SCREENING + TALK |
Disney Worldbuilders (2026) with Leslie Iwerks

Join us for a special screening of Disney Worldbuilders (2026), the newest documentary from filmmaker and author Leslie Iwerks. Through in-depth interviews with the creative minds that inspired iconic Disney theme park lands and attractions, this film explores how beloved stories from Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel and many more are brought to life for guests around the world. This screening will be followed by an exclusive conversation with Iwerks moderated by museum Executive Director Kirsten Komoroske.

Children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult who shall be responsible for the child at all times.

• Walt’s Circle Donors: Tuesday, September 15 at 4pm PT by emailing the Membership team
• Founding, Supporter, and Friend-level members: Wednesday, September 16 at noon PT by emailing the Membership team
• All member levels: Thursday, September 17 at noon PT online
• Public (non-members): Friday, September 18 at noon PT online

Upgrade your membership to receive priority access to purchase tickets. For more information, please email the Membership Department at membership@wdfmuseum.org.

Leslie Iwerks is an Oscar®- and Emmy®- nominated documentary filmmaker and author who has created critically acclaimed, award-winning documentaries, features, and series that celebrate the genius, risks, and rewards of creative visionaries, and showcase heartfelt human tales from the depths of the Guatemalan garbage dumps to the toxic tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to the human stories of innovation and enterprise globally.

Filming on all seven continents, Iwerks has earned rare behind-the-scenes access to many of the world's leading filmmakers, artists, inventors, entrepreneurs, and cultural institutions. Her documentaries span subjects as diverse as environmental justice, groundbreaking technologies, global business, and the creative forces behind some of the world's most beloved stories—all united by a fascination with the people who dare to imagine, innovate, and define what's possible.

Her most recent feature documentary Disney Worldbuilders (2026) chronicles the renowned filmmakers whose early inspiration of Disneyland led to their own beloved characters and stories becoming, attractions and lands now in Disney parks around the world. Her additional credits include the acclaimed six-part docuseries The Imagineering Story for Disney+, the four-part series 100 Years of Warner Bros that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, and the three-part series Superpowered: The DC Story for HBO Max.

Her other feature documentaries and series include The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story (1999), The Pixar Story (2007), League of Legends Origins (2019), and Disneyland Handcrafted (2025). Her environmental and social issue short documentaries have been Oscar® nominated, Oscar® shortlisted or have won top film festival awards, including Recycled Life (2006), Downstream (2008), Pipe Dreams (2011), and Selling Lies (2019). Iwerks’ desire to innovate and push boundaries with her filmmaking has been cultivated and inspired by her family upbringing, as her grandfather, Ub Iwerks, was the original designer and co-creator of Mickey Mouse and a multi Academy Award®-winning visual effects pioneer and her father, Don Iwerks, is an Academy Award® Gordon E. Sawyer Lifetime Achievement recipient. Leslie is a member of the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Documentary Branch, and has been a juror, panelist and sought after guest speaker at film and book festivals, conferences around the world including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, SXSW, TedX, D23, Comic Con, THEA, IAAPA, The Walt Disney Family Museum, and the Disney Cruise Lines among many others. Leslie works and resides between Los Angeles, Ojai, and New Orleans.

Kirsten joined The Walt Disney Family Museum as Executive Director and Member of the Board of Directors in 2013. Kirsten has held a number of executive, legal, and board positions, including General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources for Tyco Electronics Corporation, Vice President of Human Resources at Groupon, Inc., and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA. Prior to her position at the museum, Kirsten worked as a practicing lawyer, advising organizations on a wide range of strategic, business, venture capital and private equity, and HR issues.   

In 2018, Kirsten was elected to the Board of Directors of both the San Francisco Travel Association and the Hiller Aviation Museum. She was elected Chair of the San Francisco Travel Board of Directors in February 2023.  

Kirsten has a background in—and a lifelong passion for—the arts, having grown up studying violin and modern dance. She received a B.A. in Italian from the University of California at Berkeley and a J.D. from Santa Clara University. 

Guests of The Walt Disney Family Museum can request American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters on-demand for our Talks, Workshops, School Experiences, Tours, and Storytimes. If you would like to request an ASL interpreter, please fill out the form linked below. Please note: Interpreter availability is not guaranteed and requests must be submitted at least two weeks in advance.

The museum is proud to partner with Bay Area Communication Access (BACA) for our ASL interpreter needs. For more information on their services, please visit BACA's website.

Additionally, in our Classes and Workshops, we also provide a wide and diverse range of visual and sensory accommodations, including (but not limited to) physical items to visual/written instructions.

For more information on our Accessibility offerings, please visit our Accessibility page by clicking the link below.