SBIFF: Top Pix for Flix – WHAT TO SEE DURING SANTA BARBARA FILM FESTIVAL’S FIRST WEEK

"No No"Santa Barbara International Film Festival photos
“No No”

Santa Barbara International Film Festival photos


You can’t take movie watching lightly at SBIFF. If you’re a newbie, bear in mind that attending a film at the Film Festival is not like your usual night out at the multiplex. There are lines. And not only are there lines, there are lines to stand in other lines. And there are passes and ticket booklets and — in the case of films at the Metro — four films going on at the same time. Oh my! So choosing a film is a careful proposition.

Every film festival has surprises, and the films that get the buzz are sometimes the ones that don’t jump off the schedule page. But here are 14 must-see events for your first week of cinema going at the Fest.

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Anime at its Most Modest

Goro Miyazaki doesn’t have it easy. As the son of Hayao Miyazaki, and heir apparent to Studio Ghibli, which is responsible for some of the best animated features of the last 25 years, from “My Neighbor Totoro” to “Ponyo,” Mr. Miyazaki has some pretty big shoes to fill. So it’s not surprising that his second film,”From Up on Poppy Hill,” keeps things modest.

Goro directs a script written by his father and adapted from a girls’ manga series from 1980, and the result is sort of plain. Flashes of potential can be seen here and there, but there’s very little magic.

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