Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites - Tinsletown Tidbits

Red Carpet Coverage was amazing and From opening night film “Jane Austin Wrecked My Life” to closing night film “A Missing Part" It was all Fantastic!

The 40^th Santa Barbara International Film Festival was amazing and included Applebox Family Films, Free Daily Films, Free Filmmaker Seminars, 10-10-10

Mentorship and Competitions, After School Cinema, Film Camp, Film Studies Program, Filmmaker Fund, Framing Our Narrative, Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies, and Rosebud Program. Directors Panel Rocked!

The 2025 SBIFF Awards were many and included Matlin Modern Master Award presented to Angelina Jolie, Performer of the Year Award Ralph Fiennes, New Horizon Award presented to Kevin Costner, Variety Artists Award to Kieran Cuikin, Harris Dickenson, Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Clarence Maclin,

Mikey Madison and John Magaro. Arlington Artist of the ear Award Timothee Chalamet, American Riviera Award Zoe Saldana, Cinema Vanguard Award Adrien Brody & Guy Pearce, and Montecito Award Colman Domingo presented by Oprah Winfrey.

Red carpets were wild as fans of Angelina Jolie, Ariana Grande, and Timothee Chalamet went crazy to see them arrive at the Arlington Theatre where they signed autographs, took photos and talked with the crowd waiting to see them.

Industry Panels were sensational and included the Animation Panel, Writer’s Panel, International Directors Panel, Producers Panel and 23^rd annual Women’s Panel all held at the Arlington Theatre. There were Animation Shorts, Comedy Shorts, Documentary Shorts Profoundly Personal Stories, Narrative Stories 1 Something to Prove, Narrative Shorts2 Dicey Situations, Narrative Shorts 3 Mystery Pervades, Narrative Shorts 4 Unnavigated Waters, Santa Barbara Documentary Shorts, Santa Narrative Shorts, and Youth CineMedia. Films were views at the Arlington Theatre, Riviera Theatre and the new SBIFF Film Center on State Street, which is scheduled to be completely renovated in the coming months.

A special interview and showing of the “Structure” starring Demi Moore was followed by a Q&A was done by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling. Moore has subsequently won major awards, including SAG and AARP awards, for her performance in the heart-stopping thriller following the festival.

The crowds were lined up down the street, even during very bad rainstorms, to see the celebrities arrive and walk the red carpet at the Arlington Theater, and local restaurants were packed with movie goers. “Roger Durling SBIFF Executive Director commented on how excited they were to see the crowds who came out in the pouring rain to attend films and special events, and the first time in the festival’s history, tickets were all sold out in advance.

This year also offered some brand-new events and awards, along with some amazing new sponsors, who brought special highlights to the 40^th Anniversary SBIFF. The awards ceremony was a special closing breakfast at the El Encanto Hotel, where there were some very happy filmmakers accepting awards and celebrating their work. This year there were so many outstanding international films that made the list and overall it was a marvelous place to spend another Valentine’s Day in Santa Barbara. Looking forward to 41st!

Bonnie Carroll, Multi-media journalist, www.lifebitesnews.com, www.coastingwithbonnie.com