Among the many virtues and good fortunes at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) 2017, it has to be said that the weather outside was frightful/delightful — gray, wintry, wet, and conducive to sending us into darkened rooms where cinema reigned for 10 days (and 11 nights). The verdict on the 32nd edition: thumbs up, for the power of individual films (some more than others, natch), and the revitalizing overall aura of solidarity with a world suddenly gone vulnerable.
Fittingly, what began with the feel-good, life-affirmation tale of Charged ended with Saturday’s film-about-film Their Finest, from Danish director Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners). Dealing with the war ministry’s mission to create uplifting, patriotic films in 1940, Their Finest features Gemma Arterton and lean, witty Brit Bill Nighy, who told the crowd pre-screening,“somebody told me that you are building a wall between California and back east. Count on me to help out.” Also before the finale, festival Executive Director Roger Durling fed into the anxious yet activist spirit of the moment, commenting that “it is at times like these that we must stand together, and, of course, we have the movies to inspire us and lead the way.”
In general, the eerily auspicious timing of this year’s SBIFF — directly following the first official assault on immigrants from White House — served to amp up the politicization of a program that, in keeping with the festival’s history, showcased the healthy diversity of cultures, lives, human woes, and triumphs, across borders and in all four global corners. It was well-nigh impossible to escape the outside world in those dark rooms, without processing the info flow and considering resonances of the new regime mirrored in many of the films here. Some of us speculated whether our so-called president might gain some wisdom or compassion if he saw some of these films, but the jury’s out on whether he would have the patience or willingness to read subtitles.