The 28th edition offers a vast array of films representing 49 countries and a rich selection of films sure to delight audiences from all reaches of the globe. SBIFF is proud to welcome many promising and established filmmakers, as well as honorees to join in its grand tradition of celebrating independent film. The Festival begins Thursday, January 24 and continues through Sunday, February 3, 2013.

“As we deliver the 10th edition of SBIFF under my helm, I feel this year’s festival offerings are the most varied, mature and fun we’ve ever had,” remarks SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling.

OPENING & CLOSING NIGHT GALAS

SBIFF 2013 will kick off at the historic Arlington Theatre with the U.S. Premiere of LD Entertainment’s Disconnect, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin and starring Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgård and Max Thieriot. Disconnect holds a mirror up to our community and our obsession with all things technical. The story introduces us to a vast collection of characters: A lawyer, an estranged couple, a widowed ex-cop and an ambitious journalist who are all strangers, neighbors and colleagues whose stories collide in this compelling drama about ordinary people desperate for a human connection. Filmed with a somewhat voyeuristic style, Disconnect marks the first fiction feature from Henry-Alex Rubin, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Murderball, from an original screenplay by Andrew Stern. Opening night, sponsored by Studio 7 and The Hollywood Reporter, will take place at the Arlington Theatre on Thursday, January 24, 2013, with director and cast expected to attend.

On Closing Night, SBIFF proudly presents the U.S. Premiere of Wasteland, written and directed by Rowan Athale, marking his feature directing debut, and starring Matthew Lewis, Timothy Spall and Iwan Rheon. In this exhilarating heist thriller, a young ex-con hooks up with his best mates to embark on a wild — and risky — revenge scheme after being framed by a local drug kingpin. Closing night, sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent, will take place at the Arlington Theatre on Sunday, February 3, with director and cast expected to attend.

INTERNATIONAL GALA

SBIFF will present an International Gala Screening of Pablo Larraín’s film, “No,” starring Gael Garcia Bernal. The film, which is about an ad executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile’s 1988 referendum, was a favorite at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and winner of their Art Cinema Award. Director Pablo Larraín and Gael Garcia Bernal will attend.

2013 VIRTUOSOS AWARD

SBIFF continues its tradition of honoring the year’s standout performers with The 2013 Virtuosos Award. The actors who were selected to be recognized for their exceptional performances are: Ann Dowd for her layered and subtle performance as Sandra, a fast-food restaurant manager who allows terrible things to happen to an employee in Compliance, Elle Fanning for bringing intense emotion to the screen as Ginger, a teenager living in London during the Cuban Missile Crisis in Ginger & Rosa, Ezra Miller for his role as the vivacious Patrick, a high school student struggling with being gay in The Perks of Being A Wallflower), Eddie Redmayne for his powerful and emotional portrayal of the love-stricken Marius in Les Miserables, Omar Sy for mastering honesty and humor as Driss, an excon who develops an unlikely friendship in The Intouchables and Quvenzhané Wallis who at such a young age, astonishes with her performance as the brave little girl, Hushpuppy, in Beasts of the Southern Wild.

“The Virtuosos Award is about taking notice of a performance that is extraordinary,” Comments Durling. “The Virtuosos Award is all about performances that caused us to take notice and this year’s honorees have left an indelible impression on us all.”

The Virtuosos Award was created to recognize a select group of actors who have distinguished themselves through performances in film this past year. Last year’s recipients for this award were Demián Bichir, Rooney Mara, Melissa McCarthy, Patton Oswalt, Andy Serkis and Shailene Woodley.

The Award presentation, moderated by Fandango’s Dave Karger, and will take place at the Lobero Theatre on Tuesday, January 29, 2013.

THE TRIBUTES

SBIFF has become an important showcase for Academy-Award® frontrunners, many of whom have arrived as nominees and gone on to win the Oscar. The 28th Santa Barbara International Film Festival proudly celebrates some of the year’s finest work in film. The complete list of 2013 Honorees (in date order) is as follows:

Ben Affleck will receive the esteemed Modern Master Award, Presented by lynda.com, moderated by longtime SBIFF friend and film historian Leonard Maltin on Friday, January 25 at the Arlington Theatre.

Daniel Day-Lewis will receive the Montecito Award, moderated by Hollywood Reporter columnist Scott Feinberg on Saturday, January 26 at the Arlington Theatre. Sponsored by Bridlewood Estate Winery.

2013 Virtuosos Award, presented to Ann Dowd (Compliance), Elle Fanning (Ginger & Rosa), Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being A Wallflower), Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables), Omar Sy (The Intouchables) and Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), in recognition of the year’s emerging film artists. The evening will be moderated by Dave Karger, Chief Correspondent at Fandango and host of “The Frontrunners” on http://Fandango.com, on Tuesday, January 29 at the Lobero Theatre.

Amy Adams will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award on Thursday, January 31 at the Arlington Theatre.

Leonardo DiCaprio will receive the American Riviera Award on Friday, February 1, moderated by longtime friend and Awards strategist at Deadline, Pete Hammond at the Arlington Theatre.

Jennifer Lawrence will receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award, moderated by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling on Saturday, February 2 at the Arlington Theatre. Sponsored by UGG® Australia.

THE PANELS

The SBIFF has become renowned for creating smart, insightful and informative panels that feature a veritable who’s who in the world of filmmaking, including many Oscar® contenders.

The series kicks off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 26, with the “Directors on Directing” panel, moderated by Variety’s Peter Bart and sponsored by Brooks Institute. The panel takes place at the Lobero Theatre.

And at 2:00 p.m., also at the Lobero Theatre, is the ever-popular “It Starts With the Script,” screenwriters panel moderated by indieWIRE’s Anne Thompson. The panel takes place at the Lobero Theatre and is sponsored by Pacifica Graduate Institute.

The insights continue during the Fest’s second weekend on Saturday, February 2 at 11:00 a.m. with the “Movers & Shakers” panel, bringing together top producers to discuss their craft, moderated by Los Angeles Times film writer, John Horn.

And at 2:00 pm, the next panel is composed of some of the most creative women working in film today entitled “Creative Forces: Women in the Biz,” moderated by Madelyn Hammond, President, Madelyn Hammond & Assoc., and Former Chief Marketing Officer for Variety and sponsored by Fielding Graduate University Worldwide Network for Gender Empowerment. The panel also takes place at the Lobero Theatre.

Panelists will be announced soon.

HIGHLIGHTS & LOCAL OFFERINGS

SBIFF Acquisitions Program – Continuing on its path to becoming one of the world’s most sought after and prestigious film festivals, SBIFF will present its second annual Acquisitions Program, which will take place on the first weekend of the festival, January 25-27. The weekend long event successfully debuted last year and resulted in an impressive number of distribution deals for such films as Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best, Otter 501, Samsara, Sassy Pants and the 2012 SBIFF Audience Choice winner, Starbuck. The program will be run in association with Traction Media, a Los Angeles-based film production and sales company, and was created to allow the acquisitions community easy, industry-friendly access to films at SBIFF. Together, SBIFF and Traction will select the films to be presented in the program, and buyers will be afforded priority access to the chosen films. For more information, log onto www.sbfilmfestival.org.

Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies – More than a decade ago, SBIFF first introduced “Field Trip to the Movies,” the brainchild of renowned nature cinematographer Mike deGruy, whose passion for exploring and sharing those adventures with audiences through filmmaking was the inspiration for this fascinating and thought-provoking program. Now renamed “Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies,” the goal of the program, which is offered to 4,000 5th and 6th grade students from throughout Santa Barbara County, is to use the art of filmmaking to stimulate creative, confident and culturally aware thinkers and empower students and teachers with a creative approach to education. Academy Award® winning filmmakers have participated each year – including James Cameron, Lee Unkrich and Gore Verbinski, among others. SBIFF provides FREE transportation to students from Title I schools. This year, SBIFF is once again including an educational outreach program that will reach students in participating schools. Here, SBIFF staff and special guests will conduct an interactive film-related seminar within their own classroom!

For the 28th Festival, SBIFF is thrilled to present Paramount Pictures’ hit animated comedy, Rise of the Guardians, featuring director Peter Ramsey, who will participate in a Q&A following the screenings with the students and talk about the craft of animated filmmaking. This annual free screening, which takes place Friday, January 25 at the Arlington Theatre, is co-sponsored by Cox, The Towbes Foundation and Wells Fargo Bank.

A Mike deGruy Retrospective – SBIFF celebrates the films of longtime friend and renowned Documentary filmmaker and under-water cinematographer Mike deGruy, featuring screenings of Hawaii: Islands of the Fire Goddess, Incredible Suckers, The Octopus Show and Tempest of the Deep.

Official 2013 SBIFF Poster – Once again, we are happy to announce that the 2013 poster has once again been created by the talented Barbara Boros. Highlighting the ocean life and waterscape so loved by those who both live in and visit Santa Barbara, the design was inspired by the incomparable Mike deGruy and his dedication to all living things. This year’s poster encapsulates the vast film world depicted in the seemingly endless ocean where creativity and possibilities are limitless.

AppleBox Family Films – SBIFF presents AppleBox, a FREE family film section during the mornings of the two weekends that bookend the festival – Saturday, January 26 and Sunday, January 27 and on Saturday, February 2 and Sunday, February 3. This year, SBIFF will screen Animated Feature frontrunners Wreck-It Ralph 3D, ParaNorman 3D, Brave 3D, and Frankenweenie 3D. Co-presented by Children’s Museum of Santa Barbara, AppleBox is also sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill, Citrix, KPMR Univision, Metropolitan Theatres Corporation and RealD.

Warner Archives – SBIFF will once again feature a showcase of digitally restored masterpieces: Dial M for Murder, Singin’ In The Rain, and The Shining. The Warner Archives Restoration team will be around throughout the opening weekend for Q&As following the screenings.

Santa Barbara Filmmakers – The Santa Barbara filmmaking community continues to captivate and inspire audiences with this year’s impressive line-up. Santa Barbara filmmakers provide a diverse, thought-provoking series of features and shorts. Their programs underscore the emerging talent of up-and-coming filmmakers as well as seasoned veterans.

10-10-10 Student Screenwriting Competition and Filmmaking Competition – The Screenwriting Competition, sponsored by Final Draft and The Riordan Foundation, is comprised of 10 students who were selected out of 42 submissions from Santa Barbara area high school and college students who submitted a 10-page sample of their best fiction writing – screenplay, stage play, or short story – to their school’s representative. The five best script samples were chosen from the high school level and five from the college level. The finalists are then assigned a storyline and an industry professional to mentor them during the writing of their screenplay. Finalists meet with their mentor throughout the process, submitting their final draft in January 2013. On Tuesday, January 22, at 2pm at the Canary Hotel will be the 10-10-10 Press Conference where we will introduce the screenwriting and filmmaking finalists.

The 10 student screenplays are matched with a category-appropriate Filmmaking finalist from the 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking Competition, sponsored by Business First Bank and The Riordan Foundation, which consists of 10 students selected from 46 submissions. They will then produce a 10-minute film during the 10 days of the 28th Santa Barbara International Film Festival. On Sunday, February 3 at 1 pm at the Lobero Theatre, all ten completed films will be screened and the winners will be announced. The winning films will then be screened prior to the Closing Night film.

Youth CineMedia (YCM) – SBIFF presents a documentary film series produced entirely by teens involved in the Youth CineMedia program. Striving to help children transition away from gang life, drugs and alcohol and into college and careers in music, photography and video production, the organization offers creative tools, training and support for underprivileged and at-risk teens. Free to the public with Q&A following.

3RD Weekend –The SBIFF will continue their tradition of presenting the “3RD Weekend,” which will feature the highlights of the 28th Festival for Santa Barbara residents. The films will be screened throughout the weekend of February 8-10 at the Riviera Theatre. Screenings are free and seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. Screening times will be posted on the SBIFF website at www.sbiff.org in the days following Closing Night.

FILM CATEGORIES AND SIDEBARS

SBIFF will continue its commitment to feature exciting, culturally enlightening, and entertaining programming and sidebars. 155 films from around the world will be brought together to form an incredibly unique and diverse festival experience.

Films in the 28th edition of the festival will compete in the following categories:

• INDEPENDENT FEATURES

• INTERNATIONAL FEATURES

• DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

• SPANISH/LATIN AMERICA CINEMA

• SHORT FILMS

• ANIMATED SHORT FILMS

• THE FUND FOR SANTA BARBARA SOCIAL JUSTICE, a slate of unforgettable documentary stories.

Additional sidebars include

APPLEBOX, a slate of family films offered free to the community, co-presented by Children’s Museum of Santa Barbara and also sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill, Citrix, KPMR Univision, Metropolitan Theatres Corporation and RealD.

CINESONIC: feature films about iconic musicians that have changed the sonic landscape and pushed cinema in new directions.

KOLNOA: a selection of films that examine Israel from a variety of diverse historical, cultural and political perspectives.

PAN ASIA: an exciting new sidebar that features some of cinema’s most cutting-edge auteurs. Glistening cityscapes, gritty urban underworlds and panoramic rural landscapes shape this diverse selection of films that explore contemporary life and culture in Asia.

REEL NATURE, a retrospective of films by renowned Documentary filmmaker and nature cinematographer Mike deGruy.

SANTA BARBARA FILMMAKERS, sponsored by CASA Magazine and Samy’s Camera.

SCREEN CUISINE: celebrates the culinary delights of cinema and highlights sustainable practices of today’s farmers, chefs and entrepreneurs

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: A selection of internationally award winning films as well as special screenings out of competition.

TO THE MAXXX, a Santa Barbara specialty, programmed by Santa Barbara filmmaker Russ Spencer and features the best in sports films and documentaries, sponsored by Alaska Airlines.

THE AWARDS

The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema – for the Best Independent film

Juried by industry professionals

Award: camera package worth $60,000

The Best International Feature Film Award – for the Best Foreign Feature

Juried by industry professionals

Best Documentary Film Award – for the Best Documentary Feature

Juried by industry professionals

Nueva Vision Award – for the best Spanish-Language Feature

Juried by industry professionals

The Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award Sponsored by The Fund for Santa Barbara – for Documentary Film that addresses social justice issues

Juried by a committee selected by The Fund for Santa Barbara

Award: $2,500 cash

Bruce Corwin Award for Best Live Action Short Film Under 30 Minutes

Juried by industry professionals

Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animation Short Film

Juried by industry professionals

10-10-10 Student Filmmaking Competition – for Best of the 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking Competitor, sponsored by Business First Bank and The Riordan Foundation

Juried by industry professionals

Award for Best 10-10-10 Short Film (1 college, 1 high school): gift certificate from Samy’s Camera

Participation consideration: All participants receive a copy of Final Draft software.

The winning films will be screened at the Closing Night Event.

10-10-10 Student Screenwriting Competition, Sponsored by Final Draft and The Riordan Foundation for Best Screenplay

Juried by industry professionals

Award for Best 10-10-10 Screenplay (1 college, 1 high school): gift certificate from Samy’s Camera

Participation consideration: All participants will receive a copy of Final Draft software.

Audience Choice Award, sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is dedicated to the art of filmmaking, which seeks out and consequently offers a broad array of international and independent films, with a commitment to diversity. SBIFF, which attracts more than 70,000 visitors each year, endeavors to enrich the community both culturally and economically by presenting eleven days of films, tributes and symposiums, raising consciousness of film as an art form. SBIFF presents quality American and world independent films, Latin American and French sidebars as well as documentary cinema within the beautiful setting of downtown Santa Barbara, a premier tourist destination. SBIFF continues its commitment to education through its 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking and Screenwriting Competitions, Field Trip to the Movies, presented by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and educational seminars. For more information, log onto www.sbfilmfestival.org.

Tickets are still available for all events. Platinum Passes, which provide admission and priority seating to all Festival screenings, Tributes and sponsored events, are still available. The State Street Pass, perfect for Santa Barbara residents, allows admission to all “off peak” screenings which excludes the 4:00 through 8:00 pm screenings; The Tribute Package provides entry for two to all the Tributes, Opening Night Film and Gala, Closing Night film and one 10-film MiniPak; and The Film Geek Package offers tickets for two to Opening and Closing Nights and all Panel events plus one 10-film MiniPak. In addition, the Cinema Pass gives you admission to all films including Opening and Closing night and the Introductory Package provides access for two to Opening and Closing nights, as well as two 4-film MiniPaks. Prices and details are available at www.sbiff.org or call 805-963-0023.

For festival information and schedule of events and films, log onto www.sbiff.org. Be sure to join us on Facebook (facebook.com/sbiff) and follow us on Twitter (@officialSBIFF)! All press must request credentials by clicking on http://sbiff.org/about/press-pr/press-credentials/. Deadline for credential submissions is Friday, January 18.

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