The city of Santa Barbara is one the jewels of the California coast. The pace is slow and the weather is beautiful.
The SBIFF opens January 26th and continues thru February 5th.
Below are some highlights of this wonderful festival;
SBIFF 2012 will kick off at the historic Arlington Theatre with the World Premiere of the Sony Pictures Classics film Darling Companion, directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline,Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Sam Shepard, Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, and Ayelet Zurer. Lawrence Kasdan and cast will be in attendance.
The Opening Night film will be preceded by the new Pixar animated short film, La Luna, written and directed by Enrico Casarosa. La Luna is a fable of a young boy who heads to sea for a most unusual rite of passage. Following the Opening Night screening, the festivities will continue with a party at Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara. Opening Night Film and Gala is sponsored by Studio 7 and The Hollywood Reporter.
On Closing Night, SBIFF proudly presents the West Coast Premiere of Where Do We Go Now? directed by Nadine Labaki. Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and Broadcast Film Critics Association nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, this anti-war comedy offers a wildly creative take on the intractable religious conflict in a remote village.
What's happening in between? Keep reading.
A Clockwork Orange
*Newly restored print of this film classic. In a futuristic Britain, a gang of teenagers go on the rampage every night, beating and raping helpless victims. After one of the boys quells an uprising in the gang, they knock him out and leave him for the police to find. He agrees to try "aversion therapy" to shorten his jail sentence. When he is eventually let out, he hates violence, but the rest of his gang members are still after him.
Short Doc-5 Pictures of a Father
What does a father mean to a daughter? Filmmaker Nadia Josefine El Said poses that question to a handful of women who share their poignant personal stories, told in beautifully crafted vignettes using stylish graphics, drawings and staged tableaux.
Short Doc-After
A film about remembrance of a loved one, as illustrated through the bereavement of those closest to the loss.
American Riviera Award Honoring Martin Scorsese
From the time he directed MEAN STREETS in 1973 to this year’s HUGO, director Martin Scorsese has established himself as a modern day cinematic master. Scorsese has garnered six Academy Award® nominations for Best Director (including a 2007 Oscar® win for THE DEPARTED). With the films TAXI DRIVER (1976), RAGING BULL (1980), and GOODFELLAS (1990) ensconced into the AFI’s Top 100 American film list, Scorsese is widely known as the greatest American film director of his era. The filmmaker has earned numerous accolades including France’s Legion of Honor, Italy’s Order of Merit and the U.S.’s Kennedy Center honors. Additionally, Scorsese recently took home the best director award at the Golden Globes in 2012 and the Cecil B. Demille Award in 2011. For this lifetime dedication to making movies as well as preserving them through The Film Foundation, SBIFF is extremely proud to award Martin Scorsese the 2012 American Riviera Award.
Another Silence
A tough Canuck cop follows the youthful killer of her hubby and child all the way to the Argentinean-Bolivian border.
The Artist-If you haven't seen this jewel of a film, here's your chance. One of my top ten films of 2011.
A love letter to 1920s Hollywood, THE ARTIST resurrects silent cinema as a powerful and complex storytelling medium. Shot entirely in black and white, without dialogue and in a traditional 1.33 aspect ratio, the film remains faithful to the period it represents. Jean Dujardin plays George Valentin, whose matinee-idol good looks and arrogant but good-natured charm evoke Douglas Fairbanks at his best. While working the premiere of his new film, George accidentally bumps into a beautiful unknown, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), and the ensuing photo op sets her on the path to unexpected fame. THE ARTIST tells a familiar story, reminiscent of classics like SUNSET BOULEVARD and A STAR IS BORN, but Michel Hazanavicius and cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman breathe new life into an old tale. Above all, THE ARTIST offers a joyous look back to a golden age and will leave audiences nostalgic for a cinematic form that, as Hazanavicius proves, hasn't lost its resonance. - abridged from Toronto International Film Festival, Mich"le Maheux
A Womb with a View-Feature documentary World Premiere
Societal pressures can lead to alienation for women who do not become mothers. How inherent is the role of motherhood to the value of a woman's worth? The issue of not having children is explored through the lives of several women, some who made the choice not to have children and others for whom it evolved. A WOMB WITH A VIEW invites the audience to get to know these women so that their choices are better understood, often revealing motives and circumstances that are eye-opening. It is without judgment or shame that their sacred stories are opened for you.
Barrymore
It's often said that Christopher Plummer is the greatest actor Canada has ever produced and one of the finest classical actors of his generation. Having mastered the stage, as well as the big and small screens, he took on a role in 1996 that would come to define him: John Barrymore, another actor of towering stature. Barrymore opened at the Stratford Festival in 1996 before moving to Broadway, where Plummer won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. The production has since been revived to even more widespread acclaim, with Plummer maturing into the role and imbuing it with ever-deeper pathos and wit. The play has now been transformed into a film directed by Erik Canuel. With its elegant close-ups contrasted against a deliberately theatrical setting, BARRYMORE is a ribald and affecting exploration of the pleasures and perils of show business, as well as a tribute to the tremendous artistry of its star. - abridged from Toronto International Film Festival, Cameron Bailey
Ben-Hur (1959)
*Newly restored print of this film classic. This 1959 version of Lew Wallace's best-selling novel won 11 Academy Awards". It recounts the tale of Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), who lives in Judea with his family during the time that Jesus Christ was becoming known for his "radical" teachings. The highlight of the film's 212 minutes is its now-legendary chariot race, staged largely by stunt expert Yakima Canutt. BEN HUR'S Oscar" haul included Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for Heston, and Best Supporting Actor for Welsh actor Hugh Griffith as an Arab sheik. - abridged and adapted from Rovi, Hal Erickson
Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
BONES BRIGADE: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY is an emotional, intimate, and exciting film about a group of dorky American boys who turned skateboarding from a fringe pastime to a thrilling action sport and a multi-million dollar industry. Through a series of interviews, Bones Brigade team members reveal what it was like to be going through adolescence while struggling with the pressures of their sudden fame, as well as their own fears of inadequacy and defeat. The members prove to be profound, articulate, and sensitive, offering wisdom not only about skateboarding, but also about the nature of excellence, genius, camaraderie, and self-fulfillment. Team founder and leader, Stacy Peralta, a former professional skateboarder barely five years older than the kids on his team, found himself balancing roles of coach, mentor and quasi-dad. Peralta directs the film with a palpable empathy for each of the team's riders, the parts they played in the big picture, and their own individual challenges. An instant classic.
There are many more films being screened at the festival, and many other awards, Galas etc. check out the official SBIFF site.
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