Rain Check

While much attention has been turned toward Park City, another, less hoopla-generating film festival is taking place further west. And even without the frenzy of gift suites and national press coverage, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, running from January 24 to February 3 in its 23rd year, is quietly continuing to pick up speed on the crowded festival circuit.

The Santa Barbara fest, which typically bows two days after Oscar noms are announced (by design), is known for bringing nominees—this year about 20 are expected—and organizers proudly tout the fact that Variety picked the festival among its list of 50 unmissables in the world, a selection that included only 12 American festivals. And the comparatively diminutive Santa Barbara fest is responsible for some innovations of its own, including being the first to podcast, three years ago.

This year's event opened on Thursday night with a screening of the romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe at the Arlington Theatre, followed by a party for more than 1,000 guests, which was supposed to take place at the open-air Paseo Nuevo mall in the center of town with a look inspired by John Ford's The Searchers. Instead, the rain forced the party under a smaller tented area adjacent to the Arlington. Bella Vista handled lighting, Classic supplied the rentals, and local restaurants provided food.Festival executive director Roger Durling had engaged the help of local architect Britt Jewett to design the party's Western look, which was scaled back considerably on account of the rain. It seemed miraculous that the event went on at all, after a weather-related power outage knocked much of the surrounding downtown State Street area off the grid. "It was by an act of god" that the Arlington itself had lights, according to publicist Carol Marshall.

Other related special events this weekend included a discussion with Julie Christie at the Lobero Theatre, led by veteran film critic Leonard Maltin in an Inside the Actors Studio-style format; the look of the stage emphasized local style, with potted palms, bright flowers, and dark wicker furniture with bright white and animal-printed cushions. On Saturday night, the festival awarded Cate Blanchett the Modern Master prize at the Arlington.

A writers panel scheduled for Saturday was canceled on Friday, nominally because of flu-plagued panelists fresh from Sundance—although speculation in local papers claimed fallout from the writers strike was the real cause.

For the festival's duration, Chopin vodka has turned a courtyard next to the Arlington into a canopied lounge for V.I.P.s, donors, sponsors, and filmmakers, with receptions being held there before every major event. Screenings continue through the week and end on Sunday.

Also coming up is an event honoring five young actors (Casey Affleck, Marion Cotillard, James McAvoy, Ellen Page, and Amy Ryan) with Virtuoso awards at the Lobero tomorrow, and an event to give the outstanding performer of the year award to Angelina Jolie on Saturday at the Arlington. The Jolie party will take over the cul de sac and five model houses in a new high-end housing development called the Bluffs. "We're going to create this party environment there, dressed up with canopies, et cetera," Durling said. "We are known for using places that you do not think there's going to be a party—and all of a sudden the party goes up. The George Clooney party [in 2006] was in a garage. Every year we go to peculiar spots and just dress it up."

And what about conflicts with Sundance? "I think it actually creates a synergy. In the fall you have Telluride, Toronto, Venice, and New York [all within a short time span]. We get a lot of journalists—and films—that are going straight from Sundance into Santa Barbara. We are apples and oranges anyway: If you want cutting-edge American indies, you go there; if you want to see Oscar nominees, you come here, and we've got this big slate of foreign films. We are growing in leaps and bounds every year. And there's still growth capabilities, which is a great place to be."