A SBIFF Wrap Up

SBIFF is surely sliding toward the end of this year’s festivities, but there’s still plenty to enjoy over the final three days, with opportunities to partake in pretty much all that the fest has to offer. That includes SBIFF’s tributes, the legendary sessions in which the actors engage in 90-minute or longer programs on their currently Oscar-nominated roles as well as ones from throughout their career complete with carefully curated film clips. Jeffrey Wright gets SBIFF’s Montecito Award on Feb. 15 for his turn as a novelist fed up with the tired and offensive Black tropes – who ends up facing his own hypocrisy when his outlandish book ironically becomes a bestseller. Annette Bening returns to SBIFF to pick up SBIFF’s new Arlington Award for portraying the real life open-water swimmer Diana Nyad on Feb. 16. 

There’s also a final industry discussion, with Madelyn Hammond moderating the Feb. 17th Women’s Panel that features composer Laura Karpman (American Fiction), the oft-nominated songwriter Diane Warren, hair and makeup nominee Karen Hartley-Thomas (Golda), Annapurna animation production head Julie Zachary (Nimona), and best-doc director Maite Alberdi (The Eternal Memory).

Meanwhile, there’s more Montecito at the movies, with a second screening on Feb. 16 of Alien Contact, a gorgeous exploration of manta rays’ higher intelligence from Montecito residents Katya Shirokow and three-time Emmy winner Rick Rosenthal, and an encore of Santa Barbara Documentary Shorts, which includes Jessie Davidson’s heartwarming Nine Lives. 

Be sure to check the SBIFF app to see what other festival favorites have earned additional screenings for Friday and Saturday.