The 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) has announced its lineup, with their selection including films that represent 44 different countries. The festival runs January 26th – February 5th and will include 16 world premieres and 37 US premieres.
SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling announced the schedule, stating, “Our program this year reflects invigorating change. When I joined SBIFF ten years ago, I set out to bring the festival’s program and its sidebars to reflect the city of Santa Barbara as a city, and its community. This year we’ve taken that concept even further. We have a fantastic, quirky, all encompassing program.”
Lawrence Kasdan’s Darling Companion will open the film festival, with Pixar’s animated short, La Luna, immediately preceding its screening. Closing out the festival will be the West Coast premiere of Nadine Labaki’s anti-war comedy Where Do We Go Now?, the winner of the People’s Choice Award at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.
In addition to the screenings, the SBIFF will honor standout performances of 2011 with their Virtuosos Award. Among those chosen to receive the prestigious honor are Demián Bichir for A Better Life, Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids, Patton Oswalt for Young Adult, Andy Serkis for Planet of the Apes, and Shailene Woodley for The Descendants.
Other outstanding performances which will be honored at the festival:
Viola Davis – The Outstanding Performer of the Year Award
Christopher Plummer – Modern Master Award
Martin Scorsese – American Riviera Award
The Artist’s Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo – The Cinema Vanguard
World Premieres:
Black Friday, USA Directed by Jay Schweitzer. Behind the scenes with the world’s most famous freestyle motocross team.
Darling Companion, USA Directed by Lawrence Kasdan. The story of a woman who loves her dog more than her husband. And then her husband loses the dog.
Dirty Energy, USA Directed by Bryan Hopkins. The personal story of those directly affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill and are now struggling to rebuild their lives amidst the economic devastation and long-term health risks.
Glickman, USA Directed by James Freedman. Glickman is the story of Marty Glickman, a record-setting Jewish sprinter who, on the day of his race at the 1936 Nazi Olympics, was dropped from America’s relay team to appease Adolph Hitler. Marty went on to become a legendary sports announcer.
Life is Strange, USA/Belgium/Belarus/Israel/Poland/Canada Directed by Isaac Hertz. The stories of Jewish people who were displaced by the Second World War, and the vibrant cultural and family life they experienced in their youth that ultimately was most influential in their lives.
Live at Preservation Hall: A Louisiana Fairytale (Director’s Cut), USA Directed by Danny Clinch. The collaboration between New Orleans’s legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band and American rock band My Morning Jacket, culminating in an intimate live performance in the historic Preservation Hall.
Mighty Fine, USA Directed by Debbie Goodstein. Joe Fine moves his family from Brooklyn to New Orleans, where his dreams and extravagance far exceed his means.
Nothing Like Chocolate, USA Directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani. Deep in the rain forests of Grenada, anarchist chocolatier Mott Green, founder of the Grenada Chocolate Company (GCC), seeks solutions to the problems of a ravaged global chocolate industry.
Otter 501, USA Directed by Bob Talbot. A storm grows, a sea otter pup is separated from her mother, and a young woman bound for adventure blows in to town.
Pretty Old, US Directed by Walter Matteson. Pretty Old follows four diverse women, ages 67 to 94, competing in the 30th year Anniversary of the Ms. Senior Sweetheart Beauty Pageant in Fall River, Massachusetts, exploring what it truly means to “age beautifully.”
Rhino Resurrected, USA Directed by Keith Shapiro. Against all odds, a beloved and historic record store is resurrected. Can a vibrant music community re- emerge?
Sassy Pants, USA Directed by Coley Sohn. A coming-of-age comedy about a home-schooled kid with an overbearing mother.
Stunt Sport, USA Directed by Samuel McKaig. Welcome to the world of Tricking, Breaking and Parkour.
The Blue of The Sky (Lo Azul Del Cielo), Colombia Directed by Juan Alfredo Uribe. Camilo, obsessed by love, re-invents himself in order to conquer SOL at any price.
The Kill Hole, USA Directed by Mischa Webley. While piecing together a life in the real world, an Iraq war vet is dragged back into a shadowy world & a new mission in order to settle the score & clear his conscience.
Vinyl, USA Directed by Sara Sugarman. A 1980’s Rock Band caused a media frenzy in 2004, when the group made an unknown comeback under the guise of an “up and coming young punk band”.
US Premieres:
A Place of Her Own, Israel Directed by Ron Fricke. The story of Reut, a young Jewish homeless girl, struggling to return her first born son to the Arab village where she lives.
Another Silence, France/Argentina/Canada/Brazil Directed by Sigal Emanuel. A tough-cookie Canuck cop follows the youthful killer of her hubby and child all the way to the Argentinean-Bolivian border.
Aung San Suu Kyi – Lady of No Fear, Denmark Directed by Anne Gyrithe Bonne. The personal consequences faced by Aung San Suu Kyi and her family as a result of her strong idealism.
Barrymore, Canada Directed by Erik Canuel. When the great Canadian actor Christopher Plummer took on the mammoth task of portraying John Barrymore, an actor of equally towering stature, for the stage production of Barrymore, true artistry is met with insight, wit and deep pathos.
Behold the Lamb, UK Directed by John McIlduff. A darkly comic road movie that follows Eddie, a fifty year old overweight and depressed accountant, and Liz, a young tearaway, as they travel across Northern Ireland to pick up a lamb.
El Mar, Mi Alma, Australia Directed by Stephen L. Jones. A blend of images and music consisting of cinematic surfing sequences inter-cut with incredible coastal landscapes, insightful commentary and poetry from seaside folk, and the movements of the cast on a unique surfing journey.
El Medico: The Cubaton Story, Cuba/Sweden/Estonia/Finland Directed by Daniel Fridell. A documentary five years in the making about a new musical sound coming from Cuba and the doctor who has become its voice.
Found Memories, Brazil Directed by Julia Murat. Young photographer finds a forgotten ghost town where only a handful of old people live, and changes their lives forever.
Free Men, France Directed by Ismael Ferroukhi . Algerian Muslim immigrant joins the French Resistance to save Algerian Jews.
Frozen Planet: On Thin Ice, UK Directed by Alastair Fothergill. David Attenborough reveals how scientists measure the changes in the polar regions and what they mean for the animals and people who live there, as well as for the whole planet.
Frozen Planet: Spring Directed by Alastair Fothergill. Each spring, massive sweet water thawing rapidly transforms the polar regions and the surrounding seas, where broken-off ice floats to.
Frozen Planet: To The End of the Earth Directed by Alastair Fothergill. At the North Pole, the sun returns after six months of darkness.
Golden Slumbers (Le Sommeil d’or), Cambodia Directed by Davy Chou. Cambodian cinema flourished in the 1960s, drawing huge crowds to theaters around the country, until the industry was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge in 1975.
Heat Wave (Apres Le Sud), France Directed by Jean-Jacques Jauffret. During one hot summer afternoon, the lives of four characters tragically intersect.
Here, There, China Directed by LU Sheng. Three stories, three locations: China’s frigid northern border, Shanghai and Paris.
Horses (Cavalli), Italy Directed by Michele Rho. Two brothers are very different but very close, especially after the death of their mother who gives them a final gift: Sauro and Baio, two marvelous horses who are not yet broken.
I’m Yours, Canada Directed by Leonard Farlinger . A comic romance about two lost souls on an illuminating road trip from Manhattan to the wilds of Northern Canada.
Into the Current: Burma’s Political Prisoners, USA/Thailand/Myanmar Directed by Jeanne Marie Hallacy. The story of Burma’s unsung heroes -its prisoners of conscience -and the price they pay for speaking truth to power in a military dictatorship.
Iris in Bloom, France Directed by Valerie Mrejen, Bertrand Schefer. Iris is 16 and finishing up her teenage years a small provincial town when she meets Jean, a 40 year old photographer from Paris. Over the course of their meetings, their relationship evolves to an amorous friendship that will turn their lives upside down.
J’Aime Regarder Les Filles, France Directed by Frederic Louf. This serio-comic study of French teens is an examination of class set against the backdrop of the 1981 Presidential elections.
La Clef Des Terroirs, France Directed by Guillaume Bodin. Explores biodynamics, an alternative method of organic farming, through the world of wine.
Letters From Iran, France Directed by Manon Loizeau. A fascinating portrait of the aftermath of the Green Revolution in Iran, pieced together from interviews, footage from hidden cameras and more.
Mike, France Directed by Lars Blumers. Implements imagery of American cinema of the 70s, movies, cars and their fallen heroes in the depths of Alsace, to tell the true story of a small local thug.
Pink Ribbons, Inc., Canada Directed by Léa Pool. How the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a “dream cause,” becomes obfuscated by a shiny, pink story of success.
Raw Material, Greece Directed by Hristos Karakepelis. The state and business corruption in Greece that enriches by the metal recycling at the expense of a social margin which, while implementing the recycling, lives in extreme deprivation.
Romeo Eleven, Canada Directed by Ivan Grbovic. Rami (Ali Ammar) is a reclusive young man struggling with a physical disability and desperately trying to find his way in this touching and intimately observed tale set in Montreal’s Lebanese community, a milieu rarely seen on screen.
Samsara, USA Directed by Ron Fricke. Photographed in 26 countries over almost 5 years Samsara is a nonverbal guided meditation from the creators of Baraka.
Sunday in Brazzaville (Dimanche á Brazzaville), Spain Directed by Enric Bach, Adrià Monés. A young radio talk host, Carlos La Menace, unveils in his weekend show three figures of Congo’s capital, Brazzaville.
Surviving Progress, Canada Directed by Mathieu Roy, Harold Crooks. Humanity’s ascent is often measured by the speed of progress. But what if progress is actually spiraling us downwards, towards collapse?
Taste the Waste, Germany Directed by Valentin Thurn. A documentary about global food waste and what we can do about it.
The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best, USA Directed by Ryan O’Nan. With only an acoustic guitar, a broken heart, and an arsenal of children’s instruments, Alex and Jim set off on a dubious tour that may be their last shot at achieving their childhood dreams.
The Hilltops, Canada Directed by Igal Hecht. The daily reality of life on the hilltops of the West Bank.
The Last Christeros (Los Ultimos Cristeros), Mexico Directed by Matias Meyer. The last men standing against the Mexican army in the 1930s.
The Opposite of Love (Lo Contrario Al Amor), Spain Directed by Vicente Villanueva. A girl falls in love with the fireman who rescued her from an elevator.
Twiggy (La Brindille), France Directed by Emmanuelle Millet. Follows the travails of a young woman with a bun in the oven and nowhere to turn.
Up There, UK Directed by Zam Salim. Caring in the afterlife is a dead-end job.
Whore’s Glory, Germany/Austria Directed by Michael Glawogger. An indelible, frequently shocking glimpse of ordinary women caught in the world’s oldest profession.
For more details and for ticket info, visit sbfilmfestival.org.
