2024 Program Announcement

Below is the list of feature and short films at the 2024 SBIFF. For the complete list of films, synopses, and other special events please visit the SBIFF app. A printed program guide will be available February 6th. * * * 39TH FESTIVAL OPENS WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF...

2023 Award Winning Films

We are excited to announce the award-winning films for the 38th edition. Awards were announced and given out at a ceremony on Saturday February 18th hosted by El Encanto, a Belmond Hotel, in Santa Barbara with Jury and Filmmakers in attendance. “This 38th...

FREE FILMS AT SBIFF

Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis following passholder admission. Schedule subject to change. MAESTRO Thursday, February 8 – 2:00 PM – Arlington Theatre OPPENHEIMER + Q&A WITH CILLIAN MURPHY Friday, February 9 – 2:00 PM –...
Daughters of the Dust

Daughters of the Dust

Dear Cinephiles, “What’s past is prologue.” A year ago, on May 25, 2020, Darnella Frazier, a 17-year old, took a video with her cellphone and changed the world. The Minneapolis police had given an ambiguous account of George Floyd’s death, and if it hadn’t been for...
Serpico

Serpico

Dear Cinephiles, “The reality is that we do not wash our own laundry – it just gets dirtier.” When I first came to the United States to study in 1978, I had a poster of “Serpico” (1973) the way that Tony Manero had one in his bedroom in “Saturday Night Fever”...
The 400 Blows

The 400 Blows

Dear Cinephiles, “Oh, I lie now and then, I suppose. Sometimes I’d tell them the truth and they still wouldn’t believe me, so I prefer to lie.” François Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” has been so much written about that I don’t know what else I can add to the...
Army of the Dead

Army of the Dead

Dear Cinephiles, “They’re not what you think they are. They’re faster. They’re organized.” Ever since 1968 and the release of George Romero’s classic “Night of the Living Dead,” the popularity of the Zombie genre has been growing. Prior, there had been films with...
Those Who Wish Me Dead

Those Who Wish Me Dead

Dear Cinephiles, Connor: “My dad said if anything happened to him, to find someone I could trust.” Hannah: “I’m absolutely someone you can trust.” I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a brand-new release for a very long time. Could it have been propelled by the...
Ace in the Hole

Ace in the Hole

Dear Cinephiles, “When you have a big human interest story, you’ve got to give it a big human interest ending. When you get people steamed up like this, don’t ever make suckers out of them.” For someone who has relished in cinema since he was born, I have...
Tenet

Tenet

Dear Cinephiles, “What happened, happened. It’s an expression of faith in the mechanics of the world. It’s not an excuse for doing nothing.”   Kudos to Christopher Nolan for being adamant about having his film “Tenet” (2020) get a theatrical release — and...
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Dear Cinephiles, “What’s wrong dude?! Ain’t you never seen a sunset?!“ One of the things I’ve missed the most since our imposed hibernation of the past year set in has been visiting New York City. Because of business relating to the festival and my involvement on the...
The Night of the Hunter

The Night of the Hunter

Dear Cinephiles, “And then the good Lord went on to say, ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.’” What is it about serial killer movies that has...
Scarface

Scarface

Dear Cinephiles, “Okay, here’s the Story. I come from the gutter. I know that. I got no education, but that’s okay. I know the street, and I’m making all the right connections. With the right woman, there’s no stopping. I could go right to the top.” I...
Notting Hill

Notting Hill

Dear Cinephiles, Anna Scott : “Her most famous part. Men went to bed with the dream; they didn’t like it when they would wake up with the reality. Do you feel that way?” William : “You are lovelier this morning than you have ever been.” I’ve definitely grown...
My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady

Dear Cinephiles, “Look at her, a prisoner of the gutters, condemned by every syllable she utters. By right she should be taken out and hung for the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue!” One of my favorite moments in cinema can be found in George Cukor’s still...
Girls Trip

Girls Trip

Dear Cinephiles, “We haven’t hung in five years. This weekend is about us. We are here together. Today is the last day that we will ever be this young.” In 2018, I hosted a Q&A with the talent for George Tillman Jr.’s “The Hate U Give” at the Riviera Theatre. One...
At Eternity’s Gate

At Eternity’s Gate

Dear Cinephiles, “What I see nobody else sees. It frightens me.” I have always found comfort in the work of great filmmakers, journeying through their vision as it unfolds in front of my eyes. For me, there’s a vicarious aspect to this because I’ve never longed to...
Black Orpheus

Black Orpheus

Dear Cinephiles, “Thousands of years ago, Orpheus was sad and melancholic, like this little bird trapped in its cage. But one day, from the strings of his guitar that sought only one true love, a voice spoke to him of lost kisses from the lips of Eurydice.” “Black...
Flirting with Disaster

Flirting with Disaster

Dear Cinephiles, Mel: “You got a lot of nerve. You come in here, you lick my wife’s armpit. You know… I’m going to have that image in my head for the rest of my life with your tongue in there.” Yes, there’s a famous armpit licking scene in David O....
Breathless

Breathless

Dear Cinephiles, Patricia: “Listen. The last sentence is beautiful. ‘Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.’ Which would you choose?” Michel: “…Grief’s stupid, l’d choose nothing. It’s not better, but grief’s a compromise. l want...
Summertime

Summertime

Dear Cinephiles, “All my life, I’ve stayed at parties too long because I didn’t know when to go.” In David Lean’s “Summertime” (1955), there’s a moment that captures for those who’ve been there, and for those who haven’t yet experienced it, the exhilaration of the...
Risky Business

Risky Business

Dear Cinephiles, “My name is Joel Goodson. I deal in human fulfillment. I grossed over eight thousand dollars in one night. Time of your life, huh kid?” Paul Brickman’s “Risky Business” (1983) plays as well today as it did the first time I saw it. Even better. When it...