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CWC Docs:
John Lilly and
the Earth Coincidence Control Office
with Courtney Stephens (filmmaker)
Thursday, May 21 / 7:00 PM
Pollock Theater, UCSB
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John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office (2025) uncovers the story of daring experimenter Dr. John C. Lilly, a scientist who dedicated his life to radical self-investigation and unlocking the mysteries of consciousness and communication. Through extensive archival research—including historical footage, personal writings, interviews, and home movies—the film traces Lilly’s innovative career, from his groundbreaking neurobiological research of cetaceans (dolphins and whales) to the more speculative realms of mysticism and countercultural experimentation. As his work intersected with broader social shifts during the Cold War and the drug-infused counterculture, Lilly pursued radical experiments in sensory deprivation and dolphin communication, while also using psychedelic substances such as LSD, ketamine, and psilocybin to chart new pathways to human and animal consciousness. He garnered fame as both a serious researcher and a pop culture curiosity, inspiring films like The Day of the Dolphin and Altered States. Directors Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens, along with narrator Chloë Sevigny, explore the pioneering and often controversial career of a man who dove into the psychonautical unknown.
Filmmaker Courtney Stephens will join moderator Joshua Baldelomar (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office.
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Courtney Stephens
(filmmaker)
Courtney Stephens is a writer/director whose films include Terra Femme (2021), The American Sector (2020), and Invention (2024), which premiered at Locarno and won a performance prize. Her work has screened at major museums and festivals including MoMA, the Berlinale, SXSW, and NYFF. She is a Guggenheim and Fulbright recipient and has received numerous additional grants. Stephens also organizes film screenings and publishes widely in outlets such as BOMB, Film Comment, and The New Inquiry.
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Joshua Baldelomar
(Film and Media Studies, UCSB)
Joshua Baldelomar is a PhD candidate in the Department of Film and Media Studies at UCSB. His dissertation traces how media practices shaped relations and knowledge among brain scientists, patients, and publics in the early to mid-twentieth century across disciplinary and national boundaries. His research has received awards from Domitor and the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, and has been supported by multiple research institutions.
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