Tag archives: Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The 41st Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) has completed yet another voyage around the sun. Under the capable baton of Executive Director Roger Durling and his talented team the festival remains dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema and attracting Oscar nominated talent worldwide. Over 100,000 attendees reveled […]
Less than a week ago chain link fencing still surrounded the entrance to the former Fiesta 5 Theatre, and big dumpsters perched on either side of the entryway on State Street. Passerby at that time would have been well within their rights to doubt SBIFF’s McHurley Film Center – the lavishly remodeled new facility for […]
Ifn previous years, many of the films in SBIFF have only had something of a tangential connection to the Santa Barbara area, maybe a producer or an actor, or below-the-line production crew. But you can’t get more Santa Barbara, and even more specifically, Montecito, than Relatively Normal. This full-length feature is having its world premiere […]
With the start of the 41st annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival less than two weeks away as this issue hits newsstands, you’d think the folks over at SBIFF might be a little bit too busy to be booking special screenings. Nope. On January 29, a mere six days from opening night, the Riviera Theatre […]
The big news since we last mentioned the upcoming 41st annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (excluding the big January 14 announcement of the film screenings and such – frustratingly slated to drop well past our deadline, ahem) is the addition of a trio of true superstar actors collectively receiving the newly-named Hammond Cinema Vanguard […]
It’s one of the axioms of the arts that just as the year is winding down, the Oscars and other film award races are heating up. What also warms up as the weather cools in our community is anticipation of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which presents its 41st annual event February 4-14. There’s […]
Longtime Santa Barbara resident Andy Davis, director of such classic films as The Fugitive and Under Siege, will be on hand for a free screening of his well-received 2003 dramedy Holes (first feature film of mercurial actor Shia LaBeouf) on Sunday morning, September 28, at SBIFF’s Riviera Theatre. A conversation with Davis about the movie […]
High above the sun-drenched vineyards of Paso Robles, DAOU Vineyards stands as a symbol of passion, craftsmanship, and the pursuit of excellence. Since its founding in 2007 by brothers Georges and Daniel Daou, this estate has become a cornerstone of California’s Central Coast wine country. Nestled in the renowned Adelaida District, DAOU has built a […]
There are few filmmakers who can claim their work has had true and tangible social impact. Without a doubt, Errol Morris is one of them. Oscar-winner Errol Morris’s newest documentary Separated – winner of The Social Justice Award sponsored by the Fund for Santa Barbara and screened at this year’s SBIFF – takes a hard […]
The glittery path from Hollywood to Santa Barbara for the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival got covered with ashes earlier this month from the devastating Los Angeles area wildfires that are still wreaking havoc on the greater community. The concept of rolling out the red carpet might have lost some of its luster, with […]
Roger Ebert once said that “the movies are like a machine that generates empathy. It lets you understand a little bit more about different hopes, aspirations, dreams and fears. It helps us to identify with the people who are sharing this journey with us.” If there’s one writer-director currently working from a place of empathy, […]
Are you a big Josh Brolin fan, especially ever since his character Llewellyn Moss got his buff cowboy body blown away by Javier Bardem’s methodical and passionless hitman Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, one of the Coen Brothers’ finest films? Or perhaps your taste runs to Jeff Bridges, another locally resident actor […]
The world of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival keeps expanding. What started as a tiny weekend film festival 40 years ago – a way to draw tourists to our seaside berg during the winter off-season lull – has exploded into a juggernaut of a festival that boasts more star power than any place outside […]
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is not only adding a 12th day for its 40th incarnation, slated for February 4-15, but is also finally employing the Riviera Theatre, SBIFF’s recently refurbished state-of-the-art year-round home, as a venue for the festival. The Riv will have its own dedicated film pass. All of the 2025 SBIFF […]
On the Wave Productions’ 22-minute documentary short film titled, Greetings from Summerland, Birthplace of Offshore Oil, is headed to Washington, D.C.’s bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. The film was produced and directed by filmmakers Harry Rabin and Joey Szalkiewicz. It premiered at the SBIFF and is scheduled for the Marjorie Luke Theatre for Earth Day. Its […]
The masterful moviemakers of 2023, at least as measured by the powers that be, have been speechifying down in L.A. at the SAG and PGA awards and across the pond for BAFTA. Many of them will likely get one last chance to orate on their opportunities and output at the Oscars, when the Academy Awards […]
What was a singly superb 39th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival ended with a bit of a downer as Annette Bening, announced as the winner of the inaugural Arlington Award – the fest’s newest and the last to be awarded this month – had to cancel the tribute event due to illness. (On the […]
SBIFF is surely sliding toward the end of this year’s festivities, but there’s still plenty to enjoy over the final three days, with opportunities to partake in pretty much all that the fest has to offer. That includes SBIFF’s tributes, the legendary sessions in which the actors engage in 90-minute or longer programs on their […]
Heather Graham has made a career out of portraying the charming, sexy-but-sweet girl who’s lighthearted and lovable as she’s in on the joke. Think Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the girl Jon Favreau finally connects with in Swingers, roles on TV’s Scrubs and Californication, and even Rollergirl in Boogie Nights. Graham plays a […]
Monty Roberts is the Salinas-bred cowboy who spent years trying to turn the equestrian community from “breaking” horses through violence to instead gaining their confidence through trust and gentility. The story of the owner of the decades-long Flag is Up Farms in Solvang and his ability to train horses through his kinder method isn’t a […]
