Citizens of Pasadena, California, may be familiar with the parrots constantly squawking in and around the city, but few know about their native Mexican origins. The red-crowned parrots, first brought to Los Angeles through the exotic pet trade in the 1970s and 1980s, are the primary focus of “Urban Ark Los Angeles,” one of two environmental documentary shorts produced by the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Read more...

Photo: (Nicole Anisgard Parra/Daily Bruin)

UCLA alumna Katie Torpey sits bent forward with her eyes closed, elbows resting on her knees, when she listens to people talk about their thoughts. Torpey is not a therapist, but a mentor for her students in a screenwriting class. Read more...

Photo: Alumna Katie Torpey teaches a screenwriting class at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut. The class aims to teach students how to transform their personal life stories into cohesive film projects. (courtesy of Katie Torpey)

“Rampage” at least lives up to its title. The science fiction action film displays seemingly endless scenes of gigantic animals destroying buildings, planes and everything else in their paths. Read more...

Photo: (Warner Bros. Pictures)