The award-winning films from the 40th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) were announced during a ceremony Saturday attended by filmmakers and the jury.
The 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival took place live Feb. 4-15. The awards event was hosted by El Encanto, a Belmond Hotel, in Santa Barbara.
“It’s an undeniable pleasure to celebrate such a diverse and wonderful array of winning films,” said Claudia Puig, SBIFF director of programming. “We have been so excited to showcase storytelling from 60 countries around the world in our slate of 185 films at SBIFF.
“The jury winners this year hail from Cyprus, Spain, Germany, Iran, Taiwan and the U.S., and exemplify the best of creative independent filmmaking, covering subjects ranging from immigration, pay equity, environmental dangers, unwanted pregnancy, neuroscience and hempcrete construction.
“Congratulations to all the winning filmmakers, and a big thank you to our dedicated jurors.”
The winning films were chosen by jury members Margaret Lazarus, Max Barbakow, Estrella Araiza, Shawn Patterson, Jeff Christian, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Gregory Nava, Andres Castillo, and Jeff Arch.
The winners are:
Audience Choice Award, sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent
“Out of Plain Sight,” directed by Daniel Straub, Rosanna Xia
Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“O Horizon,” directed by Madeleine Rotzler
Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for Best International Feature Film
“Yen and Al-Lee,” directed by Tom Shu-yu Lin
Best Documentary Award
“Roads of Fire,” directed by Nathaniel Lezra
Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema
“Glimmers,” directed by Pilar Palomero
Best Animated Short Film Award
“The Three sisters,” directed by Timur Kognov
Best Documentary Short Film Award
“The Green Buffalo,” directed by Joel Caldwell
Best Live-Action Short Film Award
“Bitter Chocolate,” directed by Sahar Sotoodeh
All three of these short award recipients are now eligible for the 2026 Academy Awards.
Social Justice Award sponsored by the Fund for Santa Barbara
“Separated,” directed by Errol Morris
ADL Stand Up Award sponsored by the ADL
“Lilly,” directed by Rachel Feldman
ASC Award for Cinematography sponsored by The American Society of Cinematographers
“Color Book,” directed by David Fortune