Latest in Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Just as the Fall Film Festival season is getting prepared to take off with Venice, Telluride, Toronto, and NYFF  busily firming up their slates, we now have a late winter awards season must-stop revealing its dates. The Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s 2023 fest will take place from February 8 through…

On Saturday, Bill Murray appeared virtually to accept the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Maltin Modern Master Award. Presented by Sofia and Roman Coppola, the award recognized the screen icon for his long-standing contributions to the film industry. Most recently, Murray starred in Sofia Coppola’s On the R…

Sacha Baron Cohen told Deadline this week that he chased the role of Abbie Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7 for over a decade before the project came together under Aaron Sorkin’s direction. That perseverance paid off. On April 7, Baron Cohen will receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award at the 36th…

A record 64 women have been nominated for Academy Awards  across all branches this year.  Eight of them will be joining the annual Women’s Panel of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.  The popular event moderated every year by Madelyn Hammond will take place on Saturday January 25th at the Lobero Theatre …

EXCLUSIVE: Laura Dern has been having a very good year, appearing on screen in two big movies, Marriage Story as an out-for-the-jugular divorce lawyer, and Little Women as the warm and wise Marmee, and on television in the hit limited series Big Little Lies, which won her an Emmy in its first season and a SAG Cast…

Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, whose latest film is the much-anticipated The Irishman, has been selected to receive the 14th annual Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The honor, which benefits SBIFF’s year-round educational programs, will be presented…

The awards for the 34th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival were announced Saturday, along with news that next year's festival will shift earlier in the year.

EXCLUSIVE: No woman is nominated for the Best Director Oscar again this year, but there are plenty of females with recognition across the other categories for the 91st Academy Awards, and many all traveling to Santa Barbara to talk about their careers and how they got to this pinnacle. Eight nominees will appear on…

EXCLUSIVE: Winning raves for her change of pace role in Fox Searchlight’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?  , Melissa McCarthy has been chosen to receive this year’s Montecito Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.  Given to a person in the entertainment industry who has made a great contribution to film…

Six time Oscar nominee, Tony and Emmy winning Glenn Close has been selected to receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Modern Master Award on Saturday February 2nd, 2019 at the Arlington Theatre. Close will be honored for her longstanding contributions to the film industry, most recently earning strong…

A column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit You know you are in the crux of Oscar season when you find yourself driving down the coast on a Thursday afternoon to host one of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s many, many awards-related events. That’s what I did when I hit the road…

EXCLUSIVE: The annual and ever-popular Women’s Panel at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival will feature a quintet of newly minted Academy Award nominees among the group of six  who will gather for the event Sunday morning at the Lobero Theatre. Moderated again by Madelyn Hammond, the always-hot panel should…