While Santa Barbara cinephiles have long had access to a healthy selection of mainstream independent fare, screenings of smaller films like Weiner, winner of the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, have been harder to catch. “People were driving to L.A. to see [certain] movies,” said Roger Durling, the creative director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. With SBIFF’s The Showcase Film Series, which kicks off its run at the Riviera Theatre on Sunday, June 5, Durling hopes to give filmgoers a chance to see indie films without needing to brave Los Angeles traffic. “[We wanted to] be able to show film-festival-type fare that’s harder to see at the local multiplex.”
Prior to signing a lease that granted SBIFF control of the Riviera Theatre for the next 30 years, The Showcase screened independent and foreign films every Wednesday at the Plaza de Oro Theatre. While the series has been successful since its inception two years ago, Durling felt that it would benefit from offering more screenings. “I heard from a lot of people that they wanted to see the films, but Wednesday didn’t work for them,” said Durling.
Starting in June with Weiner, filmgoers will have a chance to catch Showcase films on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, in addition to the standard Wednesday screenings.