David Lynch Retrospective at SBIFF Film Center

Beloved Director Gets the Spotlight, Immediately Following the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

David Lynch will be honored with a career retrospective, screening eight of his films from Feb. 16-27 at the SBIFF Film Center | Photo: Courtesy

Concerned about having cinema withdrawals when the Film Festival ends on February 15? Have no fear, because immediately following the 40th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the SBIFF Film Center is honoring the late David Lynch, who passed away in January.

From February 16-27, eight films from the esteemed director will be screening. The lineup includes:

Blue Velvet

Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern, this 1986 classic involves the discovery of a severed ear, which leads a young man (MacLachlan) on an investigation that leads to a mysterious nightclub singer (Rossellini) and some psychopathic criminals.

The Elephant Man

This 1980 film starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins, among others, is the tale of a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while working as a side-show freak. But behind his monstrous façade is a man of kindness, intelligence, and sophistication.

Eraserhead

Viserally startling, especially back in 1977 when it came out, this is the story of a man who tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newborn mutant child.

Inland Empire

Laura Dern stars in this 2006 film about an actress who begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, as her real world becomes nightmarish and surreal.

Lost Highway

Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, and Natasha Gregson Wagner headline the cast of this 1997 film with two separate but intersecting stories about murder, music, mechanics, anonymous videotapes, and a gangster’s girlfriend.

Mulholland Drive

Naomi Watts first came to American fame in this 2001 film where, after a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across L.A. in a twisting narrative that goes beyond dreams and reality.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

The famous Laura Palmer and her final days are chronicled one year after the murder of Teresa Banks, a resident of Twin Peaks’ neighboring town. This 1992 classic stars Sheryl Lee, Moira Kelly, Ray Wise, Chris Isaak, Kyle MacLachlan, Harry Dean Stanton, and David Bowie.

Wild at Heart

This 1990 film stars Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage as lovers who hit the road to start a new life together without the wrath of her disapproving (and nuttily deranged) mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut this surreal honeymoon short. It also stars Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, and Isabella Rossellini.

Each film has multiple screenings throughout the February 16-27 time period. For the complete schedule, see sbifftheatres.com/david-lynch.