Read more from our SBIFF 2026 cover story here.
Internationally renowned artist Julian Schnabel — whose paintings are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, among others — describes the throughline of his films as being, at their heart, about the process of being an artist.
“They’re not really biographies; they’re more like portraits,” he explained over a phone interview. “If you think of the notion of a portrait, how do you paint the portrait? It’s how it’s painted that makes it different than other portraits. So, if we’re talking about a film, we’re talking about how the approach of describing these characters is manifested.”
There’s a notable vulnerability and honesty to his work. “I guess that notion of intimacy is something that where there’s not really someone that’s telling you something in the middle of your experience. So, it’s almost as if you’re looking at a painting,” he said.
“And the problem with filmmaking is that people don’t know their subject matter. And I guess I know something about being an artist,” he laughed.
The artistry of Schnabel’s films, and the man himself, will be on grand view as part of the film festival’s Julian Schnabel Retrospective, which features a look back at his past work, leading up to the U.S. premiere of Schnabel’s new film — In the Hand of Dante, starring Oscar Isaac, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Gal Gadot, and Martin Scorsese, among others — at SBIFF’s Riviera Theatre on February 10 at 6 p.m.
Based on the 2002 novel by Nick Tosches, with a script written by Tosches, Schnabel, and his wife and writing partner Louise Kugelberg, the Schnabel-directed In the Hand of Dante follows the story of a handwritten manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s poem “The Divine Comedy,” as it passes from a priest to a mob boss in New York City, where it is taken by Nick Tosches when he’s asked to verify its authenticity.
Schnabel will attend the Santa Barbara premiere and what promises to be a lively and thought-provoking Q&A with SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling following the screening.
Writing collectively about Basquiat (starring Jeffrey Wright at the late artist) as well as the three other Schnabel films that are part of the retrospective — Before Night Falls (starring Javier Bardem as poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (starring Mathieu Amalric as writer Jean-Dominique Bauby, who is entrapped with his imagination in a body paralyzed by a stroke), and the aforementioned Van Gogh film, At Eternity’s Gate — Durling deftly sums up the filmmaker’s work.
“Schnabel’s main characters all confront a similar conflict: a physical as well as an allegorical sense of internment and isolation. And they all are subjected to living in a world that doesn’t fully understand them. This insight into the mindset of artists could come only from the perspective of a fellow artist, and, in the case of Basquiat, one who knew him well. Schnabel creates portraits of his subjects, but we also understand the necessary role he plays in achieving this by inserting his singular voice into the creation — for his movies are also portraits of himself. Here we have an artist making movies about artists who are consumed by art itself.”
There will be an additional screening of In the Hand of Dante at the Film Center on February 11 at 3 p.m.
The Julian Schnabel Retrospective film schedule (all at the Film Center) is as follows:
Basquiat, February 8, 11 a.m.
Before Night Falls, February 9, 3:20 p.m.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, February 6, 5 p.m.
At Eternity’s Gate, February 7, 8 a.m.
See sbiff.org for more information and tickets.
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