Movie lovers rejoice.
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will return in early February with a slate of movies, awards, discussions and the reopening of its fully reconstructed Film Center on State Street.
The SBIFF announced more of its film and events lineup on Wednesday, along with the reveal of its poster for the 2026 festival.
The festival will return for its 41st anniversary beginning on Feb. 4 and continuing through Feb. 14.
The event will feature discussions with Michael B. Jordan, Kate Hudson, Stellan Skarsgård, Adam Sandler and many more.
The full lineup for the festival can be found online at the organization’s website.
Roger Durling, the executive director of SBIFF, said the theme of this year’s event is supporting artists. Durling, who teaches classes at Santa Barbara City College, said art feels like it is under attack.
He added that many schools are dealing with budget cuts to their arts programs.
“Schools (and) their arts programs are struggling,” Durling said. “It’s just really important that we support, not just art in general, but the artist in particular.”
This year’s poster was designed by local artist Baret Boisson, who was asked to do the poster by Durling after he interviewed her for an article.
Boisson said her motivation for the art piece was to explore the idea of artistic freedom, but also include the feeling of being immersed in a movie.
“I think the main idea is artistic freedom, but also that art is a portal to different realms, and that it carries you when you go see a film,” Boisson said. “You’re transported. You’re wherever you are in that film.”
The poster design was revealed at the Sullivan Goss Gallery, where Boisson’s original artwork is also displayed.
Renovated SBIFF Film Center Opening for Festival
The SBIFF McHurley Film Center is set to open on the second day of the festival.
The SBIFF said the Film Center on State Street is scheduled to open on Feb. 5 after it closed in May 2025 for a full remodel, including new seats and sound systems.
Durling said the construction cost $20 million and fully redid parts of the theater. The plan was to reopen the Film Center as part of the festival.
“We started from scratch,” Durling said. “We didn’t remodel anything that was there. It’s five screens in a state-of-the-art facility.”
The entryway will also add a new ramp to become ADA-compliant. The building formerly had a ramp that was replaced.
Durling said the Film Center will operate as an art house that will showcase independent films, foreign films, and do retrospectives of classic movies, famous directors, and documentaries year-round. The building also will feature an art gallery dedicated to showing how films are made and other movie-related exhibits.
The building was previously the Fiesta Five, and the SBIFF took over the lease shortly after the previous occupant filed for bankruptcy.