by Charis Robertson
The 26th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival takes off tonight with a US Premiere, SARAH’S KEY, starring multi-award winning actress, Kristin Scott Thomas, in what the Program guide calls a “harrowing” film, taking place in World War ll France, based on the novel by Tatiana de Rosnay. Opening night films have not been particularly memorable, at least not for positive qualities, but this one may well be an exception.
I’ve been attending the festival for more than 15 of the 25 previous years. I’ve been there for all the directors, Phyllis de Picciotto, Renée Missel, the brief, happily so, (1 year) tenure of Jon Fitzgerald, and then the renaissance brought by Roger Durling.
It’s almost a cliche that Mr. Durling has resuscitated the Fest, and that’s true in the sense it was under Fitzgerald heading for collapse. But basically it’s the same celebration that Phyllis de Picciotto began and Renée Missel continued: a mix of films and celebrities with a sidebar panel of seminars.
Back when Santa Barbara was less well known, the timing of the festival was chosen for the slow season to give a boost to the downtown. That’s been continued, with a greater emphasis on the Academy Awards timing. Those in the running seek publicity and what better venue than Santa Barbara, Hollywood’s back door, as Renée Missel infelicitously proclaimed.
One of the first things that Roger did was bring back the publicist, Carol Marshall, stupidly not hired by Fitzgerald. She has drawn on her long connection with SBIFF and Hollywood to bring out – and in – the stars. And what a gathering there have been and will be again this year!
One of the unfortunate differences between now and the past is that the festival is seen by many to be no longer friendly to locals. On one level, that’s simply not true: the festival is run by locals, the staff, and especially with the help of hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. It simply would be dead in the water without those volunteers so visible at the theaters and the many laboring unseen in the office, doing the unsung nuts and bolts that keeps the juggernaut moving.
On another level, it seems too true. The lines are long, the theaters are full at prime weekend and evening times, and the prices are high. Curious on that last, I dug up a 10-year-old Program and compared 2001 and this year’s prices: a Platinum Pass cost then $750 ($1655), a film/Cinema Pass $225 ($605), Opening Night $20 ($60), 6-pak $46.50 (minipak of 12, $125); individual movie tickets then were $7.75; this year, probably $15. and so on.
But what remains the same is that this is the ONLY time to see a full slate of documentaries and feature films from around the world. It’s a mind field and I look forward to romping and will share my impressions. Viva la Festival!
It didn’t take long for Randy Rowse to help keep Santa Barbara Santa Barbara. This week, the Santa Barbara City Council voted 4-3 to eliminate bulb outs from the historic Chapala corridor. Had Das Williams still been seated, the vote most likely would have gone the other way and Chapala would have been scarred with traffic impediments for the foreseeable future. Instead, Rowse stood with Councilmembers Dale Francisco, Frank Hotchkiss, Michael Self and the people of Santa Barbara to keep Chapala bulb out free.
Governor Brown has focused attention on municipal redevelopment agencies, and has even called for the elimination of state funding for them. Santa Barbara’s RDA has been extraordinarily active in recent years, helping fund all sorts of activities—from the recently estimated 
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