You’re Invited

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Please join UCLA’s Friends of the Semel Institute and the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital Board of Advisors for an exclusive in-person screening of Narcissist’s Playbook – Empathy Not Included.

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Sunday, May 3, 2026
3:00 – 5:00 PM

James Bridges Theater UCLA

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This gripping new documentary is part exposé, part real-time unraveling, exploring the cycle of narcissistic abuse through the voices of survivors and the rare, candid perspectives of self-aware abusers.

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Filmed across eight countries, the film reveals the hidden strategies used to manipulate, confuse, and control, whether in personal relationships or positions of power. Through survivor testimony, expert insight, and unprecedented access to individuals who openly disclose their own tactics, the story builds to a startling twist: during production, the filmmakers themselves become entangled in manipulation by one of their subjects.

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What begins as a documentary becomes a powerful, real-time confrontation with deception, showing just how pervasive these dynamics can be.

Beyond raising awareness, the film offers a clear and accessible framework to help recognize manipulation and empower those affected.

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Following the screening, please stay for a live panel discussion with the filmmakers and leading experts in the field.

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Panelists:

Mark Vicente (Director) Author, speaker, and award-winning filmmaker Mark Vicente was the director behind the sleeper hit What the Bleep Do We Know?!, a case study in grassroots independent film success. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mark shot his first Hollywood feature at the age of 26, Disney’s Fatherhood (starring Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry), making him one of the youngest cinematographers to lens a studio film. His credits include 14 feature films, documentaries, and commercials, as well as director of photography on Sarafina! starring Whoopi Goldberg. Mark went on to direct Encender el Corazón, about Mexico’ s kidnapping crisis. Later, as a whistleblower in the NXIVM scandal chronicled in HBO’ s The Vow, he helped expose coercive control on a global scale. His work now focuses on using cinema to reveal the mechanisms of manipulation while exploring the resilience and beauty of the human spirit.

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Scott Altomare (Producer) is a native New Yorker who began his career as a screenwriter, selling his first script just six months after arriving in Los Angeles. When a $15M feature stalled in litigation, he pivoted to producing to safeguard creative vision. Working his way up from production assistant to producer, he has since overseen over 20 feature films and documentaries, most notably HBO’s Kevorkian and the global phenomenon What the Bleep Do We Know?! Scott brings decades of experience balancing artistry with execution. He is the author of Listen to Your Tummy in the Zoo, a children’s book series that introduces emotional awareness and early patterns of narcissistic abuse. He is currently writing the second installment.

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Lyn Davis Lear, PhD (Producer) is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, environmentalist, and activist known for her powerful documentaries tackling climate change, democracy, and social justice. Her recent work includes acclaimed films like The Great Hack, Fantastic Fungi, and Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It, as well as several Sundance premieres. She produced the UN Climate Summit opener What’s Possible, which reached over 127 million people globally. With a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and a deep passion for storytelling, Lyn blends her expertise in human behavior with her commitment to cultural change. A longtime board member of the Sundance Institute and LACMA, Lyn is also co-founder of the Environmental Media Association. She is currently working on a memoir about her spiritual journey with Norman Lear, her husband of nearly forty years, and enjoys time with their three children and six grandchildren.

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Ramani Durvasula, PhD is The New York Times bestselling author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is a psychologist, professor emerita of psychology and the world’s leading expert on narcissistic relationships. Dr. Ramani received a Masters degree in Psychology and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from UCLA.

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April D. Thames, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA and a nationally recognized clinical neuropsychologist. She serves as Chief of the Division of Medical Psychology and directs the Adult Psychology Consultation-Liaison Service at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. Her work focuses on cognitive aging, trauma, and the use of digital interventions to improve mental health outcomes.

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