Chopin Spree at the SBIFF

You can’t have a good film festival without the three P’s-pizzazz, premieres, and parties. Luckily, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival likes to deliver big on all three, and when this year’s edition strolls up the red carpet January 24-February 3, it might do so with a bit of a stagger, uh, I mean swagger. Because SBIFF head honcho Roger Durling couldn’t find Chopin Vodka in Rome, it will be a sponsor of the fest this year. Durling ached for Chopin while in Europe, blogging (sbiff.org/blog2) his dry laments, and Sarah Gorvitz-U.S. brand manager at Chopin-happened to read his complaints. Soon he was drinking Chopin with her at New York’s famed Algonquin Hotel and setting up a merry martini deal. Yep, you wouldn’t believe this story if you saw it at the movies.