Santa Barbara Film Fest

The show business adage is never follow children or a dog. Glenn Close was definitely up staged by a dog at her tribute during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF). I’m sure she didn’t mind since it was her own dog, Pip, who sneaked out of the green room and came prancing out on stage looking for his owner. When Glenn called to him, Pip ran across stage and jumped in her lap, kissing her profusely. Then he promptly lay down on her lap and listened to the rest of the Q and A with Leonard Maltin, long time SBIFF moderator and renowned film critic.

Pip took another bow at the end when SBIFF executive director Roger Durling was presenting Glenn with the Maltin Modern Master Award for her work in The Wife. In the middle of her serious thank you speech, Pip rolled on his back, and rocked back and forth several times to scratch his back. The audience was in gales of laughter and when he’d finished, we all applauded. Glenn declared, “I don’t remember where I was.”

Roger told Glenn that when he and his father went to New York when he was young so Roger could see six Broadway plays in a week, his Dad wasn’t a fan and would fall asleep. The exception was when Glenn was in one of them. He was her fan. Roger asked Glenn, “Would you accept this award in honor of my dad who passed away last year of Parkinson’s disease?”

Ms Close has been nominated six times for an Academy Award and has worked in every medium from stage to television and many movies. She admitted, “When my mom found out I wanted to be an actress, she said I’d better learn shorthand.” Obviously, that wasn’t necessary. Regarding directors, Glenn complimented Ron Howard on always being prepared and running a smooth shoot for his cast, perhaps because he is an actor himself. Glenn loves witches and adored playing Cruella in 101 Dalmatians. She made her character even more evil than the script said. Ms Close is proud to have co-founded the charity Bring Change to Mind, which addresses the stigma and misunderstanding around mental illness.

It was this reporter’s 34^th Film Fest and “we’ve come a long way, baby!” It began with just one celebrity tribute and few attendees. Today it attracts 90,000 visitors and offers eleven days of more than 200 films, tributes, and panels. Not to forget all the educational programs it provides and its acquisition of the historic Riviera Theatre. It is now a state-of-the-art year-round home, which shows new international and independent films every day. Kudos to executive director Roger Durling who took his childhood passion for film and turned it into a full-time job. I still have fond memories of his coffee shop the French Bulldog in Summerland before his film festival days.