Santa Barbara International Film Festival

SBIFF's Film Camp is back and IN-PERSON! Offered in conjunction with our local United Boys & Girls Clubs, this beloved program brings 30 underserved teens to Camp Whittier for a week. While they're there, they'll learn about the craft of filmmaking and collaborate to make films of their own, all while having the quintessential sleepaway camp experience. Visit sbiff.org/filmcamp to support this program!

Today is the LAST DAY to nominate SBIFF for Best Annual Event and Best Theatre in the @sbindependent Best of Santa Barbara Poll. Help get us on the ballot by going to SBIFF.org/vote!

Join us for SBIFF Film Talk on Thursday, July 8th at 5:30pm with Topher Grace. Sign up at sbiff.org/filmtalk

CALLING ALL FILMMAKERS! We are now accepting films for the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival! Submit your film via FilmFreeway

Happy Birthday Mahershala Ali! @mahershalaali #mahershalaali #happybirthday #hbd #sbiff @ugg

Dear Cinephiles, Suo tempore. (Everything in its time.) Midnight on a Friday evening meant creature feature on television in Panama. My brother and I would get dispensation from our parents to stay up late and watch. The station would repeat some titles, and I didn’t mind. Especially if it meant getting to see again The Fly (1958) or Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). I never found them scary. I thought they were fun. They ignited my imagination. I was well aware th...Continue reading

THE SHOW MUST GO ON! Join us for the 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival in a way like never before... It’s imperative we bring a sense of hopefulness to 2021, but in the safest way possible, says Roger Durling, SBIFF’s Executive Director. A virtual component was a given but experiencing movies in socially distanced cars and being by the ocean felt oh so perfectly Santa Barbara, California. ... We are excited to announce that we are planning an elaborate build-out of two beachside drive-in theatres for the 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival presented by UGG, occurring March 31 - April 10, 2021. The drive-in theatres will be presented by Toyota Mirai and be hosted at Santa Barbara City College. They will include 80+ film screenings, all offered for FREE. RSVPing prior to arriving will be required. Passes for the 2021 Festival are now on sale, as are tickets for the celebrity tributes. Visit sbiff.org/tickets to purchase We also unveiled our poster for the 36th Edition. Barbara Boros has designed the SBIFF poster each year for 18 years, this year highlighting Santa Barbara’s Alice Keck Park. In addition to the drive-ins, SBIFF will offer a full-scale, ticketed virtual component, which will include online film screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes. To date, we have announced tribute honorees including Bill Murray, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amanda Seyfried, Riz Ahmed, Maria Bakalova, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Andra Day, Sidney Flanigan, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Zendaya, and Delroy Lindo. The tributes and industry panels will be aired live, over the festival’s virtual platform. SBIFF programmerswho received a record number of film submissions this yearhave assembled an impressive and diverse line-up that includes over 100 films, many of them World and US premieres. The film lineup and schedule will be announced in early March. We have poured all of our creativity into this plan and are very proud of the shape it is taking. SBIFF 2021 will be completely unique and marked by the excellence SBIFF is known for. Comments Durling.

George Clooney joined us recently to discuss THE MIDNIGHT SKY. The film will be available on Netflix. Check it out and watch the Q&A here! #georgeclooney

Dear Cinephiles, Things that hide are more dangerous and scary, says grandma to the unruly seven-year old David as they come across a snake in Lee Isaac Chung’s kindhearted and far-reaching Minari (2020). She’s recently arrived from Korea with seeds in her pockets of the peppery herb that give the film its title. She finds a placid spot with lots of shade by a creek in the land that her son-in law has bought in Arkansas. The stems from the plant are used as flavoring and ...Continue reading

Happy Birthday to Michaela Watkins! Last year she and Jillian Bell joined us to discuss their film BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON. @michaelawat @jillianbell @brittanyrunsmov #michaelawatkins #jillianbell #brittanyrunsamarathon #sbiff #happybirthday #hbd

Join us Thursday at 6:00pm to welcome filmmakers Rowen Kahn and Aidan Kahn to discuss their short film MARSHA! Sign up at SBIFF.org/filmtalk #aidenkahn #rowenkahn

Dear Cinephiles, King-Lu: It’s the getting started that’s the puzzle. No way for a poor man to start. You need capital or some form of miracle. Cookie: You need leverage. King-Lu: Or a crime....Continue reading

Happy Birthday to Christopher Plummer! He joined us in 2012 to receive the Maltin Modern Master Award, the same year he went on to win the Oscar for his role in Mike Mill’s BEGINNERS. #hbd #happybirthday #christopherplummer #sbiff #mikemills #beginners

Dear Cinephiles, George Bailey: Now we can get through this thing alright, we’ve got to stick together though. We’ve got to have faith in each other. I hadn’t sat through Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) for a very long time until a few days ago, and not surprisingly it floored me. The heartbreak that has been 2020 lingered in my thoughts as I watched this beloved holiday classic. In particular, the alternate universe to which George Bailey is sent by the Angel ...Continue reading