Field Trip to the Movies

Field Trip to the Movies was created in 2003 as a FREE educational component of the annual Festival to inspire school age children and introduce them to the possibilities of being a filmmaker. The program is a collaboration between Festival staff, the Santa Barbara County School system and the talented professionals that attend the Festival.

Each year the Festival chooses an aspect of filmmaking as a theme and selects a film/short that highlights that theme. Schools are contacted in September to determine their interest in the program. Participating classes are provided with talking points and production notes to assist the teachers with the development of their study guides.

Students participate in a group art project to stimulate their creative thinking and to teach them team building skills. The banners they create display Field Trip’s theme for that yea and are judged by acclaimed nature filmmaker Mike deGruy and the visiting filmmaker.

Mike deGruy and the guest filmmaker host an interactive Q&A session with the students following the screening of the film/short during the Festival. Our 2010 guest filmmaker was Oscar® winning director James Cameron.

Field Trip to the Movies Facts
• A FREE program for 5th and 6th grade students in Santa Barbara County (SBIFF covers theatre rental, movie rental, equipment rental, communication materials and staff fees)

• 35 schools participated in the 2010 program

• 3,860 students participated in 2010

• SBIFF provides FREE bus transportation to participating Title I schools

• SBIFF Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC) assists in overseeing the 40+ volunteers who help coordinate on-site logistics the day of the screening