The film line-up was announced today by Artistic Director Roger Durling for the 19th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which takes place January 30 - February 8, 2004. The 10-day festival will feature 3 World Premieres, 5 U.S. Premieres, a North American Premiere, a World Cinema section and a Latin Film Section as well as Sidebars featuring Women in Cinema, Musicals and Cult Classics.

Previously announced, the SBIFF will present the Modern Master Award to Peter
Jackson. The program, directed by Paul Fagan and designed by Douglas D. Smith, will be moderated by New York Times Critic Elvis Mitchell and also feature some special guests! The evening is co-sponsored by Lucky Brand Jeans. Other honorees will be announced shortly.

Opening Night of the festival, Friday, January 30, will feature a screening of Valentin, Argentina’s Foreign Language Film Academy® submission, directed by
Alejandro Agresti. After the bitter separation of his parents and having
lived with his eccentric grandmother, the life of a young boy begins to change in sweetly unanticipated ways when he opens up to the last in a long line of
potential stepmothers. The screening begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Granada Theatre.
The director and cast are planning to attend. This is the first time a
Spanish-language film has opened the festival!

Additional Festival Sponsors include Traditional Home, Cox Communications,
Premiere, Variety, KEYT-TV, CASA Santa Barbara, The Santa Barbara Independent,
Santa Barbara Magazine, Firestone-Walker Brewing Company, Hotel Santa Barbara,
the El Encanto Hotel and Garden Villas, Metropolitan Theatres Corporation,
Barking Lizard and Insight Staging and Events.

The special Centerpiece Screening is Dogville, directed by Lars von Trier,
featuring a magnificent cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren
Bacall, Harriet Andersson, James Caan, Patricia Clarkson, Ben Gazzara, Chloë
Sevigny and Stellan Skarsgård. Set in a small Depression-era Rocky Mountain
mining community, this highly charged drama is shot in the most audacious way
possible, divested of the extraneous and the decorative. Lars von Trier creates an environment in which he – and we – are transfixed by the actors’ skills and passions as well as the complex ethical issues the film explores, for this is a film of both emotions and ideas. Nominated for the 2003 Golden Palm in Cannes. Wednesday, February 4.

Continuing for the second year, The Rosebud Project links together the
educational components of the Festival. Selected films, selected special screenings, panels as well as conversations with filmmakers in an intimate setting are what make this unique. Look for the Rosebud icon in the Quick Guide and the Festival Program.


The SBIFF continues its tradition of presenting some of the best talents of
the past year. On Saturday, January 31, at 11:00 a.m., the famed It Starts
With The Script traces the journey of a script from the writer’s spark of an idea to a produced film. These top writers will talk about their latest
screenplays. Moderated by MPAA President, Frank Pierson, participants include Gary Ross (“Seabiscuit”), Phillippa Boyens and Fran Walsh (“Lord of the Rings”), Jim Sheridan (“In America”), John August (“Big Fish”) and more.

Movers and Shakers, on Sunday, February 1, at 11:00 a.m., features top
producers who will discuss their latest film and the future of American cinema
within the Hollywood System. The panelists include Lauren Moews producer “Cabin Fever” for Tonic Films and IFP nominee), Barrie Osborne (“Lord of the Rings”), Armyan Bernstein (“Open Range,” President, Beacon Pictures) and more.

On Saturday, February 7, at 11:00 a.m. will be Directors on Directing. These
directors will discuss their latest film, creative freedom, the star system,
and the challenges of getting good films made today. Moderated by Peter
Biskind, author, the panel will be announced soon.

On Sunday, February 8 will be the Creative Forces: Women in the Biz, a panel
sponsored by Jaqua. This panel will feature a lively talk with Women in the
Business of filmmaking. Moderated by Women in Film President, Iris Grossman,
the panel will include Susan Jackson (owner of Turtles Crossing and Zenpix and
exec producer of “Cabin Fever”), and include women in various areas of
filmmaking like production, costume design, production design, editing and talk about filmmaking with the creative forces.

The Truth of Non-Fiction, the Festival’s first documentary panel, will be
held at UCSB on Wednesday, February 4 at 7:30. This Panel will be a
co-presentation with UCSB Arts & Lectures with Phil Lucas as moderator and will be sponsored by Chumash Casino Resort. The panel will include George Hickenlooper (The Mayor of Sunset Strip) and Rick McKay (Broadway: The Golden Age), among others.

The Film Festival’s first Documentary Panel will be held at UCSB on
Wednesday, February 4 at 7:30. This Panel will be a co-presentation with UCSB Arts & Lectures with Phil Lucas as moderator and will be sponsored by Chumash Casino Resort.

This year the Festival will reinstate “A Field Trip to the Movies,”
scheduled for Thursday, January 29, 2004, and will dedicate this event to Pierre Claeyssens, of the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, a recurring Festival Supporter.
Area schools are invited to a screening at the historic Arlington Theatre and
traditionally fill the theatre – 2000 seats. This year’s film will be Winged
Migration, a 2003 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary, directed by
Jacques Cluzaud and Michel Debats.

The SBIFF will also present a panel of UCSB professors from Chicano Studies
and African American Studies following the screening of The Agronomist directed by Jonathan Demme at UCSB on Monday, February 2, at 7:30 pm. This film is a nominee for The Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award for Documentary Films.

Other special events include:

Women in Cinema Sidebar

Actress/writer/director, Mary Kay Place is the SBIFF’s first "Guest Curator."
Her Women in Cinema Sidebar will include an eclectic selection of 6 to 8 films , all directed by women, in varying genres.

Latino Focus

This is a brand new section of the Festival and includes approximately eleven
films in the Spanish and Latin American Competition

Musicals Sidebar

Festival Director Roger Durling, who has a particular fondness for the great
movie musicals, will salute legendary choreographer Hermes Pan, who was best
known for his close association with Fred Astaire on his films. This sidebar
will feature screenings of TOP HAT, SILK STOCKINGS, PAL JOEY, KISS ME KATE and
MY FAIR LADY. This sidebar is co-sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue and The
French Bulldog

Cult Films Sidebar

Cult favorites that will be screened include Frank Darabont's BURIED ALIVE
with Tim Matheson & Frank Darabont attending; Peter Jackson's BRAIN DEAD, aka
DEAD ALIVE; Henri George Clouzot's DIABOLIQUE; Russ Meyer's FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL; Sam Fuller's NAKED KISS and Robert Wise's THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD
STILL. The sidebar will be co-sponsored by Vespa of Santa Barbara and Red Bull.


10-10-10
Rosebud Digital Student Filmmaker Competition

Educational component of SBIFF that includes students from all higher
learning facilities in the area: SBCC, UCSB, Westmont, Brooks as well as Junior and Senior high schools.
Submissions from SB area schools are in and ten will be chosen as finalists
to compete in the 10-10-10 project - where 10 filmmakers, have 10 days to
create a 10 minute film. Winning entry will be screened on closing night.

Brooks Institute 35mm Workshop

On Sunday, February 1, The Brooks Institute will present Brooks Institute
35mm Workshop at Plaza De La Guerra. Cinematographers will do a live exhibit
showing how a real night shoot for a film is done. There will be cranes,
cameras, lights and lots of action open to the public.

Digital Days

The 6th Annual Digital Days Explores the Latest in Digital Filmmaking, High
Definition Technologies and a Live Webcast with Video Chat to Be Featured at
SBCC during the 2004 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Digital Days, is a popular interactive forum that showcases filmmakers and
artists working with high definition (HD) and digital technologies. Participants and audiences will experience the state-of-the-art in HD digital filmmaking that is opening the doors to the future of entertainment. Digital Days features screenings, presentations, seminars and workshops with the world's leading filmmakers. This year's event will include the 3rd Quicktime Live webcast and video chat, which will provide 'virtual' access to the festival for thousands of remote participants creating an interactive dialogue between filmmakers, industry professionals, students and the public. Additionally, there will be a 3D screening, 2 Apple pro-app Labs and a presentation by Zack Staenberg, Academy Award Winning Editor, “The Matrix.”