The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986.
In 2014, the festival screened over 200 films, including feature films and short films, from different countries and regions. Besides screenings, the festival also contains different sections, including celebrity tributes, industry panels and education programs.When the present executive director, Roger Durling, first took over in 2002, he was confused by the low attendances of the film festival. It was believed that he noticed the “Sundance Effect” which refers to the popularity of Sundance Film Festival taken place in January. He then decided to move the festival to late January. Durling believed that by holding the film festival just days before Academy Awards in the spring, SBIFF can invite celebrities that have potential to win awards and provide audiences a chance meet them.In the past, the festival has honored numerous independent filmmakers. Organizers of the festival have pointed out that some of their honorees were not the most popular stars, however, they all contributed to the industry at a great level. When Tom Selleck received a salute at SBIFF, Phyllis de Picciotto, the artistic director and founder of the festival back then, said that “He’s not a movie star like Sigourney Weaver [another festival honoree], but he’s such a special actor who’s been all over the place.
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling will be honoured with Outstanding Performer of the Year awards at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
According to the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes and the box-office site Box Office Mojo, Stone’s most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films are Superbad (2007), Zombieland (2009), Easy A (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), The Help (2011), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and Birdman (2014).
Stone has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Birdman, two British Academy Film Awards: BAFTA Rising Star Award and Best Supporting Actress for Birdman, and two Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for Easy A and Best Supporting Actress for Birdman. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival for her role in La La Land (2016).
