Movie screening: All Illusions Must Be Broken
Thu, Feb 12
|Scarbrough Campus - Room 326
A special screening of a bold new documentary from directors Laura Dunn & Jef Sewell, presented by UATX and the Austin Institute.
Time & Location
Feb 12, 2026, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Scarbrough Campus - Room 326, 522 Congress Ave. suite 300, Austin, TX 78701, USA
About The Event
ABOUT THE FILM
All Illusions Must Be Broken is a cinematic contemporization of the last interview made with American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker whose book The Denial of Death won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 1974. Becker’s multi-disciplinary exploration of human nature and his own personal testimony challenge us to move beyond our fears and see the beauty that surrounds our fragile lives.
Using Becker’s brilliantly conceived framework, the film examines unexpected consequences that stem from denaturing children’s formative years. Increasingly, cultural & virtual environments are replacing our actual, natural environment. In the process, as Becker’s ideas help to show, we only further our tendencies toward self-deception.
Part film essay, part verité study, the narrative interleaves Becker’s profound insights, contemporary interviews on the re-patterning power of screens, and scenes from a boyhood ages birth to 13.
Laura Dunn will be in attendance and discuss the film briefly before it begins.…