The Film and Video Center is UC Irvine and Orange County's premiere art house cinema, screening new, independent, experimental and groundbreaking films and videos. The FVC also presents much loved classic films and lesser known gems. Finally, the FVC co-sponsors film festivals representing a diverse range of international and multicultural themes each year.

The FVC is the only cinematheque in Orange County that screens rare and premiere films in 35mm as they were originally meant to be seen. With the capacity for 35mm, 16mm and video projection, along with a state-of-the-art surround sound system, FVC provides a one-of-a-kind movie-going experience at the fraction of the cost of a typical movie theater.

Whenever possible, filmmakers are present at the screenings to interact with the audience and answer questions about their work.  Over the past ten years, the FVC has welcomed American independent filmmakers such as Trinh T. Minh-ha, David Lynch, and Jem Cohen, as well as international artists including Kawase Naomi (Japan), Im Kwon-Taek (Korea), Alberto Arvelo (Venezuela), and Martin Arnold (Austria). The FVC also cosponsors intellectual forums and post-screening discussions with film experts.  Renowned film critics and scholars who have spoken at the center include Jacques Derrida, David E. James and Linda Williams.

The mission of the FVC is to provide Orange County and surrounding communities with quality, original works of art unavailable anywhere else, promote independent film making and create a culture receptive to new and unique movie-going experiences.

Lauren Steimer, FVC Director

Lauren Steimer is a Lecturer in the Department of Film and Media
Studies. Lauren’s areas of specialization are Hong Kong action cinema,
film exhibition history, labor, and the body. She teaches classes on
Alfred Hitchcock, the musical, moving image pornography, and New
Hollywood cinema. Lauren is a PhD candidate in the Department of
Cinema Studies at New York University and her dissertation concerns
economies of stardom in the Hong Kong action cinemas of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her work speaks specifically to the skilled body of the virtuoso martial arts performer as a unique cinematic spectacle
indebted to a unique matrix of regional Chinese stage and theater
traditions.

Lauren worked in the exhibition industry for over a decade, operating
seven motion picture theaters. She is currently working on a research
project that concerns the shift in the Hollywood power structure from
a corporate producer-controlled industry to a corporate exhibitor-
controlled industry, a shift that began in the 1970s but has had
lasting effects on the ways in which Americans see movies.

Lauren was awarded Outstanding Professor of the Year in the School of
Humanities for 2007 by the graduating class. She has been honored with various teaching commendations from multiple student housing
communities at UC Irvine. Lauren is strongly committed to university
service and speaks regularly at student events on a variety of topics
related to film history.

Kimberly Yaari, FVC Associate Director

Kimberly Yaari holds a BA in Film Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and is currently completing her MA in Cinema from San Francisco State University. Her thesis explores Sudden Fear (Miller 1952) as a post World War II/1950s transitional film and how Joan Crawford exemplified changing ideologies of the era.

Ms. Yaari is also the Volunteer Coordinator for the Newport Beach Film Festival and has held volunteer positions with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and the Fullerton Film Festival. Previously, she was Associate Director of the Riverside Arts Council and Communications Manager of the Arts Council for San Bernardino County. Ms. Yaari works as a contract professional in the fields of grant writing, event planning and public relations.