WINNERS OF THE 27TH ANNUAL SANTA BARBARA FILM FESTIVAL (SBIFF 2012) With closing film of festival, the Lebanese hit film by actress/writer/director Nadine Labaki, WHERE DO WE GO NOW? (Arabic: وهلّأ لوين؟ w halla' la wayn‎, French: Et maintenant, on va ou?, 2011) which held its world premier during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival as part of 'Un Certain Regard'. It was the Lebanese 2011 Oscar submission this year. The film held its North American premier in Toronto at TIFF...

  WINNERS OF THE 27TH ANNUAL SANTA BARBARA FILM FESTIVAL (SBIFF 2012) With closing film of festival, the Lebanese hit film by actress/writer/director Nadine Labaki, WHERE DO WE GO NOW? (Arabic: وهلّأ لوين؟ w halla' la wayn‎, French: Et maintenant, on va ou?, 2011) which held its world premier during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival as part of 'Un Certain Regard'. It was the Lebanese 2011 Oscar submission this year. The film held its North American premier in Toronto at TIF...

Now even though I was scheduled to attend this event, I had a very important dinner meeting this night at a nearby SB Lebanese restaurant 'Zaytoon' (yum, great belly dancer, shisha and garden decor by the way) so I did not attend. But I was told later that Franco was '127 hours late' arriving after an Oscar rehearsal and red carpet interviews were nil as he ran in faster than the speed of light but here is a short recap of the James Franco award panel for 'Outstanding Performance' hosted...

Celebrating its Silver Anniversary, The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) presents its stellar line-up for 2010.  The 25th edition features 196 films including 18 World Premieres, 28 U.S. Premieres and a vast selection of films representing 45 countries.  SBIFF is proud to welcome immensely talented filmmakers and honorees as we look back at 25 years of cinematic history and has assembled exceptional and evocative movies to entertain the expansive SBIFF audience.  The Fest...

“Sure I enjoyed Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz talking the about their approaches to acting, but nothing had the emotional and inspiring impact of YES MADAM, SIR, a true story in which a woman named Kiran Bedi valiantly fights to reform India’s police service,” said Barney Brantingham of the Santa Barbara Independent, a veteran columnist who has covered the festival since its inception in 1985.Hot on the heels of 'Slumdog Millionaire' comes YES MADAM, SIR, the non-fiction feature film abou...

The 23rd installment of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) presents its film line-up for 2008, featuring 215 films including 20 World Premieres, 22 U.S. Premieres and a rich selection of films representing 49 countries. The Festival takes place over 11 days beginning Thursday, January 24, through Sunday, February 3.“The Festival has continuously grown in stature,” commented SBIFF Director Roger Durling, “and this year’s film slate certainly reflects that. We’re ver...

The 2007 Santa Barbara International Film Festival announces their slate of films for the 22nd installment. The festival, which welcomes Chrysler and The New Yorker as Premiere Sponsors, takes place over 11 days beginning Thursday, January 25, through Sunday, February 4, and will feature 22 World Premieres, 18 US Premieres, and introduce films from 40 countries. “This is the most ambitious and most diverse line up of events and films the Festival has ever had,” commented SBIFF Director Ro...

The 20th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced the winners of the 2005 festival competition, as well as next year’s festival dates, February 3-12, 2006.Winners were selected by the following jury members:American Independent Jury: Joe Dante (director, “The Howling” and “Gremlins”), Clark Peterson (producer, “Monster”) and actor Perry Lang (“The Big Red One” and “Eight Men Out”).Spanish and Latin American Film Jury: Cynthia Hargrave (former Music Ex...

The film line-up was announced today by Artistic Director Roger Durling for the 19th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which takes place January 30 - February 8, 2004. The 10-day festival will feature 3 World Premieres, 5 U.S. Premieres, a North American Premiere, a World Cinema section and a Latin Film Section as well as Sidebars featuring Women in Cinema, Musicals and Cult Classics.Previously announced, the SBIFF will present the Modern Master Award to Peter Jackson. The prog...