Film Festival: It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over

Feeling film festival fatigue, or still can’t get enough? Or a little of both? With three days left in another successful (and 23rd annual) installment of the Santa Barbara Film Festival, it’s time to dive back in and enjoy what’s left. Check with the Film Festival hub at Hotel Santa Barbara for an updated schedule — films that get a buzz often receive third and fourth screenings on this weekend. The free family film section, APPLEBOX, returns for a second round of weekend mornings for the kids. There’s still plenty of star power lighting up the evenings: tonight the Fest honors Tommy Lee Jones and tomorrow Angelina Jolie comes to town, so expect red carpet mayhem. Sunday night’s closing ceremonies will present awards to all the films you may have been lucky enough to see in the week previous. But if you missed them, fear not, because the SBIFF’s Third Weekend (February 8-10) at the Riviera shows a majority of the winners at a series of absolutely free screenings. All the films with none of the out-of-towners! But then again, that mix of locals and cinema touristas is what makes the Festival such fun.
—Ted Mills