The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced the lineup of over 200 movies including 47 world premieres and 71 U.S. premieres, for its 35th edition, which will take place from January 15 to 25, 2020. Kicking off the festival is opening night film – the U.S. premiere of Shelly Love’s A Bump Along the Way, a female-led, feel-good comedy drama set in Derry, Northern Ireland, about a middle-aged woman whose unexpected pregnancy after a one-night stand acts as the catalyst for her to finally take control of her life.
For the Closing Night Film the festival will spotlight a series of short documentaries by local filmmakers. This distinctive selection of films covers a range of iconic people and places in the Santa Barbara area including immigrant farm workers, an aging bronc rider, a female cyclist that defied all odds, backpackers exploring the Los Padres National Forest, artists documenting the breathtaking landscapes of the Carrizo Plain, and a celebrated local guitarist who performs in parking garages and public spaces throughout downtown Santa Barbara.
WORLD PREMIERE FEATURE FILMS
Amazing Grace, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Lynn Montgomery
Americaville, USA, China – World Premiere
Directed by Adam Smith
Bastard’s Road, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Brian Morrison
Born in a Ballroom, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Clara Lehmann and Jonathan Lacocque
By Hand, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Kellen Keene
The Delicacy, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Jason Wise
Exploring the Pacific Northwest, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Ian A. Nelson
Faith Based, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Vincent Masciale
The Lafayette Escadrille, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Darroch Greer
Man in the Field: The Life and Art of Jim Denevan, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Patrick Trefz
Medicating Normal, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Lynn Cunningham and Wendy Ractliffe
Mentors – Tony and Santi, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Andrew Davis
The Mustangs: An American Story, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Steven Latham
The Naturemakers, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Scott Saunders
The Night, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Kourosh Ahari
The Oratorio, USA, Italy – World Premiere
Directed by Mary Anne Rothberg
Overland, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Elisabeth Haviland James and Revere La Noue
The Prison Within, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Katherin Hervey
The Restoration (La restauracion), Peru – World Premiere
Directed by Alonso Llosa
Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy!, UK – World Premiere
Directed by John Scheinfeld
Tell My Story, USA – World Premiere
Directed by David Freid
A Worm in the Heart, USA – World Premiere
Directed by Paul Rice
U.S. PREMIERE FEATURE FILMS
The Amber Light, UK – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Adam Park
Amundsen, Norway – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Espen Sandberg
The Art of Waiting (Neffilot), Israel – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Erez Tadmor
Back Towards Light (Takaisin valoon), Finland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Arto Halonen
The Birdcatcher’s Son (Fågelfångarens son), Sweden – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Richard Hobert
Birth Wars, Mexico – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Janet Jarman
Black Conflux, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Nicole Dorsey
Born 2 Drive, Norway – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Daniel Fahre
A Brother’s Love, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Monia Chokri
A Bump Along the Way, UK – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Shelly Love
By a Sharp Knife (Ostrým nozom), Slovakia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Teodor Kuhn
Call Mom! (Ring mamma!), Sweden – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Lisa Aschan
Chronology (Kronoloji), Turkey – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ali Aydin
The Clash (La bronca), Peru, Columbia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Daniel and Diego Vega
Collision (Kollision), Denmark – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Mehdi Avaz
Daniel, Denmark, Norway, Sweden – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev and Anders W. Berthelsen
Disco, Norway – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Jorunn Myklebust Syversen
Easy Living, Italy – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Peter and Orso Miyakawa
The Exception (Undtagelsen), Denmark – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Jesper W. Nielsen
Fatei and the Sea, Russia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Alina Rudnitskaya and Sergey Vinokurov
The Flying Circus (Cirku Fluturues), Kosovo, U.S. Premiere
Directed by Fatos Berisha
The Good One (La volta buona), Italy – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Vincenzo Marra
The Goya Murders (El asesino de los caprichos), Spain – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Gerardo Herrero
Gutterbee, Denmark – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ulrich Thomsen
Gipsy Queen, Germany, Austria – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Hüseyin Tabak
Hope Gap, UK – U.S. Premiere
Directed by William Nicholson
I Was, I Am, I Will Be (Es gilt das gesprochene wort), Germany – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ilker Catak
If Only (Magari), Italy, France – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ginevra Elkann
James Vs. His Future Self, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Jeremy Lalonde
Kuessipan, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Myriam Verreault
Land of Ashes (Ceniza Negra), Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, France – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Sofia Quiros
Lane 4 (Raia 4), Brazil – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Emiliano Cunha
The Last Mountain (Ostatnia góra), Poland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Dariusz Załuski
Leaving Afghanistan (Bratstvo), Russia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Pavel Lungin
Liberté: A Call To Spy, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher
Love Beats (La banda), Spain – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Roberto Bueso
The Marijuana Conspiracy, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Craig Pryce
Master Cheng (Mestari Cheng), Finland, China – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Mika Kaurismaki
Mosh, Domican Republic – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Juan Antonio Bisonó
My Life (Mi Vida), Netherlands – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Norbert Ter Hall
My Life as a Comedian (En komikers uppväxt), Sweden – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Rojda Sekersoz
Nevia, Italy – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Nunzia De Stefano
Once in Trubchevsk, Russia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Larisa Sadilova
Only the Animals (Seules les bêtes), France, Germany – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Dominik Moll
Outdeh – The Youth of Jamaica, Germany – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Louis Josek
Outlaw (Autlo), Russia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ksenia Ratushnaya
Pandora’s Box: Lifting the Lid on Menstruation, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Rebecca Snow
Paris: A Wild Story, France – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Frederic Fougea
The Pencil (Prostoy karandash), Russia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Natalya Nazarova
Psychosia (Psykosia), Denmark – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Marie Grahtø Sørensen
The Retirement (El retiro), Argentina – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Ricardo Diaz Lacoponi
River Silence, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Rogério Soares
Santa Clara, Bolivia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Pedro Antonio Gutierrez
The Songpoet, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Paul Lamont
Sovereign Soil, Canada – U.S. Premiere
Directed by David Curtis
Stitches (savovi), Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Miroslav Terzić
Super Frenchie, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Chase Ogden
Supernova, Poland – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Bartosz Kruhlik
That Click, USA – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Luca Severi
Towards the Battle (Vers la bataille), France, Columbia – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Aurélien Vernhes-Lermusiaux
White on White (Blanco en blanco), Spain, Chile, France, Germany – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Théo Court
2020 SBIFF FEATURE FILMS
14 Days, 12 Nights (14 jours, 12 nuits), Canada
Directed by Jean-Phillippe Duval
37 Seconds, Japan
Directed by Hikari
Antigone, Canada
Directed by Sophie Deraspe
Blow the Man Down, USA
Directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy
Born in Jerusalem and Still Alive, Israel
Directed by Yossi Atia and David Ofek
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn, USA
Directed by Ivy Meeropol
Burnt Orange Heresy, USA, UK
Directed by Giuseppe Capotondi
The Changin’ Times of Ike White, USA
Directed by Daniel Vernon
Finding Farideh, Iran, Netherlands
Directed by Kourosh Ataee and Azadeh Moussavi
Golda, Israel, Germany
Directed by Sagi Bornstein, Udi Nir, Shani Rozanes
The Grand Unified Theory of Howard Bloom, USA
Directed by Charlie Hoxie
Greed, UK
Directed by Michael Winterbottom
Invisible Life (A vida Invisível), Brazil, Germany
Directed by Karim Aïnouz
Kosher Beach, Israel
Directed by Karin Kainer
Lina From Lima, Chile, Peru, Argentina
Directed by Maria Paz Gonzalez
Lost Transmissions, USA
Directed by Katharine O’Brien
The Mayor of Rione Sanità (Il sindaco del rione sanità), Italy
Directed by Mario Martone
My Friend Fela, Brazil
Directed by Joel Zito Araújo
Papicha, France, Algeria, Belgium, Qatar
Directed by Mounia Meddour
Parasite, South Korea
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Personhood, USA
Directed by Jo Ardinger
Red Penguins, USA
Directed by Gabe Polsky
She’s in Portland, USA
Directed by Marc Carlini
Shindisi, Georgia
Directed by Dito Tsintsadze
Show Me What You Got, USA
Directed by Svetlana Cvetko
System Crashers (Systemsprenger), Germany
Directed by Nora Fingsche
Truth and Justice, (Tõde ja õigus), Estonia
Directed by Tanel Toom
The Vast of Night, USA
Directed by Andrew Patterson
Verdict, France, Philippines
Directed by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez
The Wandering Chef, South Korea
Directed Hye-Ryoung Park
Whale Wisdom, USA
Directed by Rick Rosenthal