The 40th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, one of the key stops on the road to the Oscars, will take place Feb. 4-15, 2025 — two days longer than past editions of the fest on the American Riviera, to allow for extra programming in celebration of the milestone — the fest announced on Thursday.
“As we embark on our 40th year, we are proud of what we’ve accomplished and exhilarated for what is ahead of us,” SBIFF executive director Roger Durling said in a statement. “We will be announcing a few surprises in the next few months.”
Given Santa Barbara’s close geographical proximity to Los Angeles and calendar proximity to the final round of Oscars voting (which in 2025 will run from Feb. 11-18), the fest annually draws some of the biggest names in the Oscar race.
Earlier this year, the fest’s 39th edition attracted, among others, eventual Oscar winners Robert Downey Jr., Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Ludwig Göransson, Emma Thomas, Cord Jefferson, Justine Triet, Arthur Harari, Jennifer Lame and Holly Waddington, as well as nominees Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Mark Ruffalo, Annette Bening, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright, America Ferrera and Lily Gladstone.
The 2024 festival also featured a program of more than 200 films from 48 countries, drawing filmmakers from as far as Turkey, India, Israel and Sierra Leone, half of whom were women.
Passes to the 2025 festival will go on sale in August at 25 percent off. The festival lineup and schedule will be announced January 2025.
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