3 Short Taiwan Documentaries Featuring Surfing, Street Art, & Skateboarding, with filmmaker Dr. James Wicks (Professor of Media and Film Studies)

Images of surfer in Taiwan on a sunny beach, wetsuit, ready to jump in; a plant in black and white image on the street, filmmaker, James Wicks smiling, arms folded; skateboarder in Taiwan, red-pink floral pattern over the image

We invite you to watch three documentaries that uniquely blend art, academic inquiry, and Taiwanese culture, featuring:

"Surfing Taiwan: Past, Present, Future" which presents the rich history of surfing in Taiwan and why it is significant to the culture, bringing the viewer 18 minutes of captivating and inspirational stories.
"Taiwan Plants are Graffiti" is a first-cut of a five minute documentary shot in Taiwan which presents the ways Taiwanese people use plants to decorate homes, businesses, and establishments as a form of street art.
"Skateboarding in the Skateboarding Capital of the Skateboarding" is an experimental 5 minute short that guides viewers through the streets of Taiwan's southern city of Taitung via the movement of skateboarding.

Dr. James Wicks is a San Diego-based media educator and filmmaker who grew up in Taiwan. He is currently working on surf documentaries set in Taiwan as well as a documentary about his recently published photobook, Plants as Roadblock as Graffiti (Unpress, 2026).

This event is free and open to the public. For questions, please contact Jeremy Murray (History), jmurray@csusb.edu. Find past and upcoming events in the Modern China Lecture Series here.

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