About Vega Darling

Vega Darling

Filmmaker | Scholar | Community Organizer | Cultural Archivist

Vega Darling (he/him) is a queer, trans, punk-rooted filmmaker, scholar, and community organizer whose work blends rigorous research with radical empathy. With a foundation in the DIY ethos of riot grrrl, Darling has built a body of work that documents and disrupts the dominant narratives around gender, subculture, and social movements across Generation X, Boomers, and Millennials. His films explore intergenerational feminism, punk, queerness, and collective memory—offering a cultural bridge between generations often siloed by media and academia.

Darling holds an MFA in Social Documentation from UC Santa Cruz and a BA in Psychology and Social Behavior & Film and Media Studies from UC Irvine. His award-winning documentary work, including Lost Grrrls: Riot Grrrl in Los Angeles and the upcoming feature GRRRL: 25 Years of Riot Grrrl, has been screened internationally at venues such as Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Carnegie Mellon’s Miller Gallery, East End Film Festival (London), and Frameline. Lost Grrrls has been recognized by Dazed Digital and Alternative Press as a seminal work in riot grrrl cinema.

Darling’s practice is intersectional, interdisciplinary, and deeply rooted in grassroots community organizing. He has served in leadership roles for organizations such as Atlanta Pride, South Georgia Pride, and the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference—often developing innovative, inclusive programming that centers trans and queer youth, families, and artists of color. As a programmer and creative director, he has shaped events across the U.S. that connect cultural work with social justice—curating spaces that hold complexity, invite dialogue, and honor resistance.

In the classroom, Vega brings two decades of experience as a cultural worker to bear as a university educator in film studies and production. He mentors emerging artists in radical storytelling, queer/feminist media, and DIY documentary techniques—helping students examine how art can amplify marginalized voices and intervene in systems of oppression. His pedagogy is informed by lived experience, critical theory, and the unyielding belief in community as a site of transformation.

Darling’s films, zines, archives, and events document cultural histories that are too often erased—making visible the voices and visions of queer, trans, and feminist communities across time. Through film, art, and education, Vega continues to push the boundaries of what a documentary can be: a tool for remembering, resisting, and reimagining the world.