Once You See It
Share
Basia Myszynski ’78 explores ethics, technology and human truth through documentary filmmaking
Basia Myszynski ’78 explores ethics, technology and human truth through documentary filmmaking
By Diana Kalaji
For documentary filmmaker and Department of Drama alumna Basia Myszynski ’78, storytelling has never been about spectacle. It’s about attention: what we choose to see, how we learn to see what shapes our lives, and what we too often overlook.
“I’m always asking what’s happening beneath the surface,” said Myszynski. “And what changes once we really look.”
That question sits at the heart of Women of Carbon, her most recent documentary, which centers on female innovators working to reduce the climate impact of the built environment. Screened at the 2024 Newport Beach Film Festival and recently opening the 2026 Colorado Environmental Film Festival in February, the film examines how next-gen building materials such as mass timber, alternative cement and greener steel solutions could reshape construction and how women are leading many of those efforts.
“We discovered that the built environment is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions,” said Myszynski. “Yet it’s rarely talked about in human terms. What drew us in were the people — the women trying to change systems from the inside.”
As the film took shape, a deeper pattern emerged. Beneath the technical innovation were intergenerational stories: daughters influenced by fathers, mothers carrying knowledge forward while balancing caregiving and leadership responsibilities, and young people inheriting the consequences of today’s decisions.
“That wasn’t something we planned,” she said. “But it became the emotional center of the film.”
In Women of Carbon, technology functions as both subject and storytelling language. Drone footage reveals the scale of infrastructure projects and cityscapes. Animation and microscopic technology clarify complex material science. An optical gas imaging camera captures carbon dioxide itself — a striking visual that makes an invisible force visible to the naked eye.
“Carbon shapes everything, but people don’t see it,” Myszynski said. “Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.”
Image: (left to right) Tabitha Stine, general manager of energy solutions services, marketing and branding at Nucor Corporation, being interviewed by Women of Carbon director Basia Myszynski.
Authentic Storytelling
The impulse to reveal what operates quietly beneath our lives has defined Myszynski’s work for decades. Raised in North Hollywood by Polish immigrant parents involved in the arts, she grew up surrounded by theater, literature and visiting artists. At age 10, her mother directed Basia in her first stage performance. Creativity wasn’t extracurricular. It was embedded.
At UC Irvine, Myszynski pursued a bachelor’s degree in drama, drawn initially to performance and the relationship between actors and audiences. Faculty mentors such as late Professor Emeritus Robert Cohen and David McDonald challenged her emotionally and intellectually, while directing courses introduced her to the power of perspective, staging and storytelling.
“I realized I loved directing because I could shape an entire world,” said Myszynski. “Not just one character but the relationships, the space, the rhythms, the core message and broader picture.”
After graduating from UC Irvine, Myszynski took that curiosity abroad, earning an M.F.A. in film directing at the Polish National Film Academy. Studying filmmaking in communist-era Poland immersed her in visual symbolism, metaphor and vérité traditions shaped by truth-telling under political control.
“In Europe, storytelling wasn’t always explicit,” she said. “It was about what you could say between the lines through sound, light, movement, atmosphere and juxtaposing edits to reveal deeper truths.”
Documentary filmmaking emerged as a natural extension of that training. Together with her husband and longtime collaborator, cinematographer Leonard Myszynski, she founded sOlar eye communications, producing films that sit at the intersection of art, science and human experience.
Across projects like Modjeska: Woman Triumphant, Bridging Urban America and Leaning Out, technology becomes a character that shapes lives as much as structures. In Bridging Urban America, drones and aerial cinematography convey the enormity of landmark bridges, while musical animation connects bridge cables and chords, merging art and science. Underwater animation immerses audiences beneath the surface, revealing the intricate engineering and unseen monumental foundations below. In Leaning Out, engineering technology frames a deeply personal story of resilience and loss by Leslie E. Robertson, the structural engineer of the World Trade Center.
“Technology reflects who we are and what we value and the risks we are willing to take,” said Myszynski. “It’s never neutral.”
Producer and director of sOlar eye communications
Human Responsibility
She is candid about using emerging tools, including artificial intelligence, in her research and production workflow while maintaining firm ethical boundaries.
“AI can be incredibly helpful,” Myszynski said. “But it can’t replace human depth. Ethics have to guide every decision.”
That lens is central to her ongoing project, imOtherhood, which examines motherhood through reproductive technology, healthcare systems and social expectation. Inspired by her own family’s experiences, the documentary explores technology as both a lifeline and a moral crossroads.
“It forces us to ask hard questions about choice, access and responsibility,” said Myszynski.
As UCI Arts students enter a creative landscape increasingly shaped by technology, Myszynski encourages grounding innovation in human connection.
“You have to ask why you’re telling a story — and who it serves,” she said. “If you lose sight of the people whom you are elevating and who will be listening, the technology doesn’t matter.”
Looking ahead, she sees documentary filmmaking moving toward hybrid forms that blend genres, visual languages and technological tools to deepen emotional and intellectual engagement.
“The most powerful stories don’t live in one lane,” she said. “They’re layered, human and ethically grounded.”
For Myszynski, the measure of a film’s impact remains simple yet deeply personal.
“When I watch a film, I always ask, ‘Was it a true story?’” she said. “Because when it is, it changes how you see the world.”
In the end, that shift in perception, learning to see differently, remains the purpose of the work.
To learn more about the Department of Drama, visit drama.arts.uci.edu. To learn more about Myszynski’s work, visit solareye.biz.
Please visit our secure direct giving page and make a gift to support UCI Arts today!
