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The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) announced its winning films at a ceremony this morning in Santa Barbara.

“This 38th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival drew filmmakers from as far as Turkey, India, Israel, and Sierra Leone, half of whom were women,” said Sbiff’s Programming Director, Claudia Puig. “We were delighted with the enthusiastic reception to our diverse program of 200 films from 43 countries. Cinema is one of the most powerful vehicles for empathy, providing a window of understanding to all who seek to look through it. We thank the filmmakers in attendance and our avid Santa Barbara audience for so heartily embracing the festival experience. Several films prompted standing ovations and packed theaters, marking 2023 a full-throttled return to celebrating cinema from around the globe.”

The 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival took place February 8 – February 18. Official events included screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes,...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has wrapped for 2020, concluding a slate that featured more than 120 world and American premieres, panels, tributes, and education programs. The festival has announced its award winners for the 35th edition, including the Audience Award, which went to Richard Hobert’s “The Birdcatcher’s Son.”

The films were chosen by jury members Jason Baffa, Max Barbakow, Lisa Black, Alex Carter, Geoff Green, Paul Kurta, Perry Lang, Artie Schmidt, Rita Taggart, Diego Tinoco, John Williams, and Anthony and Arnette Zerbe.

Among those who received tributes and honors in their respective categories were Renée Zellweger (American Riviera Award), Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver (Outstanding Performers of the Year Award), Laura Dern (Cinema Vanguard Award), Brad Pitt (Maltin Modern Master Award), along with the winners of the Virtuosos Award: Awkwafina, Taron Egerton, Cynthia Erivo, Beanie Feldstein, Aldis Hodge, George MacKay, Florence Pugh, and Taylor Russell.

Other notable events included...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) announced on Saturday the winners of the 35th edition of the festival, which featured 47 world premieres and 71 U.S. premieres from 50 countries.

The festival’s top award, the audience choice award, went to Richard Hobert’s “The Birdcatcher’s Son.”

The winners were chosen by a jury consisting of Jason Baffa, Max Barbakow, Lisa Black, Alex Carter, Geoff Green, Paul Kurta, Perry Lang, Artie Schmidt, Rita Taggart, Diego Tinoco, John Williams, and Anthony & Arnette Zerbe.

“It’s been a wonderful 35 years celebrating international cinema as well as our local roots. We are grateful for all of the staff, volunteers, audiences and filmmakers that were able to join us at Sbiff to come together as a community to celebrate over 200 films – forge a sense of community and love that defies boundary,” Sbiff Executive Director Roger Durling.

In addition to the winners of the 35th festival,...

Deals close in Australia, Germany, Latin America.

Film Bridge International has sold multiple territories on An Interview With God starring Brenton Thwaites and David Strathairn after introducing the faith-based project to Cannes buyers last month.

Deals have closed for Germany (Ksm), Australia (Rialto Distribution), Latin America (Imagem Filmes Distribuidora), Philippines (Pioneer Films), and South Korea. (Breeze Pictures).

Film Bridge International chief Ellen Wander said she was in final negotiations with distributors for the UK, France, Benelux, South Africa, and Poland.

“The film resonated with the buyers,” Wander said. “It’s a beautiful story and the response was overwhelmingly positive. It...

Film Bridge International has come on board to handle international rights for the faith-based drama An Interview With God starring Brenton Thwaites (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) and David Strathairn (Lincoln), for producers Fred Bernstein of Astute Films and Ken Aguado, who also scripted the project.

Perry Lang (Showtime’s Weeds) directs the movie about an up-and-coming journalist (Thwaites) who finds his world and faith increasingly challenged when he’s granted the interview of a lifetime – with someone who claims to be God (Strathairn).

Ellen S. Wander, CEO of Film Bridge, will be shopping the completed movie in Cannes next month and will show first footage ahead of the movie’s U.S. release this August via producers Astute Films. Executive producers include Rick Jackson and Paul Kurta. Co-producers are Dominique Telson, Harrison Powell, Lisa M. Jean, and Claudine Marrotte.

“Faith-based films are making an indelible impact in specialty box office.

Drama centres on journalist granted an interview with man claiming to be God.

Film Bridge International will handle international sales in Cannes on the faith-based drama An Interview With God starring Brenton Thwaites and David Strathairn.

Directed by Perry Lang and written by Ken Aguado, An Interview With God follows a journalist who is granted an interview with a man who claims to be God.

The cast includes Yael Grobglas, Hill Harper, and Charlbi Dean Kriek. The film is produced by Fred Bernstein of Astute Films and Aguado, and co-produced by Dominique Telson, Harrison Powell, Lisa M. Jean, and Claudine Marrotte.

Under Executive director Roger Durling, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has flourished by riding the awards season wave via starry onstage interviews with Oscar contenders.

Every year, screenwriters, directors and producers promote their causes on panels, and the likes of Jeff Bridges (a local), Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, Denzel Washington, and Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams submit to in-depth tributes from Leonard Maltin and Pete Hammond, among others. This year I had the pleasure of a wide-ranging conversation with Best Actress Oscar-nominee Isabelle Huppert. (See video excerpts below.)

And Saturday, the festival wound up its 32nd edition by handing out its annual jury prizes. All eleven are listed below.

The Audience Choice Award went to Yonatan Nir’s “My Hero Brother,” which also took home the Best Documentary Award. It tells the story of a group of young people with Down syndrome who embarking on an arduous trek through the Himalayas.

Under Executive director Roger Durling, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has flourished by riding the awards season wave via starry onstage interviews with Oscar contenders.

Every year, screenwriters, directors and producers promote their causes on panels, and the likes of Jeff Bridges (a local), Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, Denzel Washington, and Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams submit to in-depth tributes from Leonard Maltin and Pete Hammond, among others. This year I had the pleasure of a wide-ranging conversation with Best Actress Oscar-nominee Isabelle Huppert. (See video excerpts below.)

And Saturday, the festival wound up its 32nd edition by handing out its annual jury prizes. All eleven are listed below.

The Audience Choice Award went to Yonatan Nir’s “My Hero Brother,” which also took home the Best Documentary Award. It tells the story of a group of young people with Down syndrome who embarking on an arduous trek through the Himalayas.

The cast of Sony and Marvel's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" just keeps on growing with three more names joining the roster - Garcelle Beauvais ("White House Down"), Tiffany Espensen ("Kirby Buckets") and the legendary Tyne Daly ("Cagney and Lacey").

As usual, all three roles are being kept under wraps. Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton, Abraham Attah, Zendaya, Michael Barbieri, Kenneth Choi, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Donald Glover, Martin Starr and Logan Marshall-Green also star in the film which is currently in production.

That isn't the only casting announcement made today. Another is that Santiago Cabrera ("Heroes," "Merlin") is set to star in the currently shooting "Transformers: The Last Knight". Specifics of his role in the Michael Bay-directed effort have not been disclosed.

New Zealand actor Kj Apa, who plays Archie in The CW's upcoming "Riverdale" series, has joined the cast of Andrzej Bartkowiak's indie thriller "Altar Rock" which...

Plus: Sing Street re-released in Us; Interview with God wraps; and more…

The Us Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced more key dates in the run-up to the 2016 Academy Awards, and some tweaks to Oscar rules.

The Academy’s Governors Awards will take place on 12 November, 2016. Voting on Oscar nominations will start on 5 January, 2017 and end on 13 January. The Oscar nominations announcement will be made on 24 January and the Scientific and Technical Awards announcement on 11 February.

Final Oscar voting begins on 13 February and ends on 21 February.

Among the rule changes is one stipulating that for feature-length films getting their qualifying seven-day Los Angeles runs screenings must occur at least three times daily, with at least one screening beginning between 6pm and 10pm each day.

• The Weinstein Company (TWC) is re-releasing writer-director John Carney’s Irish musical dramedy Sing Street (pictured) in Us cinemas this Friday (July 1). The film’s initial Us release through TWC on...

Before he received acclaim as a writer/director of such films as Brother from Another Planet (’84), Matewan (’87), and The Secret of Roan Inish (’94), John Sayles made a splash on the horror scene as the writer of fun, clever satires such as Piranha (’78) and The Howling (’81). However, he did another that doesn’t get nearly as much love, and that’s his ode to an overgrown reptile, Lewis Teague’s Alligator (’80). Which is a shame, as it is just as much of a blast as the other two.

Alligator was released in July to solid reviews, and tripled its budget in returns, bringing in $6.5 million U.S. Not too bad for an independent (Group 1 International Distribution Organisation Ltd., the fine folks behind Ufo’s Are Real), and a good indicator that horror fans are always up for a smart romp. Alligator glides through that sweet swamp filled with fear and good humor.

Now in its 30th year, Sbiff announced its 2015 awards winners Saturday morning. Jurors were director and cinematographer Will Eubank, director Peter Chelsom, producer Chaz Ebert, actors Anthony and Arnette Zerbe, composer/lyricist Adam Guettel, actor James Read, Sbiff founder Phyllis de Picciotto, director/actor Perry Lang and producer Mimi deGruy. Highlights include the fest's first-ever Santa Barbara Features Award, which went to the documentary "Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey" about renowned character actor Hal Holbrook; Panavision Spirit Award-winning "Bang Bang Baby" director Jeffrey St. Jules, who receives a $60,000 camera package; Social Justice Award-winning "A Snake Gives Birth to a Snake," a stirring documentary on war-torn South Africa, and more. From January 27 to February 7, Santa Barbara presented eclectic international films, including premieres and fresh-off-the-circuit titles, 2015 Oscar nominees including "Keep on...

A photograph of Samuel Fuller in "the shack."

It is always well to remember that documentaries are first of all films like other films, meaning that no less than fictional narrative movies, they too have a narrative shaped by the vision of their maker and are not only about their subjects but also are that vision and the individual elements that make it up. So, in A Fuller Life there are a number of choices that Samantha Fuller as director has made, for example to film in “the shack”—the bungalow her father kept as office and filled with his memorabilia from his days as a crime reporter, an infantryman in WWII, a writer and filmmaker; or to use her “readers” (including both actors—mostly from Fuller’s movies—and some well-chosen directors) dramatically, effectively acting their readings from Fuller’s posthumous autobiography A Third Face; or, very simply, to...

The winners of the 27th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival were announced yesterday, celebrating unique short-form, international, documentary and narrative film. Kris participated in the jury alongside actor/comedian Dave Koechner, actor/director Brad Hall, actor/writer W. Earl Brown, actor Anthony Zerbe and his wife Arnette Zerbe, Sbiff originator Phyllis de Picciotto, director Glenn Jordan, actor Tim Matheson and writer/ director Perry Lang. “Each year, Sbiff strives to feature film from all ranges of the ‘cine-spectrum,'" Sbiff executive Roger Durling said in the press release. "Successfully building upon this tradition of excellence, the lineup for the 27th edition of the festival showcased a particularly...

Zam Salim's feature-directing debut, "Up There," took the top prize at the 2012 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which ended today. "Up There," which received the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema, is a story about the deceased Martin, who's stuck in a dead-end afterlife job but dreams of ascending "up there" -- a hope that's dashed when he loses a soul and must figure out how to recover the new arrival. Salim's award included a Panavision camera package worth $60,000. The jury included actor/comedian Dave Koechner; actor/director Brad Hall; actor/writer W. Earl Brown; actor Anthony Zerbe and his wife Arnette Zerbe; Sbiff originator Phyllis de Picciotto; director Glenn Jordan; actor Tim Matheson; online awards columnist Kris Tapley and writer/ director Perry Lang. The Audience Choice Award, sponsored by the Sb Independent, went to "Starbuck," directed by Ken Scott, about a former sperm...

Almost one year ago, when we launched at Big Daddy, one of our first posts was about 10 horror films in need of a DVD or Blu-Ray release. The Nesting and Twice Dead which both made the list are now either out on DVD or about to be released. Other titles that made the list included The Pack, Night Warning, Massacre at Central High, Dance of the Damned, Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, Deadly Blessing, The Kindred and Killer Party. With this second annual edition, we hope to spotlight more horror films that have fallen through the cracks. Titles that haven't been released beyond VHS (with the exception of one, that has only been released to VOD) that need the attention of us horror fans and distributors to make these titles readily available for our horror movie watching enjoyment.

The Power In The Power, an ancient clay idol...

The Big Red One: The Reconstruction is director Samuel Fuller’s (Fixed Bayonets, The Steel Helmet, Merrill’s Marauders) autobiographical account of his experiences with the legendary 1st U.S. infantry division throughout World War II. Lee Marvin leads the cast of raw recruits which include Griff (Mark Hamill, fresh from success in Star Wars), Zab (Robert Carradine, who doubles as Fuller and the film’s narrator), Vinci (Bobby Di Cicco), Kaiser (Perry Lang), and Johnson (Kelly Ward).

This version of the 1980 film was released several years following Fuller’s death, which was in 1997, as a tribute to his lasting work and the version he intended his audiences to see. When this version was released in early 2005, I was overjoyed to see the original forty seven minutes which Fuller was forced to cut by the Warner Bros. executives.

The film opens as the guns fell silent on the Western...

The 25th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) ran from February 4-14, and two of its winners are films that we've been keeping close tabs on here at Dread Central: Stuart Hazeldine's Exam from the UK and Bong Joon-Ho's Mother from South Korea.

Commented Sbiff Executive Director Roger Durling, “This year’s films proved once again the caliber of filmmaking is higher than ever. The jury was truly challenged in making the final determination.”

Who comprised that jury? Actor/director Joel David Moore; Sbiff originator Phyllis de Picciotto; USA Today film critic Claudia Puig; director Andy Abrahams Wilson; actors Haaz Sleiman, Clifton Collins, Jr., Anthony Zerbe, Dennis Franz, and Jay Thomas; and actor/director/writer Perry Lang.

Here are the details:

The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema, given to a unique independent feature that has been made outside mainstream Hollywood, went to Exam in its Us premiere.

Writer: Tanya Biank, Katherine Fugate, Rama Stagner Director: Ben Younger, Perry Lang, Patrick Norris, Michael Lange, and Others Cast: Catherine Bell, Drew Fuller, Wendy Davis, Sterling K. Brown, Brian McNamara, Kim Delaney, Sally Pressman, Brigid Brannagh Rating: Not Rated Studio: Disney Release Date: June 10, 2008 I am not quite sure why, but when I first heard about the show Army [...]Sharethis.addEntry({ title: "DVD Review: Army Wives: The Complete First Season", url: "http://www.literaryillusions.com/LIreviews/2008/06/21/dvd-review-army-wives-the-complete-first-season/" });...