Actor Timothée Chalamet, the star of the highly acclaimed Bob Dylan biopic, will be coming to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival next year in the lead up to the Academy Awards.

Roger Durling, executive director of the Film Festival, shared the news in the latest episode of the podcast Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina.

Durling offers a glimpse at next year’s festival along with a history of how he built the festival from a local event to a national attraction in the buildup to the Academy and Golden Globe awards.

Durling also breaks down the story behind how the Film Festival acquired a long-term lease to the former Fiesta Five building to turn the complex into a new downtown film center.

In this episode, Durling discusses some of his favorite guilty pleasure movies, what kind of stars intimidate him, and the strategy he uses to predict which stars will get nominated.

Finally, in this hour-long conversation, Durling talks about downtown Santa Barbara, and his frustration with serving on the State Street Master Plan Advisory Committee.

Josh Molina is a journalist who creates dynamic conversation and provides media content on the issues of the day, including housing, transportation, education, business and culture. He is also a college journalism instructor. Visit SantaBarbaraTalks to make a contribution and please subscribe on YouTube.