The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), which will present its 42nd edition around the city February 4-14, has always been largely focused on cinematic interests and content from Hollywood and points global. Among its local sidebars, one of the most Santa Barbara–centric — and also deadline-driven — projects has been its 10-10-10 program, through which 10 selected young student filmmakers are commissioned to create 10-minute shorts, all within the 10 days of the festival.
As of 2026, the 10-10-10 program has gained a new and logical dimension with the addition of a Film Composer Program. The logical musical addition to the time-sensitive program came about through SBIFF head Roger Durling’s collaboration with project organizer Diego Ratto, a PhD candidate at UCSB, who explains that after discussing the pilot program, “we immediately felt this was fundamental, because music is such an important part of filmmaking.”
“We also agreed that, despite the importance of film to the city of Santa Barbara, there are currently no local colleges or universities offering a film, music, or music for media program,” he adds. “Many students studying music and composition would really benefit from this, and it could definitely attract even more students to the city.”