The 34th Edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival taking place from January 30 to February 9, 2019, will feature 63 world premieres and 59 U.S. premieres from 48 countries, along with tributes with the year’s top talent, panel discussions, and free community education and outreach programs. The 34th Festival Poster was unveiled, again created by Barbara Boros who has designed the SBIFF poster each year for 16 years, this year highlighting Butterfly Beach.

SBIFF 2019 will start on Wednesday, January 30, at the historic Arlington Theatre with the world premiere of Diving Deep:The Life and Times of Mike deGruy directed by Mimi deGruy.

Diving Deep:The Life and Times of Mike deGruy is a feature film documentary about Mike deGruy, an irrepressible biologist turned award-winning filmmaker who swam, dived and filmed in oceans around the world and in the process became the first to film many rarely seen creatures in their own oceans. He was also a passionate advocate of the ocean’s creatures and became increasingly outspoken as an environmental activist. In 2012, deGruy died tragically in a helicopter crash in Australia while filming for director James Cameron. Told through the eyes of Mimi deGruy, his wife and filmmaking partner, Diving Deep:The Life and Times of Mike deGruy celebrates deGruy’s remarkable life, career and what he passionately believed: we are destroying the ocean before we even know what’s there.

The Festival will close Saturday, February 9 at the Arlington Theatre with the world premiere of Spoons: A Santa Barbara Story directed by Wyatt Daily.

SPOONS: A SANTA BARBARA STORY is an exploration of how one of the most significant corners of the world produced, and continues to produce, some of the most talented surfers and innovators. Deeper than all is a story of craftsmanship, work ethic, renegades and tradition. This is a film that goes beyond the time spent in the ocean to define how one spends a lifetime.

SBIFF has become an important showcase for Academy Award frontrunners, and will celebrates some of the year’s finest work in film. Viggo Mortensen will receive the American Riviera Award and Glenn Close will be presented with the Maltin Modern Master Award. Black Panther’s Michael B. Jordan will receive the Vanguard Award while the Virtuosos Award will be presented to Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Sam Elliott (A Star is Born), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Claire Foy (First Man), Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace), John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman), and Steven Yeun (Burning).

2019 FILMS

20 WORLD PREMIERE FEATURE FILMS

(listed alphabetically)

Babysplitters, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Sam Friedlander

Better Together, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Isaac Hernández

The Bird Catcher, Norway, UK – World Premiere
Directed by Ross Clarke

Cemetery Park, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Brandon Alvis

Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Mimi deGruy

Enormous: The Gorge Story, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Nic Davis

Find Your Groove, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Michael Kirk

Guest Artist, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Timothy Busfield

Ham on Rye, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Tyler Taormina

Here and Now (Aquí y ahora), Costa Rica – World Premiere
Directed by Paz León

Loopers: The Caddie’s Long Walk, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Jason Baffa

Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film, USA – World Premiere
Directed by William Conlin

The Map to Paradise, Australia – World Premiere
Directed by Danielle Ryan and James Sherwood

Ordinary Gods, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Pascui Rivas

Peel, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Rafael Monserrate

Quiet Storm, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Johnny Sweet

Silent Forests, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Mariah Wilson

Spoons: A Santa Barbara Story, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Wyatt Daily

Working Man, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Robert Jury

Zulu Summer, South Africa, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Joseph Litzinger and Eric Michael Schrader

51 U.S. PREMIERE FEATURE FILMS

(listed alphabetically)

Alone at My Wedding (Seule à mon mariage), Belgium – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Marta Bergman

Amá, UK – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Lorna Tucker

Angel Face (Gueule d’ange), France – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Vanessa Filho

The Apollo of Gaza (L’Apollon de Gaza), Switzerland, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Nicolas Wadimoff

Belmonte, Uruguay, Spain, Mexico – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Federico Veiroj

Betrayal (Traición), Mexico – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ignacio Ortiz Cruz

Break (Recreo), Argentina – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Hernán Guerschuny and Jazmín Stuart

Breaking Habits, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Robert Ryan

Celeste, Australia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ben Hackworth

Crystal Swan (Khrustal), Belarus – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Darya Zhuk

The Dead and the Others (Chuva é cantoria na aldeia dos mortos), Brazil, Portugal – U.S. Premiere
Directed by João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora

Emma Peeters, Canada, Belgium – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Nicole Palo

Ether (Eter), Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Ukraine, Italy – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Krzysztof Zanussi

Fine Lines, Hong Kong – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Dina Khreino

Fly by Night (Fei chang dao), Malaysia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Zahir Omar

Freaks, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky

Helmet Heads (Cascos indomables), Chile, Costa Rica – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Neto Villalobos

Here and Now, Israel – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Roman Shumunov

Holy Tour (La grande messe), Belgium, France – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Méryl Fortunat-Rossi and Valéry Rosier

I Act, I Am (Igram, sem), Slovenia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Miroslav Mandi

Joel, Argentina – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Carlos Sorín

José, Guatemala, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Li Cheng

Journey to a Mother’s Room (Viaje al cuarto de una madre), Spain – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Celia Rico Clavellino

King Bibi: The Life and Performances of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Dan Shadur

Land of Hope (Oma maa), Finland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Markku Pölönen

Land of My Children (Im land meiner kinder), Germany, Switzerland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Darío Aguirre

The Laps: Tasmania, Australia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Dustin Hollick and Angie Davis

Les Dames (Ladies), Switzerland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond

Metal Heart, Ireland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Hugh O’Conor

Murderous Trance aka The Guardian Angel, Finland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Arto Halonen

My Own Good (Il bene mio), Italy – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Pippo Mezzapesa

Nose to Tail, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Jesse Zigelstein

Not Quite Adults (Tampoco tan grandes), Argentina – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Federico Sosa

Pause (Pafsi), Cyprus – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Tonia Mishiali

Phoenix (Føniks), Norway – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Camilla Strøm Henriksen

Private Album, Israel – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Kobi Farag

Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Barry Avrich

Put Grandma in the Freezer (Metti la nonna in freezer), Italy – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Giancarlo Fontana and Giuseppe Stasi

A Seed for Change, Greece – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Alexandros Ikonomidis

Sıren’s Call (Son Çikiş), Turkey – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ramin Matin

Tell It to the Bees, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Annabel Jankel

Two Times You (Dos veces tú), Mexico – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Salomón Askenazi

Ulysses & Mona, France – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Sébastien Betbeder

The Unorthodox (Ha-Bilti Rishmi’im), Israel – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Eliran Malka

Van Goghs (Van Gogi), Latvia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Sergey Livnev

Virgin and Extra: The Land of Olive Oil (Jaén, virgen y extra), Spain – U.S. Premiere
Directed by José Luis López Linares

What Have We Done to Deserve This? (Womit haben wir das verdient?), Austria – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Eva Spreitzhofer

Wherever You Are (Ovunque proteggimi), Italy – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Bonifacio Angius

Wild Kids, Israel – US Premiere
Directed by Tal Pesses

With the Wind (Le vent tourne), Switzerland, France – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Bettina Oberli

The Young Fan (Il ragazzo più felice del mondo), Italy – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Gianni Pacinotti (Gipi)

2019 SBIFF FEATURE FILMS

(non-premieres listed alphabetically)

Afterward, USA
Directed by Ofra Bloch

Amazing Grace, USA
Directed by Sydney Pollack, completed by Alan Elliott

Angel (Un ange), Belgium, Netherlands, Senegal
Directed by Koen Mortier

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, Canada
Directed by Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky

As Needed (Quanto basta), Italy, Brazil
Directed by Francesco Falaschi

Ash Is Purest White (Jiang hu er nv), China
Directed by Jia Zhang-ke

Between the Lines, USA – *World Premiere Restoration
Directed by Joan Micklin Silver

The Biggest Little Farm, USA
Directed by John Chester

Carmen y Lola, Spain
Directed by Arantxa Echevarría

Carmine Street Guitars, Canada
Directed by Ron Mann

Cassandro the Exotico!, France
Directed by Marie Losier

Champions (Campeones), Spain
Directed by Javier Fesser

David Crosby: Remember My Name, USA
Directed by A.J. Eaton

Echo in the Canyon, USA
Directed by Andrew Slater

The Factory (Zavod), Russia, France, Armenia
Directed by Yury Bykov

Fire on the Hill: The Cowboys of South Central L.A., USA
Directed by Brett Fallentine

Gatao 2: Rise of the King, Taiwan
Directed by Yen Cheng-Kuo

Harvest Season, USA
Directed by Bernardo Ruiz

The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution, Canada
Directed by Maya Gallus

Hugh Hefner’s After Dark: Speaking Out in America, Canada
Directed by Brigitte Berman

I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story, Australia, USA
Directed by Jessica Leski

Incredibles 2, USA
Directed by Brad Bird

Inside Lehman Brothers, Canada
Directed by Jennifer Deschamps

Laila at the Bridge, Canada, Afghanistan
Directed by Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei

The Last Prosecco (Finché c’è prosecco c’è speranza), Italy
Directed by Antonio Padovan

Light in the Water, USA
Directed by Lis Bartlett

Maya, France
Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve

Mouthpiece, Canada
Directed by Patricia Rozema

Outdoors (Bayit Bagalil), Israel
Directed by Asaf Saban

The Parting Glass, Canada, USA
Directed by Stephen Moyer

Ralph Breaks the Internet, USA
Directed by Phil Johnston and Rich Moore

Shadow, China
Directed by Zhang Yimou

Sharkwater Extinction, Canada
Directed by Rob Stewart

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, USA
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman

Stockholm, Canada, Sweden, USA
Directed by Robert Budreau

Take It or Leave It (Võta või jäta), Estonia
Directed by Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo

The Third Wife, Vietnam
Directed by Ash Mayfair

This Changes Everything, USA
Directed by Tom Donahue

A Thousand Miles Behind, USA
Directed by Nathan Wetherington

Too Beautiful: Our Right to Fight, USA
Directed by Maceo Frost

Transit, Germany, France
Directed by Christian Petzold

Unsettling, UK, Israel
Directed by Iris Zaki

Winter Flies (Všechno bude), Czech Republic
Directed by Olmo Omerzu

2019 SBIFF SHORTS

(listed alphabetically)

42 WORLD PREMIERES AND 8 U.S. PREMIERES

1 in 100,000, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Benjamin Yates

805 Strong, USA
Produced by Ellie Vargas

Accident (Ongelukje), Netherlands – U.S. Premiere
Directed by David Cocheret

Ah Gong (Grandpa), Taiwan – World Premiere
Directed by Clifford Miu

BIG DATA – “L1ZY”, USA
Directed by Brandon LaGanke and John Carlucci

The Bird & the Whale, Ireland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Carol Freeman

Birth of a Movement, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Paul Lynch

Black Lips, Australia
Directed by Adrian Chiarella

Buzzer, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Albert Birney

CC, Canada
Directed by Kailey Spear and Sam Spear

The Cheshire Cat Inn, USA
Directed by Joshua Sechrist

The Clinic, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Elivia Shaw

A Cohort of Guests, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Todd Sandler

Cruisin’ Santa Barbara, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Justin Gunn

Damage, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Matt Porter

Definition of Resilience, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Alexis Sallee and Tomas Karmelo

Dream Girl, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Ryan Slattery and Andrea Sanchez

Duel of the Hearts, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Harrison Derbyshire

Dust Devil, Australia
Directed by Poppy Walker

Esfuerzo, USA
Directed by Alana Maiello

EZK: Beyond the Walls (EZK: Au-delà des murs), France – World Premiere
Directed by Shawn Pyfrom

The Fallen Tree, USA
Directed by Drew Hodges

Fathom, USA
Directed by Alessio Morello

Forgotten, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Daniel Soares

From Water to Wind, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Casey McGarry

The Garden Is Singing: Ganna Walska Lotusland, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Karen Kasaba

Guns Found Here, USA
Directed by David Freid

Henrietta Bulkowski, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Rachel Johnson

Hidden Blueprints: The Story of Mikey, USA
Directed by Jeremy Lee MacKenzie

Holding, USA
Directed by Jesse Turk and Jon Zucker

Inanimate, UK
Directed by Lucia Bulgheroni

Inlove, France
Directed by Les Frères Lopez

jack, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Nick Paonessa

John Van Hamersveld – Crazy World Ain’t It, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Dave Tourjé

Jump, Australia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ryan O’Kane and James Conway-Law

Last Day of School (Paskutinis skambutis), USA, Lithuania – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Gabriele Urbonaite

The Last Harvest, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Alexis Spraic

Love Is Never Wasted, USA
Directed by Nathanael Matanick

The Mayor, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Taylor Horky

Mitya’s Love (Mitina Lyubov), Russia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Svetlana Filippova

MOOSE, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Jonah Ansell

My Brother Amal (Amali bram), Norway – U.S. Premiere
Directed Christopher Wollebekk

My Moon, USA
Directed by Eusong Lee

Near Miss, USA
Directed by Josh Berry

No Traveler Returns (D’où nul ne revient), USA, Ivory Coast – World Premiere
Directed by Ellie Foumbi

Nothing Ever Good Happens in a Parking Garage, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Mike Winger

November 1st, UK – World Premiere
Directed by Charlie Manton

Opening the Earth: The Potato King, Peru, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Eric Ebner and Aaron Ebner

Our Last Trash, USA
Directed by Joanne Yue

Reboot, USA
Directed by Ellen Osborne

RETURN: Native American Women Reclaim Foodways for Health and Spirit, USA
Directed by Karen Cantor

Reverence (Curtain Call), Iran – World Premiere
Directed by Sogol Rezvani

The Running Man of Pasadena, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Brett Nicoletti

The Salty Generations, USA
Directed by Shaun Wolfe and Shelby Oliver

The Sea Ranch: Architecture, Environment, and Idealism, USA
Directed by Peter Samis

Second Unit: A Mockumentary, USA
Directed Ankush Khemani

Secret Times, Belarus, UK – World Premiere
Directed by Montanah Blue

Selling Lies, USA
Directed by Leslie Iwerks

Set on Intent, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Tate Larrick

Silence (Sunyi), USA – World Premiere
Directed by Riani Singgih

SPIN, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Marielle Woods

Start with Half, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Nathaniel Katzman

Stunning, USA, Sweden
Directed by Gustav Högmo

Tala,, UK – World Premiere
Directed by Missy Malek

This Side Has Dreams Too, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Spencer Rabin

Tino, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Robin Hauser

Too Many Bodies, USA
Directed by Reena Dutt

Trail Heads, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Dani Rodriguez

Treat Yourself, USA
Directed by Nathan Leonard

Trial by Fire, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Alex Astrella

True Love / True Crime on an American Bus, USA
Directed by Nicholas Coles

Tweet-Tweet, Russia
Directed by Zhanna Bekmambetova

VACA, Spain – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Marta Bayarri

The Video Shop, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Isaac Seigel-Boettner

We Are Love, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Nick Lentz

White Guys Solve Sexism, USA
Directed by Christopher Guerrero

Who You Are, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Joel Jay Blacker

You Say Hello, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Lovell Holder

You Think You Can’t Dance?, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani

Zombie Debt, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Ashly Blodgett