the film highlights the Seaton Street project, a powerful example of tenant resistance. Nearly 40 years later, Shirikiana Aina’s debut remains a prescient testament to global struggles against displacement — and a reminder of who pays the price for so-called progress in the Chocolate City.—Public Programmer Beandrea July
DCP, color, 37 min. Director: Shirikiana Aina.
When It Rains
U.S., 1995
On New Year’s Day, a man tries to help a woman pay her rent and learns a lesson in connecting with others in a community. Ayuko Babu, founding director of the Pan African Film Festival of Los Angeles, assumes the lead role in a pleasingly empathic reading.
35mm, 13 min. Director/Screenwriter: Charles Burnett. With: Ayuko Babu, Florence Bracy, Kenny Merritt.
We Are Wyvernwood
U.S., 2011
This collaborative film project between Diego Robles, the LA Co-Media film collective and residents of the Wyvernwood Garden apartment complex in Boyle Heights introduces the Wyvernwood community and their shared struggle against displacement. Filmmaker and educator Diego Robles was invited to collaborate on film education initiatives at Wyvernwood during the early days of the recession — a time when residents were mobilizing against the looming threat of demolition. Through this partnership, Robles guided and participated in the creation of short films that honor the vibrant and unique community Wyvernwood residents are determined to protect.—Associate Programmer Nicole Ucedo
DCP, 7 min., in English and Spanish with English subtitles. Directors: Diego Robles, Abraham Osuna of Los Angeles Collective Media (LA Co-Media), Wyvernwood residents Roberto Mujíca and Gumaro Oviedo, the Los Angeles Conservancy. Producer: Karina Muñiz.
Nuestros Videos Culturales para la Preservación de Wyvernwood (Our Cultural Videos for the Preservation of Wyvernwood)
U.S., 2009
Erasto Arena documented the images seen in Nuestros Videos Culturales para la Preservación de Wyvernwood at a community gathering and procession. The footage was edited by Diego Robles with input from Arena, who wanted to convey the feeling of everything moving fast and slow at the same time. For the residents of Wyvernwood, life does move at a rapid pace as they balance full-time jobs, raising children, organizing community events and resisting eviction and demolition.—Associate Programmer Nicole Ucedo
DCP, 4 min. Directors: Erasto Arena de Tejaluca Puebla, Comité de la Esperanza, Diego Robles of Los Angeles Collective Media (LA Co-Media).
The Need for Roots
U.S., 2023
As a poet and organizer, Lupita Limón Corrales’ voice speaks clearly and loudly on the issues she and her Los Angeles community face. Lupita’s first film, The Need for Roots speaks on these issues too, but without her usual spoken word. Here Lupita’s words are visual, overlaid on footage captured from her window and the surrounding streets. Lupita’s images portray both beauty and destruction as she reflects on the changes in her Echo Park neighborhood and why home is worth defending.—Associate Programmer Nicole Ucedo
DCP, 3 min. Director/Screenwriter: Lupita Limón Corrales.
