In many ways, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival celebrated its milestone 40th anniversary over nearly two weeks according to a time-tested plan. A series of celebrity and industry tributes, many tightly tied to Oscar nominees, take over the Arlington and create varying degrees of public buzz inside and outside the theater. Meanwhile, the real meat of the festival is a strong and diverse film program (led by programming director and critic Claudia Puig for four years now), with a generous selection of foreign films to savor.
Despite the familiar format, clear signs of change and growth were in the air. Most pressingly, our old habit of hunkering down at the Metro 4 multiplex for most of the film screenings changed this year. SBIFF now calls the former Fiesta 5 its festival home, a k a the SBIFF Film Center. The organization’s acquisition of, and major renovation plans for, the flexible space — a welcome downtown addition to its state-of-the-arthouse-art Riviera Theatre haven on the hill — seeks to make Santa Barbara a film center, year-round and with a reputation reaching far beyond the 805.
On opening night, Executive Director Roger Durling, the charismatic festival leader now 23 years into his game-changing run, enthused, “I can’t believe how far we’ve come.” Durling was a regular presence during the festival, including his deeply invested role as moderator for the tribute to Colman (Sing Sing, Rustin) Domingo and as the onscreen representative in the SBIFF trailer no fewer than 185 times (the number of films on the program). As an affable presence perched in the warm ambience of a Film Center theater seat, Durling appeared like a cultural guru or motivational speaker inviting our participation in the cause’s role in the introductory screener. In the oft-seen intro, Durling utters a phrase tantamount to a mantra in this depressingly divisive time in America/the world: “Film unites.”