Opening at the end of this month, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced its lineup this week, which will feature 156 films from 49 different countries.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, this January will be the 28th year for the festival, screening films from January 24 to February 3. The festival will open with Henry-Alex Rubin’s feature film “Disconnect,” starring Jason Bateman, Hope Davis and Alexander Skarsgard. Rubin received an Oscar nomination for his documentary “Murderball” in 2005, but this will be his first feature film.
In addition to Disconnect, the festival will have 31 U.S. premieres, 13 of which are world premieres. According to the news source, “The closing night film will be the U.S. premiere of the heist-thriller Wasteland, which stars Matthew Lewis, Timothy Spall and Iwan Rheon, and marks the feature directorial debut of Rowan Athale.”
The SBIFF also announced the winners of the Virtuoso Awards, or awards given to stars who broke out in the past year, including Ann Dowd for “Compliance” and Ezra Miller for “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” among others.
There will also be a number of other events besides film screenings, including panels such as “Directors on Directing” and “It Starts with the Script” that will feature discussions among screenwriters and directors. Additionally, a workshop and screening for 5th and 6th graders from the surrounding county will be held on January 25.
Beyond hosting workshops and panels, for festivals held in warmer climates such as Southern California, having outdoor movie screens can also accommodate larger crowds, especially for the 4,000 younger attendees of “Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies” screening and master class.