Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin

Berkeley Film Foundation

2011-08-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

The Berkeley Film Foundation has granted the project $12K. Thank you, Berkeley! Ursula grew up in Berkeley, lived in a Maybeck-designed house on Arch Street, and attended Berkeley High in the years during and after WWII, when the city was flooded with brilliant refugees from Hitler's forces. Through the story of her coming-of-age in Berkeley, Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin will open up a fascinating chapter of the city's history.

New NEH Funding

2011-08-29T16:34:00.001-07:00

The National Endowment for the Humanities has given me a $60K research grant for the documentary. Thank you, NEH, for supporting the project. When they called to give me the news, they said, "Hi- it's your Federal Government." The research period begins immediately, in September 2011. In the next five months I'll conduct research at libraries and special collections, consult with the Humanities advisors on the film's content, and work on the script. I am wrapping up my work as Associate Producer on Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey's gorgeous American Masters documentary on Charles and Ray Eames (to air on PBS on December 19), and can't wait to sink my teeth into the UKL material once again. Check out the Los Angeles Times article here.

Worlds of UKL Receives Production Grant from Cal Humanities Council

2011-03-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

The California Council for the Humanities awarded a $20,000 production grant this month to Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin! This will really push the film forward. I'm honored to be sharing the council's generous support with other great projects, including Regarding Susan Sontag. The NEH and state humanities councils are being threatened by the right. Visit the CCH and NEH sites to show your support!

California Documentary Project awards development grant to Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin

2009-04-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

December 2008: California Documentary Project, a joint program of the California Council for the Humanities and the Skirball Foundation, awarded the Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin film a Research & Development Grant. This funding will allow me to work with humanities experts to develop the California story that informs so much of Le Guin's work. In addition, our team is using the grant to create a funding trailer incorporating interviews with Ursula, her fans, and archival footage and photographs.

Arwen Lee Curry Awarded SFFS Filmhouse Residency

2008-11-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (working title) has a new home by the bay. View the press release here:

The San Francisco Film Society announced today the first ten filmmakers who have been awarded SFFS FilmHouse Residencies. This innovative new program, developed in partnership with the San Francisco Film Commission, supports local independent filmmaking by making office space available free of charge to filmmakers actively engaged in various stages of film production. The initial recipients include writers and directors, working on narrative features and documentaries, from the earliest stages of development to postproduction. FilmHouse, opening on November 1, will function as a vibrant workshop and community-builder for local filmmakers of all stripes.

October Fundraiser

2008-11-09T16:19:00.001-08:00

Our October fundraiser at Needles & Pens bookstore in San Francisco was a great inauguration to the project. Fans of Ursula K. Le Guin and the Le Guin-curious came to enjoy the fine sounds of the Top Critters (see photo). Anna Brown and Brontez read two of Le Guin's short stories: "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" and "The Author of the Acacia Seeds." I gave a short introduction to the project, and we did a short but very engaging Q&A. Thanks to everyone who helped out and donated their time and money, for making this a successful event!

Le Guin Fundraiser Photos

2008-11-09T16:12:00.001-08:00

Donate Now!

2008-10-23T13:43:00.001-07:00

Donate to Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (working title).

Why is sci-fi important now?

2008-09-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Why is science fiction, or any fiction, important now? We populate an age of global disasters, when technological advancement has surpassed the predictions of early sc-fi writers — yet the basic understanding of how to live together harmoniously seems light-years away. It is essential that we take seriously the task of imagining — and endlessly reimagining — our world. To survive, we must question basic assumptions about how to share resources and responsibilities, how to end global warfare, and how to protect our planet's ecology. Perhaps more than any writer of her generation, Le Guin has determinedly examined possibilities for how we might achieve such a balance. Her courage in confronting this great creative task makes Le Guin one of our most relevant living writers.

Le Guin Film Event Sunday 9/28 in SF!

2008-09-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Photo by Marian Wood Kolisch

2008-09-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Introduction to the film

2008-09-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (working title) will be an hour-long documentary film exploring the life, roots, and ideas of the celebrated Bay Area-born science fiction and fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin. I hope you will join me, San Francisco filmmaker Arwen Lee Curry, on this adventure (i.e., on this blog!) as I move through the various stages of development and production.