The LAIS Program would like to congratulate Professor Cristina Venegas, of the Film and Media Studies Department, on her upcoming film, recently featured in The Current! Professor Venegas is a director, producer and executive producer on the documentary, currently under the working title “Mapping Alzheimers.”
This important film is a collaboration between Professor Cristina Venegas and her sister, Marisol Venegas, as well as documentary filmmaker Marc Shaffer. It will feature their travels within Colombia, the country where Professor Venegas was born and spent some years of her childhood. Colombian neurologist Dr. Francisco Lopera and UCSB neuroscientist Kenneth S. Kosik worked with communities that suffer high rates of Alzheimer’s, who were willing to participate in the betterment of science by sharing their stories.
Professor Venegas’s film will bring the story of the communities, the relationships, and the researchers to a wider audience. In addition to her contributions to LAIS, teaching LAIS 103 and guest lecturing in LAIS 100, she is creating cinema that recognizes a heartfelt collaboration spanning multiple cultures and bringing diverse people together. Thank you for your work, Professor Venegas!