41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival

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41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival
41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival.jpg
Official poster
Opening film A Mosquito in the Ear by Nicola Rinciari
Closing film Laundry by Zamo Mkhwanazi
Location Santa Barbara, California, United States
Founded1986
Awards
Hosted bySanta Barbara International Film Festival (organization)
Artistic director Claudia Puig
Festival dateOpening: 4 February 2026 (2026-02-04)
Closing: 14 February 2026 (2026-02-14)
Website SBIFF
Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The 41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the 2026 edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, is taking place from February 4 to February 14, 2026, at Santa Barbara, California, United States. [1] In August, October and November 2025, honorary awards were announced; the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award will be awarded to Michael B. Jordan (for Sinners ), [2] the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film will be awarded to Cynthia Erivo (for Wicked: For Good ), [3] and the Maltin Modern Master Award will be awarded to Adam Sandler (for Jay Kelly ). [4]

Contents

On October 30, 2025, the Virtuosos Award recipients were announced, which will be awarded to: Jacob Elordi (for Frankenstein ), Chase Infiniti (for One Battle After Another ), Amy Madigan (for Weapons ), Wagner Moura (for The Secret Agent ), Renate Reinsve (for Sentimental Value ), Sydney Sweeney (for Christy ), Teyana Taylor (for One Battle After Another), and Jeremy Allen White (for Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere ). [5] On January 31, 2026, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (for Sentimental Value) and Wunmi Mosaku (for Sinners) were added to the lineup of Virtuosos Award recipients. [6] Additionally, the Montecito Award will be awarded to Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård for his performance in Sentimental Value. [7]

In January 2026, One Battle After Another trio Benicio del Toro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sean Penn were announced as the recipients of the Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award. [8] Moreover, Kate Hudson (for Song Sung Blue ) was named Arlington Artist of the Year [9] and Ethan Hawke (for Blue Moon ) was announced as the recipient of the American Riviera Award. [10]

Overview

On February 11, Jessie Buckley will be feted by hosting a retrospective of her films from February 11 to February 14. [11]

Official selection

The festival will present 46 world premieres and 80 United States premieres from 50 countries with half of the films directed by women directors. [12]

Opening and closing films

The festival will open with Nicola Rinciari's A Mosquito in the Ear and close with Zamo Mkhwanazi's Laundry . [13]

English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production countrie(s)
Opening film
A Mosquito in the Ear Nicola RinciariUnited States, India
Closing film
Laundry UhlanjululoZamo MkhwanaziSwitzerland, South Africa

Feature films

  • Ablaze (Les Braises), Thomas Kruithof, France
  • Abril, Hernán Jiménez, Costa Rica
  • Adam's Interest (L'intérêt d'Adam), Laura Wandel, Belgium, France
  • Aki , Darlene Naponse, Canada
  • All of the Above, Allison Walsh, United States
  • American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, David Alvarado, United States
  • The Art of Adventure, Alison Reid, Canada
  • Artists in Residence, Katie Jacobs, United States
  • ASCO: Without Permission, Travis Gutiérrez Senger, United States
  • The Big Cheese, Sara Joe Wolansky, United States
  • Blood Lines , Gail Maurice, Canada
  • Bookends, Mike Doyle, United States
  • Broken Voices , Ondřej Provazník, Czech Republic, Slovakia
  • California Scenario, James Takata, United States
  • The Cost of Heaven (Gagne ton ciel), Mathieu Denis, Canada
  • A Cowboy in London, Jared L. Christopher, United States
  • Cuba & Alaska, Yegor Troyanovsky, Ukraine, France, Belgium
  • Dear Lara, Lara St. John, Canada, United States
  • Death and Life Madalena (Morte e Vida Madalena), Guto Parente, Brazil, Portugal
  • Diya, Achille Ronaimou, Chad
  • Don't Call Me Mama (Se meg), Nina Knag, Norway
  • Eternal Stoke, Joshua Pomer, United States
  • The Eyes of Ghana , Ben Proudfoot, United States
  • Father's Day (La Fête des Pères), Ayana O'Shun, Canada
  • The Fisherman, Zoey Martinson, Ghana
  • The Gas Station Attendant , Karla Murthy, United States
  • Gaslit, Katie Camosy, United States
  • The Heart Is a Muscle , Imran Hamdulay, South Africa, Saudi Arabia
  • Holy Days, Nathalie Boltt, Canada, New Zealand
  • I Swear , Kirk Jones, United Kingdom
  • If These Walls Could Rock, Tyler Measom, Craig A. Williams, United States
  • Imbalance, Dale Griffiths Stamos, United States
  • In The Hand of Dante, Julian Schnabel, United States, Italy
  • In the Land of Arto (Le Pays d'Arto), Tamara Stepanyan, France, Armenia
  • In the Room , Brishkay Ahmed, Canada
  • The Incredible Snow Woman (L' Incroyable femme des neiges), Sébastien Betbeder, France
  • Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream (Irkalla Hulm Jijiljamish), Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, France, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia
  • Kim Novak's Vertigo, Alexandre O. Philippe, United States
  • The Last Picture Shows, Rustin Thompson, United States
  • Laundry (Uhlanjululo), Zamo Mkhwanazi, South Africa
  • Let Me Paint My World for You (Ich male dir meine Welt), Andrea Christina Furrer, Germany, Switzerland
  • Life After Siham (La Vie après Siham), Namir Abdel Messeeh, France, Egypt
  • A Life Illuminated, Tasha Van Zandt, United States
  • Little Lorraine , Andy Hines, Canada
  • Los Tigres, Alberto Rodríguez, Spain
  • Lost Land (Harà Watan), Akio Fujimoto, Japan, France, Malaysia, Germany
  • Lovely Day (Mille secrets mille dangers), Philippe Falardeau, Canada
  • The Luminous Life (A Vida Luminosa), João Rosas,Portugal, France
  • Maturity (L'Âge mûr), Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Belgium
  • Maysoon, Nancy Biniadaki, Germany, Greece
  • Mockbuster, Anthony Frith, Australia, United States
  • Mortician , Abdolreza Kahani, Canada
  • A Mosquito in the Ear , Nicola Rinciari, India, Italy, United States
  • No Mercy, Isa Willinger, Germany, Austria
  • No Ordinary Heist, Colin McIvor, Ireland
  • Nomad Shadow (Thal Badaoui), Eimi Imanishi, United States, Spain, France
  • Not Made for Politics (Süsteemist väljas), Volia Chajkouskaya, Estonia
  • Notes of a True Criminal (Zapiski nastoyashego prestupnika), Alexander Rodnyansky, Andriy Alferov, Ukraine, United States
  • Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers, John H. Cunningham, United States
  • On the End , Ari Selinger, United States
  • The Ozu Diaries, Daniel Raim, United States
  • A Pale View of Hills , Kei Ishikawa, Japan, United Kingdom, Poland
  • Perla , Alexandra Makárová, Austria, Slovakia
  • Peter Asher: Everywhere Man, Dayna Goldfine, Dan Geller, United States
  • Relatively Normal, Amy Wendel, United States
  • Rising Through the Fray, Courtney Montour, Canada
  • Saipan, Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn, Ireland
  • Sanatorium, Gar O'Rourke, Ireland, Ukraine
  • Saving Etting Street, Dena Fisher, Amy Scott, United States
  • Sell Your House, Eric Foss, Brandon Pickering, United States
  • Shakti, Nani Sahra Walker, United States, Nepal
  • Silent Rebellion (À bras-le-corps), Marie-Elsa Sgualdo, Switzerland, Belgium, France
  • Silent Struggle (En silencio. La resiliencia de Isco Alarcón), Sara Sálamo, Spain
  • Sophia, Dhafer L'Abidine, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
  • Space Cadet , Kid Koala, Canada
  • Stand By, Mother, Kerrilee Gore, United States
  • Steal Away , Clement Virgo, Canada, Belgium
  • Steal This Story, Please!, Tia Lessin, Carl Deal, United States
  • Sunshine Express, Amirali Navaee, Iran, Sweden
  • Sweet Störy, Sarah Justine Kerruish, Matt Maude, Sweden, United States
  • The Six Billion Dollar Man , Eugene Jarecki, United States
  • Tenor – My Name is Pati, Rebecca Tansley, New Zealand
  • There Are No Words , Min Sook Lee, Canada
  • This Is Not a Drill, Oren Jacoby, United States
  • Toitū: Visual Sovereignty, Chelsea Winstanley, New Zealand
  • Tough Old Broads, Stacey Tenenbaum, Canada
  • Tow, Stephanie Laing, United States
  • Tropical Paradise (Paraíso Tropical), Abner Benaim, Panama
  • Two Ugly People, Peter Skinner, Australia
  • Untethered: A Wildly Different Normal, Aymie Majerski, United States
  • The Vanished Girl (Sauvage), Camille Ponsin, France
  • Vanishing Goats (Élise sous emprise), Marie Rémond, France
  • Versailles, Andrés Clariond Rangel, Mexico
  • Wasteman, Cal McMau, United Kingdom
  • What We Carry, Jessie Anthony, Canada
  • A Woman's Work, A.R. Ephraim, United States
  • Wrong Husband (Uiksaringitara), Zacharias Kunuk, Canada
  • The Yellow Tie, Serge Ioan Celebidachi, Romania
  • You Had to Be There , Nick Davis, United States

Short films

  • Abel, Brian Zahm, United States
  • Agnes, Leah Vlemmiks, United Kingdom
  • Agnès, Nora Arnezeder, France
  • Ali's Story, Benito Sinclair, United States
  • All Heart, Michael Govier, Will McCormack, United States
  • Amazeze (Fleas), Jordy Sank, South Africa
  • Astronauta, Giorgio Giampà, Italy, Mexico, Guatemala, France
  • At Night, Pooya Afzali, Iran
  • The Baddest Speechwriter of All, Ben Proudfoot, Stephen Curry, United States
  • Barbara, Jillian Moray, United States
  • The Bear Beneath, Olivia Hille, United States
  • Behind the Mask, Catherine Andre, United States
  • Beyond Silence, Marnie Blok, Netherlands
  • Bimo, Oumnia Hanader, France
  • California is Burning, Bennett Curran, United States
  • Candy Bar, Nash Edgerton, Australia
  • Change Makers, Casey Beck, United States, Greece
  • Committee Animal, Robert Redfield, United States
  • Coyotes, Said Zagha, France, Palestine, UK, Jordan
  • The Crash Out, Emelie Claxton, United States
  • Daddy's Little Meatball, Yael Grunseit, Australia, United States
  • Dark Skin Bruises Differently, Susan Wokoma, United Kingdom
  • The Divine Feminine, Ivana Todorovic, Serbia
  • Dongmei (冬梅), Rubing Zhang, China
  • Earworm, Patrik Eklund, Sweden
  • Egg Timer, Rosie May Bird Smith, United Kingdom
  • Fil-Am, Ralph Torrefranca, United States
  • The Finger Wife, Taryn Stickrath-Hutt, Dan Lund, United States
  • Fly on the Wall (La Mosca en la Pared), Mar Novo, Mexico
  • A Hand to Hold, Philip Clyde-Smith, Eliza Power, United Kingdom

Awards

Cynthia Erivo - Wicked-FYC-2 (cropped).jpg
BlueMoonBFILFF161025-53 (54875551295) (cropped 2).jpg
Kate Hudson - Song Sung Blue.jpg
Jackie Sandler Adam Sandler Jay Kelly-36 (3x4).jpg
Stellan Skarsgard-9707 (cropped).jpg
(From left to right): Cynthia Erivo, Ethan Hawke, Kate Hudson, Adam Sandler and Stellan Skarsgård, recipients of the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film, the American Riviera Award, the Arlington Artist of the Year Award, the Maltin Modern Master Award and the Montecito Award, respectively

References

  1. ↑ Gillies, Andrew (April 23, 2025). "Santa Barbara International Film Festival announces next year's event dates". KEYT-TV . Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Feinberg, Scott (October 3, 2025). "Santa Barbara Film Fest: 'Sinners' Star Michael B. Jordan Tapped for Performer of the Year Award". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Feinberg, Scott (August 19, 2025). "Santa Barbara Film Fest: 'Wicked' Star Cynthia Erivo Tapped for Kirk Douglas Award". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Hammond, Pete (October 15, 2025). "Adam Sandler to Be Honored with Maltin Modern Master Award at Santa Barbara Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Feinberg, Scott (October 30, 2025). "Santa Barbara Film Fest: Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and Chase Infiniti Among Eight Tapped for Virtuosos Award". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 Jones, Marcus (January 31, 2026). "Hot Off Their Oscar Noms, 'Sinners' and 'Sentimental Value' Stars Round Out SBIFF Virtuosos Tribute". IndieWire . Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Feinberg, Scott (November 13, 2025). "Santa Barbara Film Fest: 'Sentimental Value' Star Stellan Skarsgård Tapped for Montecito Award". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Hammond, Pete; Pedersen, Erik (January 6, 2026). "Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn & Benicio del Toro to Receive Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award at Santa Barbara Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  9. 1 2 Feinberg, Scott (January 13, 2026). "Santa Barbara Film Fest: 'Song Sung Blue' Star Kate Hudson Tapped for Arlington Artist of the Year Award (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  10. 1 2 Hammond, Pete (January 28, 2026). "Oscar Nominee Ethan Hawke to Receive Santa Barbara Film Festival American Riviera Award". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Santa Barbara International Film Festival Announces Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker Panels". Santa Barbara Independent . February 3, 2026. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  12. ↑ Dinaberg, Leslie (January 14, 2026). "The 41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival Brings a Feast of Movie Magic to Town". Santa Barbara Independent . Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  13. ↑ Turkeltaub, Payton (January 14, 2026). "Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro and More to Be Honored at the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival". Variety . Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Tangcay, Jazz (January 26, 2026). "EJAE, Jack Fisk, Alexandre Desplat, and More to Receive Variety Artisans Awards at Santa Barbara Film Festival". Variety . Retrieved January 27, 2026.
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