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…

Lady Bird starSaoirse Ronan may be only 23 years old but she already is proving to be a veteran award winner at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival where she is slated to receive the newly renamed Santa Barbara Award on Sunday February 4th at the  Arlington Theatre.   Given to a person  in the entertainment…

Dame Judi Dench has been named the recipient of this year’s Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film presented annually by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The award will be presented to the 82-year-old Oscar winning star on Thursday November 30 at a black tie gala dinner at Bacara Resort & Spa. It is…

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar and DGA feature directing nominees Damien Chazelle, Barry Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan and Denis Villeneuve now can add another honor to the list: Each is receiving the 2017 Outstanding Directors of the Year Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The helmers will be celebrated…

EXCLUSIVE: In yet another instance in which F. Scott Fitzgerald is proved decidedly wrong, enter the members of the 70s rock band Gunhill Road. Best known for their 1973 single “Back When My Hair Was Short,” they were a sought after live act who opened for some of the biggest acts of the era, including George Carlin…

A weekly column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit. It was, as usual this time of year, another big week on the awards circuit. From the standpoint of critics’ group love, Warren Beatty — who is no stranger to lots of awards in his legendary career — was AWOL from East Coast and Critics’ Choice…

A weekly column talking up the season with dispatches from the awards circuit. Final Oscar balloting begins today. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel with a deadline for voting by 5 PM PT on Tuesday, February 23, just days before Oscar Sunday. And so the final push for those votes also begins with endless…