24th Santa Barbara International Film Festival

From January 22nd to February 1st the fest will run in California screening many movies in the main categories and sidebars. The official site and the Independent site are not really user friendly, so you have to browse a lot to learn about the films in competition and/or in each category.

These are the Main Categories and Sidebars.

Main Categories
Independent Features
International Features
Documentary Features
Special Presentation Films

Sidebars
EASTERN BLOC featuring films from Eastern Europe
REEL NATURE, the nature films series programmed by renowned nature cinematographer and Santa Barbara resident Mike DeGruy, sponsored by City of Lompoc.
EAST X WEST, a collection of the best cinema from Asia, programmed by Emmy nominated actor and director Tim Matheson
TO THE MAXXX, sponsored by Horny Toad and Firestone Walker Fine Ales & Red Nectar, is programmed by Santa Barbara filmmaker Russ Spencer and features extreme sports films and documentaries including the U.S. Premiere of Joel Conroy’s “Waveriders,” the story of Ireland’s connection to surfing from its reinvention in Hawaii in the early 1900s to the rapid growth of big wave surfing in Ireland today and includes appearances by such surfing icons as Chris, Keith and Dan Malloy, Kelly Slater and Rabbit Kekai, to name just a few.
LATINO CINEMEDIA, sponsored by Tinta Latina Magazine and Univision, offers a collection of films from Spain and Latin America, continuing SBIFF’s commitment to Spanish and Latin American films, programmed by UCSB professor Cristina Venegas;
SANTA BARBARA FILMMAKERS, sponsored by CASA Magazine, programmed by Russ Spencer and which includes 7 World Premiere feature films.

Opening Night: Nothing But The Truth, Rod Lurie, USA
Closing Night: Lightbulb, Jeff Balsmeyer, USA

Independent Features Competition
Apron Strings, Sima Urale, New Zealand
Dim Sum Funeral, Anna Chi, Canada
Follow The Prophet, Drew Ann Rosenberg, USA
Ink, Jamin Winans, USA
Poppy Shakespeare, Benjamin Ross, UK
Skin, Anthony Fabian, South Africa and UK
Sweet Thing, Joe Lia, USA

International Features Competition
A Woman in Berlin, Max Farberbock, Germany and Poland
Kabuli Kid, Barmak Akram, France and Afghanistan
Landscape No. 2, Vinko Moderndorfer, Slovenia
Lost Islands, Reshef Levy, Israel
Tandoori Love, Oliver Paulus, Switzerland (seems interesting)
Carlston za Ognjeka (Tears for Sale), Uros Stojanovic, Serbia
Venkovský ucitel (The Country Teacher), Bohdan Slama, Czech Republic (Gay interest)
Domovoy (The Ghost), Karen Oganesyan, Russia
Mammen som elsket Yngve (The Man Who Loved Yngve), Stian Kristiansen, Norway (Gay Interest)
The Racketeer, Akhan Satayev, Kazakhastan
Tiramisu, Paula Van Der Oest, Netherlands
Treeless Mountain, So Yong Kim, USA and South Korea
Zift, Javor Gardev, Bulgaria

As noted in the official press release both lists are subject to change. To check the site with information and links to read about each film go here.