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38TH FESTIVAL OPENS WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF “MIRANDA’S VICTIM” AND CLOSES WITH US PREMIERE OF “I LIKE MOVIES”

FESTIVAL TO PRESENT 52 WORLD PREMIERES AND 78 U.S. PREMIERES FROM 43 COUNTRIES

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) announced today the highly anticipated lineup for the 38^th edition, which will run February 8 to 18, 2023. The festival will showcase 52 world premieres and 78 U.S. premieres from 43 countries, along with tributes featuring the year’s top talent, panel discussions, and free community education and outreach programs.

SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling stated this morning, “At a time where there's a dwindling of movie theater attendance, the role of film festivals has never been more important. At SBIFF, with the 38^th edition, our marching orders are clear, to celebrate movies and to nurture and exalt the film community, the artists as well as the cinephiles. It's a great slate with 43 countries represented.”

SBIFF 2023 will kick off on Opening Night Wednesday, February 8 with the WORLD Premiere of MIRANDA’S VICTIM. Directed by Michelle Danner and starring Abigail Breslin, Ryan Phillippe, Luke Wilson, Donald Sutherland, Mireille Enos and Andy Garcia.

It’s 1963 when eighteen-year-old Patricia “Trish” Weir is kidnapped and brutally raped at knife-point. Committed to putting Ernesto Miranda in prison, Trish’s life is destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggers a law that transforms the nation.

SBIFF 2023 will close on Saturday, February 18 with the US Premiere of I LIKE MOVIES. Directed by Chandler Levack and starring Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges, Percy Hynes White.

Lawrence, a socially inept, 17-year-old cinephile, gets a job at a video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older female manager.

SBIFF is an important showcase for Academy Award frontrunners, many of whom have arrived as nominees and gone on to win the Oscar. The 38th SBIFF proudly celebrates some of the year’s finest work in film. All tributes will be in person at the historic Arlington Theatre.

SBIFF has become renowned for creating smart, insightful panels that feature a who’s who in the world of filmmaking, including many Oscar contenders. Returning will be our annual Producers Panel, Writers Panel, and Women’s Panel and introducing the NEW International Directors Panel. All Panels will be in person at the historic Arlington Theatre. Panelists to be announced.

The 2023 SBIFF poster was painted by acclaimed artist and Santa Barbara resident Patricia Chidlaw. She commented “As an artist I am honored to be part of this celebration of artistry that is the Santa Barbara Film Festival. And happy my painting can pay homage to our historic movie palace: the Arlington Theater.”

Mike’s FieldTrip to the Movies – Named for renowned nature cinematographer Mike deGruy, Mike’s FieldTrip to the Movies uses filmmaking to nurture creative, confident, and culturally aware thinkers. This year’s program will be offered to 4,000+ 4th--6th grade students from Title I (low-income) schools throughout Santa Barbara County. This year will feature an in-person Q&A with Guillermo del Toro following a screening of GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO from Netflix. Sponsored by John C. Mithun Foundation, Montecito Bank & Trust, Patagonia, Union Bank, Bentson Foundation, and Volentine Family Foundation.

Film Studies Program – The Film Studies Program will invite 30 undergraduate film students from across the country to the Film Festival where they'll take part in a packed curriculum that turns the festival into an interactive classroom. Participants receive priority access to the films, panels, filmmaker seminars, tributes, as well as intimate Q&As with filmmakers.

10–10–10 Student Screenwriting and Filmmaking Mentorship and Competition – The 10-10-10 Program is made up of 20 area high school and college screenwriters and filmmakers. This year’s program includes filmmaking workshops, individual mentorship, and access to casting, visual effects, producing and sound mentors. The student screenwriters and directors are paired together and guided through the process of taking a film from script to screen. Sponsored by Kaleidoscope Productions.

Free Filmmaker Seminars – SBIFF will again present seminars with filmmakers premiering at this year’s festival. These seminars will be FREE to the public and will take place on each weekday during the Festival at Tamsen Gallery at 911 1/2 State Street.

The ADL Stand Up Award sponsored by ADL Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties – This award will be presented to a dramatic film in the festival that represents an important message consistent with ADL’s efforts "to secure justice and fair treatment for all." The winner will be announced during the Festival.

Below is the list of feature and short films at the 2023 SBIFF. For the complete list of films, synopses, and other special events please visit www.sbiff.org or the SBIFF app.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival honored to global icon Michelle Yeoh wih the 15th annual Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film. Marking the first time since the passing of screen legend Kirk Douglas that the honor was awarded. The award benefits Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s year-round educational programs. It was presented on Friday, December 9 at a Black-Tie dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara.

Michelle Yeoh is an internationally recognized Malaysian-born actress who rose to fame in 1990s Hong Kong action films before going on to shatter convention and star in a myriad of globally acclaimed blockbusters. In March 2022, she starred in Daniels’ mind-bending, critically acclaimed Everything Everywhere All At Once, which has since become A24’s highest grossing film worldwide.

She has appeared in more than 70 features and television series, with her filmography showcasing a collection of iconic roles, including Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 1 & 2, Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha, Roger Spottiswoode’s James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, and Jon Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, the highest-grossing romantic comedy in the U.S. in the past 10 years. After appearing in James Gunn’s second installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Yeoh returned to the Marvel universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

In television, Yeoh was most recently seen as Emperor Philippa Georgiou in CBS’ Star Trek: Discovery. Next, she will be reuniting with Destin Daniel Cretton in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese and starring in Netflix’s upcoming limited series, The Witcher: Blood Origin. Other upcoming credits include James Cameron’s Avatar sequels and Paul Feig’s The School for Good and Evil.

The 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place LIVE February 8 - February 18, 2023. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes, will be held throughout the city, including at the historic Arlington Theatre. Passes for the 2023 Festival are on sale now at sbiff.org.

Last year, SBIFF had a triumphant return to in-person screenings, panels, and events. The festival had 48 world premiere, 95 U.S. premieres, with honorary awards feted on Javier Bardem, Nicole Kidman, Kristen Stewart, Penélope Cruz, Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Caitriona Balfe, Ariana DeBose, Alana Haim, Ciarán Hinds, Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Simon Rex, Saniyya Sidney, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kenneth Branagh, Jane Campion, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Steven Spielberg. Historically, organizers are expecting A-list guests to once again ascend to Santa Barbara, making it a must-stop location on the awards circuit, and delivering an unpresented number of films with many World and U.S. premiere. The film lineup and schedule will be announced January, 2023.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 37 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film.

SBIFF continues its commitment to education and the community throughout many free educational programs and events. In 2016, SBIFF entered a new era with the acquisition of the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. After a capital campaign and renovation, the theatre is now SBIFF’s new state-of-the-art, year-round home, showing new international and independent films every day. In 2019, SBIFF opened its own Education Center in downtown Santa Barbara on State Street to serve as a home for its many educational programs and a place for creativity and learning. LBN staff

Jamie Lee Curtis will be honored with the prestigious Maltin Modern Master Award at the 38th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Curtis will receive the award on Saturday, February 11th following an in-person conversation about her career leading up to this year’s performances as Laurie Strode in Halloween Ends, a beloved character that she has portrayed for a record 44 years as well as Deidre Beaubeirdre in A24’s critically acclaimed smash hit Everything Everywhere All At Once.

“Jamie Lee Curtis has long since proven that she has staying power. People want to watch her, whether it’s in a Halloween movie or an offbeat character role. She’s talented and charismatic, and in the process does her movie-star parents proud” said Leonard Maltin.

Jamie Lee Curtis has demonstrated her versatility as a film actress, starring in acclaimed films such as the blockbuster True Lies, for which she won a Golden Globe Award; Trading Places, for which she earned a BAFTA (British Film Academy Award) for Best Supporting Actress; A Fish Called Wanda, for which she received duel Best Actress nominations from BAFTA and the Golden Globes; and the Disney feature film Freaky Friday, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In 2021 Jamie received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival.

It was her portrayal of Laurie Strode in Halloween, which was her film debut and brought her to the attention of audiences worldwide. 40 years later, in 2018, Curtis reprieved that signature role in David Gordon Green’s record-breaking horror feature, Halloween, produced by horror guru Jason Blum. Halloween’s opening weekend was the biggest debut ever, for any movie in any genre, to feature a female lead character over 55 years of age. The second film in the trilogy Halloween Kills was released in October 2021, and Halloween Ends, the final film in the trilogy was released October 14. In 2015, Curtis returned to her horror roots, starring in two seasons of the Ryan Murphy-created TV series Scream Queens, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In 2019 Curtis appeared in the smash hit Knives Out and in 2021 completed filming Borderlands alongside Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart. Earlier this year Jamie appeared opposite Michelle Yeoh in the critically acclaimed box office smash Everything Everywhere All At Once. Next August she will appear as Madame Leota in the Disney feature Haunted Mansion.

In 2019 Curtis formed Comet Pictures, which is a film, television and podcast production company that has a first-look deal with Blumhouse. Comet's projects in the works include: Scarpetta, a series based on Patricia Cornwell's best-selling novels about forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta; Mother Nature, an eco-horror film that Curtis will direct and co-wrote with Russell Goldman, based on the forthcoming graphic novel written by Curtis and Goldman and illustrated by Karl Stevens; a third and final season of the best-selling Audible scripted comedy/mystery podcast Letters From Camp, written by Boco Haft; a horror short Return to Sender, directed by Goldman and starring Allison Tolman. Curtis is also the founder and CEO of the website MY HAND IN YOURS, which is a charitable organization that offers comfort and celebration items with 100% of every sale being donated directly to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, an organization Curtis has been associated with for a very long time. Curtis is also a New York Times best-selling children’s book author having written 13 books.

The Modern Master Award was established in 1995 and is the highest accolade presented by SBIFF. Created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry, it was re-named the Maltin Modern Master Award in 2015 in honor of long-time SBIFF moderator and renowned film critic Leonard Maltin. Past recipients include Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Bill Murray, Brad Pitt, Glenn Close, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Bruce Dern, Ben Affleck, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, George Clooney and Peter Jackson.

The 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place LIVE February 8 - February 18, 2023. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes, will be held throughout the city, including at the historic Arlington Theatre. Passes and tickets for the 2023 Festival are on sale now at sbiff.org.

SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling Host Q&A with James Gray following Screening of "Armageddon Time" at Riviera Theatre (photo: LBN)

Golden Globes 2023: Nominations for the 80th Golden Globes ...

Montecito Award
honoring Angela Bassett

Thursday, February 9, 2023 – 8:00pm
Arlington Theatre

Outstanding Performer of the Year Award
honoring Cate Blanchett

Friday, February 10, 2023 – 8:00pm
Arlington Theatre

Golden Globes 2023: Nominations for the 80th Golden Globes ...

Montecito Award honoring Angela Bassett Thursday, February 9, 2023 – 8:00pm Arlington Theatre

Outstanding Performer of the Year Award honoring Cate Blanchett Friday, February 10, 2023 – 8:00pm Arlington Theatre

Montecito Award
honoring Angela Bassett

Thursday, February 9, 2023 – 8:00pm
Arlington Theatre

Outstanding Performer of the Year Award
honoring Cate Blanchett

Friday, February 10, 2023 – 8:00pm
Arlington Theatre