Countdown to Film Center Ecstasy

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Grand Film Center Project Plunges into Renovation Mode, with Fundraising Efforts Afoot

Rendering of the updated marquee outside SBIFF’s Film Center in downtown Santa Barbara. | Credit: SBIFF

Film and film festival goers got a hearty taste of what the SBIFF Film Center is and will become over the past several months. After the acquisition and transformation of the centrally located 40-year-old Fiesta 5, the new Film Center hosted a steady flow of films in all their variety.

Art films, documentaries, splashes of mainstream and family film programming, and retrospectives both serious and popcorn-y filled the complex’s handful of screens. In addition, during the 12-day film festival, the center was fully abuzz with morning to late night screenings, and audiences were informed that a major change and renovation of the space would begin post-festival.

Such was phase one in the life of the Film Center. Phase two, involving the months-long construction and recreation of the facility, has officially and finally begun. Elaborate renderings of the center after the metamorphosis have gone public, and the prospects look bright and elegant.

We checked in with SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling for an update on this ambitious cinematic and civic compound-in-progress.

Rendering of the updated marquee outside SBIFF’s Film Center in downtown Santa Barbara. | Credit: SBIFF

There was much excitement about the Film Center — not only as the new film festival hub but also as an ongoing and intelligent cinematic enterprise before and for a few months after. Have you sensed a kind of collective enthusiasm around town for this ambitious endeavor? Well, the enthusiasm manifested in attendance. The turnout exceeded our expectations and projections. In particular, I was impressed with the attendance for what I thought was some challenging material that, at times, was programmed — like the two films about the encampments and October 8 playing side by side. It created a dialogue on a heated subject, and that is what the Film Center should be all about.

Rendering of the box office area at SBIFF’s Film Center in downtown Santa Barbara. | Credit: SBIFF

The original plan was to shut down right after the film festival and begin the transformation process, but you had some logistical and coming-up-to-code hurdles to deal with. What is the state of the renovation project at this moment, and what will the next phases be? Yes, we intended to shut down right away, but we were waiting for permits and approvals, and as you know, those take longer than anticipated. The theaters are vacated now. All the equipment is out. Demo will start shortly and then construction. We’re hoping — fingers crossed — that we’ll be opening in mid-December.

It may be hard for people to imagine what this transformation will do to a rather run-down multiplex that we’ve come to know as the Fiesta — maybe a sad sack Fiesta. These new, publicly viewable drawings give a good idea of what’s in store. Did you have a particular model, in terms of existing theaters, for how you see the end result? Growing up, there was an excitement for me to go to movie palaces. That was the inspiration, plus the experience of going into temples (India and Thailand). So, the vestibule — where you descend via stairs — and now a ramp — were inspired by those ideas. Sort of like a decompression chamber to adjust your mind to the experience.

Rendering of the updated entryway stairs at SBIFF’s Film Center in downtown Santa Barbara. | Credit: SBIFF

From what I have seen, the concept blends retro movie palace aesthetics with a contemporary vision. Is that right? Absolutely, and also blending traditional Santa Barbaran architecture with a contemporary movie house. Each movie house will have its own look and feel, with nods to other movie/performing houses in town like the Lobero, the Granada, the Marjorie Luke, and the Arlington.

Give me an idea of the amenities and what the filmgoing experience will be like once this is up and running and its full regalia? It will have an art gallery with film-related exhibits. When we open, we will have an exhibit of the designs by David and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco — Oscar winners for their design for La La Land and who have worked for Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, and others. Dolby Atmos sound. Expansion and major improvements in the bathrooms. A better circulation in the entire facility, the entrance to the bathroom from concessions as well as the auditoriums. A customer service booth for pick-up of prepaid tickets, and a huge ramp that will make the facility accessible.

Rendering of the new foyer entryway at SBIFF’s Film Center in downtown Santa Barbara. | Credit: SBIFF

How is the fundraising going? Are there selling points you’d like to highlight to potential donors regarding both the cinematic and downtown revitalization facets of this project? The fundraising is coming along. We have 100 percent board participation locked, and we will be starting the quiet phase of the campaign shortly. And yes, this project is not only essential to the film festival, for it guarantees us having a permanent home not just for the festival but for year-round programming, but it’s also part of the downtown corridor revitalization.

Many in the community — especially the film geeks among us — relish this idea of a locally run film center, breaking the long monopoly of an L.A.-based theater chain in town. The Center also continues and expands on the trend started at the Riviera. Is there anything you care to weigh in on with that subject? People still want to go to the movies. They want a sense of community and of belonging. But people also want a better experience, better sound, higher quality of projection, and for things to be super clean and comfortable. And people want more sophisticated programming that they cannot stream at home — something that will not just entertain but enlighten you, something meaningful, that has been careful and thoughtfully curated.

Big cities like New York and Paris have film centers like this. Santa Barbara, with its discerning audience, deserves something like this.