JANUARY 2015
Desert Dancer
Set in Iran, where dance is illegal, DESERT DANCER tells the story of Afshin Ghaffarian (Reece Ritchie) who risked his life to fight for his dream to become a dancer. This film plays against the backdrop of the 2009 election protests, where the passion and defiance of a young generation lit the flame of revolution still sweeping the Middle East and Africa.
Find out more »Keep On Keepin’ On
In his melodic debut, Australian director Alan Hicks spent four years following the charming and sometimes poignant mentorship between jazz legend Clark Terry and blind piano prodigy, Justin Kaulflin, during a pivotal moment in each of their lives. At eighty-nine years old, ‘CT’ has played alongside Duke Ellington and Count Basie; his pupils include Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, but his most unlikely friendship is with Justin, a 23-year-old with uncanny talent but debilitating nerves. As Justin prepares for a competition that could jumpstart his budding career, CT’s failing…
Find out more »Timbuktu
Timbuktu is silent, the doors closed, the streets empty. No more music, no tea, no cigarettes, no bright colors, no laughs. The women have become shadows. The religious fundamentalists are spreading terror in the region. In the dunes, away from the chaos, Kidane enjoys a quiet life with his wife Satima, his daughter Toya and Issan, his little shepherd. But his peace is short-lived. After accidentally killing Amadou, a fisherman who struck down his favorite cow, Kidane must face the law of the new foreign rulers determined to defeat an open and tolerant Islam. Against the hu…
Find out more »Tokyo Fiancée
Cross Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s AMÉLIE with Sofia Coppola’s LOST IN TRANSLATION, and you have Stefan Liberski’s TOKYO FIANCÉE. Based on Belgian writer Amélie Nothumb’s European bestseller, this is a charming and tender tale of cultural discovery and young love. Amélie (Pauline Etienne) is infatuated with all things Japanese. She was born in Japan, but her parents returned to Belgium when she was a little girl, and she’s always dreamed of going back. Now, as a young adult, she finally has her chance. She moves to Tokyo, finds a small suburban apartme…
Find out more »The Grump (Mielensäpahoittaja)
Based on Tuomas Kyrö’s popular novel, Dome Karukoski’s THE GRUMP juxtaposes the rural values of yesterday’s Finland with the country’s contemporary urban reality, with alternately hilarious and touching results. The eponymous, unnamed hero (played by legendary Finnish actor Antti Litja) is an eighty-year-old farmer who, following a domestic accident, must come to Helsinki and stay with his youngest son, an unemployed New Age sad sack, and his Type A businesswoman daughter-in-law. From the outset, the new houseguest is hell on wheels. His social attit…
Find out more »Partner with the Enemy
Two women, an Israeli and a Palestinian, are trying to build a business partnership. Brought together by a shared business acumen and knowledge of the logistics industry, the two combine forces to help Palestinian businessmen navigate the everyday absurdities of Israeli control of the West Bank. But while they help their clients to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy, who will help them overcome their own disputes? (Haifa International Film Festival) Screening Times 01/28/15 10:00:00AM Santa Barbara Museum of Art 01/29/15 10:00:00PM Metro 4 Theatre 1 01/30/15 04:00:00PM S…
Find out more »The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime (El patrón, radiografía de un crimen)
Hermogenes is an illiterate man from a rural area. In his recent move to the city, he struggles to make ends meet while working for a butcher. One day, his boss suggests that he should serve as the manager of the failing butcher shop. Working in the small space with his wife all day long, Hermogenes fulfills his duty as manager and revitalizes the business. However, his profit-oriented and unscrupulous boss forces Hermogenes to make rotten meat look fresh by soaking it in Clorox every night. Based on a true story, THE BOSS, ANATOMY OF A CRIME is the feature debut by Sebasti…
Find out more »I Hate the Dawn (Man az sepideye sobh bizaram)
Experienced independent filmmaker Babak is driving to a shoot with his assistant, Amir, who explains his fatigue by saying the script he’s working on has been keeping him awake at night. The curious Babak persuades Amir to tell him the plot, and soon the older director also becomes obsessed with the story Amir wants to film. They reach the shooting location, a public park, where further stories unfold. Both light-hearted and philosophical, this assured debut feature shows the influence of Iran’s most famous director, Abbas Kiarostami. (Edinburgh International Fi…
Find out more »Love, Rosie
Rosie (Lily Collins) and Alex (Sam Clafin) have been best friends since childhood, so they couldn’t possibly be right for one another…or could they? When it comes to love, life and making the right choices, these two are their own worst enemies. Between an awkward turn and a missed opportunity, life sends them hurtling in opposite directions, far away from one another. Only a relentless and uninterrupted correspondence, in letters, then e-mails and text messages, preserves their special bond. But can a friendship resist the passing of time, distance and an endle…
Find out more »What the Sea Gives Me
WHAT THE SEA GIVES ME is a feature-length documentary comprised of intimate and candid interviews with some of the ocean’s most extraordinary ambassadors. The film gives you an honest and personal look through the eyes of those who thrive under the most extreme water conditions, those ensuring the proper care of the oceans for future generations, and those who simply derive a sense of pure joy from the sea. Preceded by “Net Positiva” Screening Times 01/28/15 11:00:00AM Lobero Theatre 02/01/15 10:20:00PM Metro 4 Theatre 3
Find out more »Kebab & Horoscope (Kebab i horoskop)
KEBAB & HOROSCOPE starts us off with “Kebab” as he decides to quit his job after reading his horoscope. Following this spurious decision, Kebab runs into the face behind the horoscope, “Horoscope.” Much to Kebab’s disappointment, Horoscope is just an ordinary, down-and-out man like himself, but their meeting inspires the two to join forces in an attempt to re-establish themselves as marketing experts. They try to rescue a carpet shop with no customers, only to find themselves with a team of oddballs to help them out.This hilarious deadpan comedy …
Find out more »Life in a Fishbowl (Vonarstræti)
In the follow-up to his promising first feature, JITTERS, Icelandic director Baldvin Zophoníasson transplants the interconnected multiple-narrative model popularized by filmmakers like Robert Altman and Paul Thomas Anderson to Reykjavik, with powerful and affecting results. Eik is a single mother struggling to make ends meet by any means possible. Sölvi is a former athlete who’s now trying to climb the corporate ladder and deal with a dictatorial boss whose ethics leave more than a little to be desired. Mori is a once-well-respected author who now appears to be a full…
Find out more »Breach
BREACH, the first feature documentary film on Iceland’s whaling industry, exposes one nation’s defiant and illegal participation in commercial whale harvesting against a backdrop of worldwide protests and political intrigue. Iceland, Japan, and Norway are the only countries in the world to continue this archaic practice. And of the three, Iceland is the only country to hunt the endangered finback whale. Ignoring international law, the politicians, scientists, and businessmen influencing the decision to continue the hunt believe that these migratory mammals are t…
Find out more »The Judgment (Sadilishteto)
In a small and poor village in Bulgaria, located close to the border with Turkey and Greece, Mityo loses his job and is forced to work for his former commander in order to keep his house and pay his loans. His job is to smuggle illegal immigrants from Syria through the Bulgarian-Turkish border into the EU. Since the death of his wife, the relations between Mityo and his son are strained. The revelation of a terrible secret will force Mityo to face the past, in order to regain his internal peace and find forgiveness from his son. Screening Times 01/28/15 01:20:00PM Metro 4 T…
Find out more »Young Tiger (Bébé tigre)
Cyprien Vial, whose short IN RANGE won a Directors’ Fortnight prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, makes his feature-length debut with this riveting film that follows Many, a 17-year-old Punjabi who immigrates to France as part of an educational program. Many is very eager to make France his new home and dreams of becoming a railway engineer. Unfortunately, his family pressures him to send money home and make them proud, because this is what everyone does when they leave Punjab. Being a student, Many cannot have a regular work permit so he starts getting off-the…
Find out more »Life in Extremes
There are those for whom the parameters of everyday life are not enough. Seeking thrills and adrenaline beyond the capacity of mainstream society, LIFE IN EXTREMES documents three extraordinary individuals who risk everything to push their bodies and minds to the very limits: a wingsuit flyer (Halvor Angvik) leaping from cliff tops; a freediver (Guillaume Néry) who plunges 125m into the ocean; and an extreme cyclist (Gerhard Gulewicz) facing perilous conditions – all striving to reach the top of their sporting fields. Discover how, and why, in a world increasingly bou…
Find out more »Ida
In Poland, few subjects are as controversial and emotionally charged as the relations between Catholics and Jews during the Nazi occupation. Following his success in England with films like LAST RESORT and MY SUMMER OF LOVE, director Pawel Pawlikowski has returned to his native country for the first time in his career to address one of his homeland’s most sensitive and painful topics. The result is one of the year’s most powerful and affecting films, which was awarded the FIPRESCI Special Presentations prize at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and Best Film at …
Find out more »Wet Bum
A coming-of-age movie driven by sharp observations and a poetic sensitivity towards outcasts, first-time feature filmmaker Lindsay MacKay’s WET BUM is graced by an exceptional lead turn from Julia Sarah Stone, whose performance is exquisitely crafted yet feels wonderfully devoid of guile. Forced by her mother to work in the seniors’ residence she manages, fourteen-year-old Sam (Stone) endures a daily gauntlet of cleaning rooms and dealing with disgruntled residents. In addition, Sam’s slower physical development has made her very self-conscious about her b…
Find out more »Natural Resistance
In NATURAL RESISTANCE, director Jonathan Nossiter combines his love for wine, cinema and Italy. A former sommelier, Nossiter previously made MONDOVINO, documenting how globalizing trends threaten to drive out distinctive wines. He didn’t foresee returning to the topic until last summer when he found himself in Tuscany, seated with Italian winemakers dedicated to resisting the prevalent use of chemicals. Joining them was Gian Luca Farinelli, a crusader for film preservation and the director of Cineteca di Bologna. Their conversation, in Nossiter’s words, was R…
Find out more »Swains Island – One of the Last Jewels of the Planet
Ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau, filmmaker Jim Knowlton and a team of scientists explore tiny Swains Island, located 200 miles north of American Samoa and reachable only by boat. They camp on shore to study this remote island that has recently been named a National Marine Sanctuary. Jean-Michel dives its pristine coral reefs that he says are as healthy as you can find. The scientists search for clues to the island’s past use, especially by early Polynesians that settled the island and used it as a stopover to reach distant Islands, and also when it was used as a f…
Find out more »Santa Barbara Live-Action Shorts
A selection of live-action shorts directed by some of our best local filmmakers to highlight emerging talent and seasoned veterans in the Santa Barbara film community. Shorts include: A Man, A Mustache About Sisters Chasing Fortune Distancia Sisters Swiped The Adventures of Bugsy McKay and Ralphy Jane The Knockout Game Vacant What A Pool Believes Screening Times 01/28/15 04:30:00PM Lobero Theatre 01/29/15 04:30:00PM Lobero Theatre
Find out more »Happy Times (Tiempos felices)
In this hilarious romantic comedy, Max is a young man involved in a relationship he’s unable to end. After using up all possible resources to break up with his girlfriend, he decides to hire an agency that specializes in ending relationships. However, he regrets his decision and tries to cancel his contract with the agency, but they are not willing to stop. At least, not until they achieve their goal. (Dubai International Film Festival) Screening Times 01/28/15 04:40:00PM Metro 4 Theatre 3 01/30/15 10:20:00AM Metro 4 Theatre 2 01/31/15 10:30:00PM Metro 4 Theatre 4
Find out more »Fair Play
Czechoslovakia, the gray 1980s. Teenage Anna is a top sprinter and her trainer thinks she can go all the way to the Olympics. Her mother is also pinning her hopes on Anna’s success, seeing it as an opportunity for her daughter to live in the free world beyond the Iron Curtain. This vision is so strong that she willingly supports the doping program the communist regime is testing on her daughter – although her health will clearly suffer. Unfolding gradually, FAIR PLAY may be a tale of fiction but it shines a light on historically-based demands made by the regime, and when th…
Find out more »The Attenborough Award – The Cousteau Family
Preceded by a screening of SECRET OCEAN 3D For the first time in 5 years, SBIFF will present the Attenborough Award For Excellence in Nature Filmmaking. We reinstate the award to honor the Cousteau Family – Jean-Michel, his son Fabien, and his daughter Celine — for their decades-long commitment to educating the public and for helping the world to discover the mysteries of the ocean. “The name Cousteau is synonymous with ocean exploration and preservation, something the Santa Barbara community is equally passionate about. Acknowledging them for their dedication to cont…
Find out more »The Land of Many Palaces
Ordos, a coal boom-town in a remote corner of Inner Mongolia, made headlines for being China’s largest ghost city. In an effort to populate the eerily empty metropolis, the local government began to relocate thousands of farmers from the surrounding region into the city. The Chinese government is attempting to move 250,000,000 rural farmers to urban inner cities over a 20-year span. If this plan is a success, it will be the largest relocation of people in human history. THE LAND OF MANY PALACES follows this process from both the side of the government, and the side of farme…
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(all information from the SBIFF Website)
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