There’s an extremely satisfying cumulative effect that comes from attending lots of events at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, especially having also seen almost all of the major movies that are being discussed. And out of all of the “here’s the inside scoop on filmmaking” offerings, one of my must-sees is the writers panel.
This year’s group — all of whom are nominated for Academy Awards — featured Samy Burch (May December), Cord Jefferson (American Fiction), Arthur Harari (Anatomy of a Fall), Dave Hemingson (The Holdovers), Tony McNamara (Poor Things), Josh Singer (Maestro), and Celine Song (Past Lives) — all smart, unique, and interesting people with, not surprisingly, insightful stories to share.
Having heard Anatomy of a Fall director and co-writer Justine Triet discuss the film at the Director of the Year Awards the night before, Harari’s perspective on the multi-layered movie that echoes some of their real life dynamics (the male and female characters in the film are also both writers that share children and a life together) was even more fascinating. A pandemic project developed while they were holed up in a house with two small kids and a little garden, Harari said, “we wrote night and day. When it’s during a pandemic you can work a lot.”