Vivien’s Wild Ride
A California Humanities-supported documentary, Vivien’s Wild Ride, is now available to audiences nationwide through Independent Lens, streaming on PBS platforms through April.
After an acclaimed career in cinema, Vivien Hillgrove begins to lose her sight, forcing her to reexamine her past and to reinvent herself and her art in this unconventional memoir.
Woven with a look back at the earthshaking 1970’s and 1980’s San Francisco Bay Area narrative film scene and the art of film editing, Vivien’s Wild Ride is a deeply personal exploration of Hillgrove’s past—including her experience as an unwed teenage mother in the 1960s— and her new reality as an artist learning to live with a disability.
The film offers an intimate and deeply human portrait that invites viewers to reflect on identity, creativity, and the personal journeys that shape who we become. Through stunning visuals and a strong sense of place, Vivien’s Wild Ride exemplifies the power of documentary film to foster empathy, spark dialogue, and illuminate lived experience — core values at the heart of the humanities.
Documentary storytelling has long been a vital way Californians share their stories with one another and with the world. By centering authentic voices and lived realities, films like Vivien’s Wild Ride help audiences connect across difference, build understanding, and see the humanity in one another.
California Humanities is proud to have supported this project and to see it reach a broad public audience through public media. We are deeply grateful to the filmmakers and partners who continue to amplify California’s stories and demonstrate how the humanities travel — from local communities to national conversations.
“Vivien’s Wild Ride is a personal documentary that chronicles my sight loss after a 50-year career in the film business in the San Francisco Bay Area. Losing my sight forces me to wrestle with the past and find strength and resilience as I navigate my new world. Throughout the making of the film, California Humanities has been a beacon of light. Now, with the PBS broadcast on Independent Lens, we can see our combined efforts shared with a national audience. The film shows the diverse tapestry and artistic heritage of the San Francisco Bay Area through the vulnerable story of one young girl. We are hoping this intimate profile invites a national dialogue about disability, aging, and what it means to see and belong through acts of creation, connection, and caring.”
From Director/Producer Vivien Hillgrove
Watch on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/viviens-wild-ride/
