
The Santa Barbara Film Festival on Thursday revealed the lineup for its 37th edition, which is set to run March 2-12 in-person in its customary spot in the heat of Oscar season.
The festival will kick off with The Phantom of the Open, the Sony Pictures Classics comedy directed by Craig Roberts and starring Mark Rylance in the true story of Maurice Fitcroft, who entered the 1976 British Open despite never having played a round of golf before. Sally Hawkins and Rhys Ifans also star in the BBC Films pic.
The documentary Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over is the closing-night film, with Warwick set to be in attendance.
Overall, the festival in the beach city just north of Los Angeles will present 48 world premieres and 95 U.S. premieres from 54 countries, with a lineup that features films from directors Neil LaBute, Ramin Bahrani, François Ozon, Eva Husson and more.
Also at the forefront are SBIFF’s tribute Q&A galas, as in years past a must-stop on the awards circuit. This year’s lineup featuring the likes of newly minted Oscar nominees Kristen Stewart, Ariana DeBose, Troy Kotsur, Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman among others. Those events all take place at the city’s Arlington Theatre.
“It brings us an unbridled joy to share our slate for this edition of SBIFF,” executive director Roger Durling said. “After two years of incertitude, it feels good to know we can continue to count on film and the festival to give us a sense of comfort and continuity. We’re extremely proud of the offerings at the 37th fest.”
Other events include a special screening of Netflix’s The Power of the Dog, followed by a Q&A with Jane Campion. The pic has a leading 12 Oscar nominations this year. There is also a 10th anniversary screening of David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook with a Q&A afterward with Russell, and the fest will also show a retrospective of Greg Nava’s El Norte and Selena starring Jennifer Lopez.
Here’s the main lineup:
WORLD PREMIERES
1-800-HOT-NITE (U.S.)
Directed by Nick Richey
After Sherman (U.S.)
Directed by Jon Sesrie Goff
The Art of Rebellion (U.S.)
Directed by Libby Spears
The Bastard King (Austria/France/Germany)
Directed by Owen Prümm
Belle Vie (U.S.)
Directed by Marcus Mizelle
Big Crow (U.S.)
Directed by Kris Kaczor
Havana Libre (U.S.)
Directed by Corey McLean
House of Darkness (U.S.)
Directed by Neil LaBute
Juniper (U.S.)
Directed by Katherine Dudas
Loren & Rose (U.S.)
Directed by Russell Brown
On This Happy Note (Israel)
Directed by Tamar Tal Anati
Only in Theaters (U.S.)
Directed by Raphael Sbarge
Our Words Collide (U.S.)
Directed by Jordan W. Barrow, Matt Edwards
Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest (Nepal/U.S.)
Directed by Nancy Svendsen
Perejil (Parsley) (Dominican Republic)
Directed by José María Cabral
Peter Case: A Million Miles Away (U.S.)
Directed by Fred Parnes
A Place in the Field (U.S.)
Directed by Nikki Mejia
Róise and Frank (Mo ghrá buan) (Ireland)
Directed by Rachael Moriarty, Peter Murphy
Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic (U.S.)
Directed by Maria Demeshkina Peek
Winter Ball (U.S./Dominican Republic)
Directed by Gardner Grady Hall
The Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez (U.S.)
Directed by Stacy Peralta
U.S. PREMIERES
9 (Uruguay/Argentina)
Directed by Martín Barrenechea, Nicolás Branca
All My Puny Sorrows (Canada)
Directed by Michael McGowan
Apples and Oranges (Israel)
Directed by Yoav Brill
Between Two Dawns (Iki safak arasinda) (Turkey)
Directed by Selman Nacar
Cadejo Blanco (Guatemala/U.S./Mexico)
Directed by Justin Lerner
The Cloud & the Man (Manikbabur megh) (India)
Directed by Abhinandan Banerjee
Daughters (Töchter) (Germany/Italy)
Directed by Nana Neul
Dead Sea Guardians (Israel)
Directed by Ido Glass, Yoav Kleinman
The Den (La tana) (Italy)
Directed by Beatrice Baldacci
Drowning in Silence (U.S.)
Directed by Chezik Tsunoda
Dug Dug (India)
Directed by Ritwik Pareek
Eat Your Catfish (Turkey/U.S./Spain)
Directed by Adam Isenberg, Noah Amir Arjomand, Senem Tüzen
Everybody Dance (U.S.)
Directed by Dan Watt
The Exam (Ezmûn) (Germany/Iraq-Kurdistan/Qatar)
Directed by Shawkat Amin Korki
The Game (Igra) (Serbia)
Directed by Ana Lazarevic
Geeta (India)
Directed by Emma Macey-Storch
Hard Shell, Soft Shell (France)
Directed by Emma Benestan
He’s My Brother (Skyggebarn) (Denmark/Norway)
Directed by Cille Hannibal, Christine Hanberg
The Hive (La ruche) (Belgium)
Directed by Christophe Hermans
Humanization (Förmänskligas) (Sweden)
Directed by Giulio Musi
Jesús López (Argentina/France)
Directed by Maximiliano Schonfeld
José Feliciano: Behind This Guitar (U.S.)
Directed by Frank Licari, Helen Murphy
Judgment Call (Netherlands)
Directed by Saskia Diesing
Juniper (New Zealand)
Directed by Matthew J. Saville
La Chica Nueva (The New Girl) (Argentina)
Directed by Micaela Gonzalo
La Hija (The Daughter) (Spain)
Directed by Manuel Martín Cuenca
The Last Bath (O último banho) (Portugal)
Directed by David Bonneville
The Last Tourist (Canada)
Directed by Tyson Sadler
Learn to Swim (Canada)
Directed by Thyrone Tommy
Little Palestine: Diary of a Siege (Lebanon/France/Qatar)
Directed by Abdallah Al-Khatib
Looking for Horses (Netherlands/Bosnia and Herzegovina/France)
Directed by Stefan Pavlović
Mi Vacío y Yo (My Emptiness and I) (Spain)
Directed by Adrián Silvestre
Miss Viborg (Denmark)
Directed by Marianne Blicher
My Name Is Gulpilil (Australia)
Directed by Molly Reynolds
Nasima (The Most Fearless) (U.S./Bangladesh)
Directed by Heather Kessinger
Nitram (Australia)
Directed by Justin Kurzel
Nö (Germany)
Directed by Dietrich Brüggemann
Nowhere Special (UK)
Directed by Uberto Pasolini
Orca (Iran/Qatar)
Directed by Sahar Mossayebi
Paka (River of Blood) (India)
Directed by Nithin Lukose
Paper City (Australia/Japan)
Directed by Adrian Francis
Penelope, My Love (Pénélope mon amour) (France)
Directed by Claire Doyon
The Phantom of the Open (UK)
Directed by Craig Roberts
Private Desert (Deserto particular) (Brazil)
Directed by Aly Muritiba
Pure White (Bembeyaz)(Turkey)
Directed by Necip Çağhan Özdemir
Quake (Iceland)
Directed by Tinna Hrafnsdóttir
Quickening (Canada)
Directed by Haya Waseem
Quiet Freedom (Ein grosses versprechen) (Germany)
Directed by Wendla Nölle
The Righteous (Canada)
Directed by Mark O’Brien
The Road Dance (Scotland)
Directed by Richie Adams
Roger Corman: The Pope of Pop Cinema (France)
Directed by Bertrand Tessier
Ruby’s Choice (Australia)
Directed by Michael Budd
Scarborough (Canada)
Directed by Shasha Nakhai, Rich Williamson
Seven Dogs (Siete perros) (Argentina)
Directed by Rodrigo Guerrero
Sheroes (À la vie) (France)
Directed by Aude Pépin
Sisterhood (Sestri) (North Macedonia)
Directed by Dina Duma
Small Body (Piccolo corpo) (Italy/France/Slovenia)
Directed by Laura Samani
Sweet Disaster (Germany)
Directed by Laura Lehmus
The Therapy (Israel)
Directed by Zvi Landsman
Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (Indonesia/Singapore/Germany)
Directed by Edwin
Wild Roots (Hungary/Slovakia)
Directed by Hajni Kis
You Resemble Me (Tu me ressembles) (Egypt/France/U.S.)
Directed by Dina Amer
NON-PREMIERES
107 Mothers (Cenzorka) (Slovakia)
Directed by Péter Kerekes
2nd Chance (U.S.)
Directed by Ramin Bahrani
The 90s Club (U.S.)
Directed by Robert Darwell
The Absent Director (Iran)
Directed by Arvand Dashtaray
Atlas (Switzerland)
Directed by Niccolò Castelli
Between Two Worlds (Ouistreham) (France)
Directed by Emmanuel Carrère
The Big Bend (U.S.)
Directed by Brett Wagner
Coextinction (Canada)
Directed by Gloria Pancrazi, Elena Jean
Daughter of a Lost Bird (U.S.)
Directed by Brooke Pepion Swaney
Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over (U.S.)
Directed by Dave Wooley, David Heilbroner
Everything Went Fine (Tout s’est bien passé) (France)
Directed by François Ozon
Exposure (U.S.)
Directed by Holly Morris
Fanny: The Right to Rock (Canada)
Directed by Bobbi Jo Hart
Film, the Living Record of Our Memory (Canada/Spain)
Directed by Inés Toharia Terán
FireStorm ’77: The True Story of the Honda Canyon Fire (U.S.)
Directed by Chris Hite, Dennis Ford
Fly So Far (Nuestra libertad) (El Salvador)
Directed by Celina Escher
Free Chol Soo Lee (U.S./South Korea)
Directed by Eugene Yi, Julie Ha
From the Wild Sea (Fra det vilde hav) (Denmark/Ireland/England/Netherlands)
Directed by Robin Petré
Gods of Mexico (Mexico)
Directed by Helmut Dosantos
The Good Boss (El buen patrón) (Spain)
Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa
imperfect (U.S.)
Directed by Brian Malone, Regan Linton
Islands (Canada)
Directed by Martin Edralin
Mothering Sunday (UK)
Directed by Eva Husson
Never Catch Pigeons: And Eleven More Hard Lessons from Mr. Paul Van Doren (U.S.)
Directed by Doug Pray
Newtok (U.S.)
Directed by Andrew Burton, Michael Kirby Smith
One Road to Quartzsite (U.S.)
Directed by Ryan Maxey
Punch 9 for Harold Washington (U.S.)
Directed by Joe Winston
Ricochet: The Path to Justice Is a Straight Line (U.S.)
Directed by Jeff Adachi, Chihiro Wimbush
The Seeds of Vandana Shiva (Australia)
Directed by Camilla Becket, James Becket
Sirens (Lebanon)
Directed by Rita Baghdadi
Stranger’s Arms (U.S.)
Directed by Emma Westenberg
The Taking (U.S.)
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe
Tigre Gente (U.S.)
Directed by Elizabeth Unger
Trenches (Tranchées) (France/Ukraine)
Directed by Loup Bureau
Tug of War (Vuta n’kuvute) (Tanzania/South Africa/Germany/Qatar)
Directed by Amil Shivji
Ways of Being Home: Between Northfield & Maltrata (U.S.)
Directed by Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo
Yuni (Indonesia)
Directed by Kamila Andini
SBIFF SHORT FILMS
4 AM (Descente) (France)
Directed by Mehdi Fikri
U.S. Premiere
AIM (Japan)
Directed by Gazebo
U.S. Premiere
Bacon ‘N’ Laces (U.S.)
Directed by Stephen Michael Simon
Bad Hombrewood (U.S.)
Directed by Guillermo Casarín
World Premiere
Betsy & Irv (U.S.)
Directed by Nicole Noren
World Premiere
Black Gold (U.S.)
Directed by Sydney Bowie Linden
Black Like Plastic (U.S.)
Directed by Graciella Cabello
World Premiere
Blood and Gold (New Zealand)
Directed by Yamin Tun
U.S. Premiere
Blue Cooler (U.S.)
Directed by Laura Margulies
A Boat for My Mom (Un barco para mi mamá) (U.S.)
Directed by Susana Canales Barrón
World Premiere
Broken: A Lockdown Story (Ireland)
Directed by TJ O’Grady-Peyton
U.S. Premiere
Building a Movement: 50 Years of Environmental Studies at UCSB (U.S.)
Directed by Isaac Hernández de Lipa
World Premiere
California Natural by Martha Stoumen (U.S.)
Directed by Lindsey Hagen
U.S. Premiere
Chihuly: Roll the Dice (U.S.)
Directed by Peter West
World Premiere
The Chrysalis (U.S.)
Directed by Yago Hunt-Laudi
U.S. Premiere
Clouds Pile Up On Clouds (U.S.)
Directed by Benjamin David Hoffman
World Premiere
Conducting Life (U.S.)
Directed by Diane Moore
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph (France)
Directed by Hadrien Maton, Coline Thelliez, Arnaud Mege, Benjamin Germe, Marine Beasse, Corentin Cormont
U.S. Premiere
did i look cuban then? (U.S.)
Directed by María Alvarez
World Premiere
Electric Bodies (Les corps électriques) (France)
Directed by Antoine Janot
U.S. Premiere
Elevate (U.S.)
Directed by Dylan Boom
World Premiere
The Event (U.S.)
Directed by Frank Mosley, Hugo De Sousa
F^¢K ‘€M R!GHT B@¢K (U.S.)
Directed by Harris Doran
Finding Gulo (U.S.)
Directed by Colin Arisman, Tyler Wilkinson-Ray
Freedom Swimmer (Australia/France)
Directed by Olivia Martin-McGuire
Fresh to Frightening – The Sharon Green Story (U.S.)
Directed by Gareth Kelly
World Premiere
Grandes Horizontales (U.S.)
Directed by Leslie Zemeckis
World Premiere
The Great World of Gregory Blackstock (U.S.)
Directed by Drew Christie
World Premiere
A Guitar in the Bucket (South Korea)
Directed by Kim Bo Young
U.S. Premiere
Hair Tie, Egg, Homework Books (Tou sheng, ji dan, zuo ye ben) (China)
Directed by Luo Runxiao
U.S. Premiere
Heartless (Iceland)
Directed by Haukur Björgvinsson
U.S. Premiere
Holy Care (Corpo e aria) (Italy)
Directed by Cristian Patanè
U.S. Premiere
In the Woods (U šumi) (Croatia)
Directed by Sara Grgurić
U.S. Premiere
An Irish Goodbye (Ireland)
Directed by Tom Berkeley, Ross White
U.S. Premiere
Kids of Paradise (China)
Directed by Mo Sha
U.S. Premiere
Kim’s (U.S.)
Directed by Mijin Han
World Premiere
Kinka (Spain)
Directed by Maider Oleaga
U.S. Premiere
Kissy and the Shark (U.S.)
Directed by Lola Blanche
World Premiere
Kurosawa’s Grave (U.S.)
Directed by Ben Lopez
World Premiere
Lalito 10 (U.S.)
Directed by Jordan Matthew Horowitz
World Premiere
Las Mariposas: How Three Sisters Defied a Dictator (Dominican Republic/U.S.)
Directed by Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
U.S. Premiere
Letters From a Traveler (U.S.)
Directed by Benjamin David Hoffman
World Premiere
Lodo (U.S.)
Directed by Alessandro Gentile
World Premiere
Love, Barbara (U.S.)
Directed by Brydie O’Connor
World Premiere
Loving (U.S.)
Directed by Matt Hamilton
World Premiere
Message of an Endless Night (Mensagem de uma noite sem fim) (Brazil)
Directed by Tiago Minamisawa, Barcabogante
U.S. Premiere
Miika (Uganda)
Directed by Shevon Nsiimenta
My Duduś (U.S.)
Directed by Tom Krawczyk
Night of the Living Dread (UK)
Directed by Ida Melum
U.S. Premiere
No Ghost in the Morgue (Pas de fantôme à la morgue) (Canada)
Directed by Marilyn Cooke
World Premiere
Nobody’s Boy (Niño de nadie) (U.S.)
Directed by Joe Perry
World Premiere
The Ocean Solution (U.S.)
Directed by Darcy Hennessey Turenne
U.S. Premiere
The Originals (U.S.)
Directed by Cristina Costantini, Alfie Koetter
World Premiere
The Pastor’s Wife (Pastorin vaimo) (Finland)
Directed by Arttu Kapulainen
U.S. Premiere
Sauerdogs (Spain)
Directed by Guillermo de Oliveira
World Premiere
The Sentence of Michael Thompson (U.S.)
Directed by Kyle Thrash, Haley Elizabeth Anderson
World Premiere
The Shaman’s Apprentice (Angakusajaujuq) (Canada)
Directed by Zacharias Kunuk
U.S. Premiere
She Dreams at Sunrise (U.S.)
Directed by Camrus Johnson
Something Like Night (Algo así como la noche) (Spain)
Directed by Alván Prado
U.S. Premiere
Sonder (U.S.)
Directed by Joey Szalkiewicz
World Premiere
Sound of the Night (Somleng reatrey) (Cambodia)
Directed by Chanrado Sok, Kongkea Vann
U.S. Premiere
Starfuckers (U.S.)
Directed by Antonio Marziale
Successful Thawing of Mr. Moro (Sweden)
Directed by Jerry Carlsson
U.S. Premiere
Summer of Bees (Mehiläiskesä) (Finland)
Directed by Ida-Maria Olva
U.S. Premiere
Tank Fairy (Taiwan/U.S.)
Directed by Erich Rettstadt
U.S. Premiere
Techno, Mama (Lithuania)
Directed by Saulius Baradinskas
U.S. Premiere
There are Bunnies on Fire in the Forest (U.S.)
Directed by JLee MacKenzie
Trimmed (China)
Directed by Yuyao Zhuo
U.S. Premiere
Turbulences (U.S.)
Directed by Morgan Maassen
World Premiere
Unearthed (U.S.)
Directed by Colin Rosemont
Victor’s Body (O que pode um corpo?) (Brazil)
Directed by Victor Di Marco, Márcio Picoli
U.S. Premiere
What Remains (O que resta) (Portugal)
Directed by Daniel Soares
What They’ve Been Taught (ᎤᏕᏲᏅ ) (U.S)
Directed by Brit Hensel
White Devil (U.S.)
Directed by Mariama Diallo, Benjamin Dickinson
U.S. Premiere
Women of Virtue (Les vertueuses) (France)
Directed by Stéphanie Halfon
U.S. Premiere
You’re Dead Helen (T’es morte Hélène) (France/Belgium)
Directed by Michiel Blanchart
Zafar (U.S.)
Directed by Aqsa Altaf, John X. Carey
U.S. Premiere
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