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Connectivity: Storming Caesars Palace
with Hazel Gurland-Pooler
(filmmaker)
Tuesday, April 28 / 7:00 PM
Pollock Theater, UCSB
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Directed by Hazel Gurland-Pooler, Storming Caesars Palace (2022) chronicles the life of Ruby Duncan, who rose from hotel maid to prominent protester, movement organizer, and White House advisor while fighting to defend and expand welfare rights in Las Vegas. To combat unjust accusations of fraud made by the Nevada welfare department, Duncan organized a feminist civil rights movement led by low-income mothers demanding dignity, democratic participation, and a guaranteed basic income. Through interviews with Duncan, her family, and movement leaders including Gloria Steinem, the film weaves together extensive archival footage to spotlight an unsung struggle that challenged presidents, confronted the Las Vegas power structure, and forced Americans to rethink the racist and sexist myth of the “welfare queen.” Adapted from Annelise Orleck’s acclaimed book, Storming Caesars Palace offers a timely reminder of a fight for economic justice led by those most marginalized.
Following the screening, director Hazel Gurland-Pooler will join moderator Chelsea Kai Roesch (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a discussion of Storming Caesars Palace and its enduring relevance today.
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Hazel Gurland-Pooler
(filmmaker)
Hazel Gurland-Pooler is a Colombian-born, New York City-based documentary filmmaker. Her debut feature, Storming Caesars Palace, premiered at the BlackStar Film Festival, where it won the Shine Award, and has since earned multiple other honors. She previously directed episodes of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and co-produced The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, which won Emmy, Peabody, and duPont-Columbia awards. She is currently working on a new film, Finding Luz.
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Chelsea Kai Roesch
(Film and Media Studies, UCSB)
Chelsea Kai Roesch is a PhD candidate in Film and Media Studies at the UCSB, where she studies digital media, internet culture, and tech labor. She is a UC Regents Fellow and has received awards from the UC Humanities Research Institute, Interdisciplinary Humanities Center at UCSB, and Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. She is also an organizer of the Alt-Right Media Literacy Series. Chelsea is currently conducting research on women workers in digital casinos.
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