THE 2022 SANTA BARBARA FILM FEST BEGINS!

 

THE FESTIVAL RUNS MAR 2-12 WITH A STAR-STUDDED IN-PERSON LINE-UP OF HONOREES INCLUDING WILL SMITH, PENELOPE CRUZ, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, KRISTEN STEWART & MORE

The ten-day 37th Santa International Barbara Film Festival begins today and promises to be a blockbuster in-person gathering of marquee Hollywood stars amidst thought-provoking, diverse, international and domestic narrative and feature films represented by its filmmakers in attendance.

The opening night film is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN presented by UGG, Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022 – 8:00pm at the Arlington Theatre. It stars Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans. 

The closing night film is DIONNE WARWICK: DON’T MAKE ME OVER Saturday, March 12, 8:00 PM Arlington Theatre. Dionne Warwick will be in attendance. 

This year SBIFF is honoring a star-studded line-up of Hollywood actors, directors, and producers including:

Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis - Outstanding Performers of the Year Award Presented by Manitou Fund

Paul Thomas Anderson (LICORICE PIZZA), Kenneth Branagh (BELFAST), Jane Campion (THE POWER OF THE DOG), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (DRIVE MY CAR), and Steven Spielberg (WEST SIDE STORY) - Outstanding Directors of the Year Award sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter

Kristen Stewart - American Riviera Award

Caitriona Balfe (Belfast), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza), Ciarán Hinds (Belfast), Emilia Jones (CODA), Troy Kotsur (CODA), Simon Rex (Red Rocket), and Saniyya Sidney (King Richard) - Virtuosos Award Presented by UGG

Penélope Cruz - Montecito Award

Benedict Cumberbatch - Cinema Vanguard Award Sponsored by Deadline

Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman - Maltin Modern Master Award Presented by Manitou Fund

The film festival is also offering a plethora of delicious freebies in the form of informative industry panels, a bunch of the 2022 Oscar-nominated motion pictures of the year, student shorts, and some cult classics! If you haven't already, plan this weekend's trip to Santa Barbara and try to grab a few of these gems available for free to the public!

For more information on the full program guide, go to https://sbiff.org click the "film festival" drop-down menu and go to "program guide".