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41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The 41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the 2026 edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, took place from February 4 to February 14, 2026, at Santa Barbara, California, United States. In August, October and November 2025, honorary award recipients were announced: the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film was awarded to Cynthia Erivo (for '), the Maltin Modern Master Award was awarded to Adam Sandler (for Jay Kelly), and the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award was awarded to Michael B. Jordan (for Sinners).

On October 30, 2025, the Virtuosos Award recipients were announced, which were awarded to Jacob Elordi (for Frankenstein), Chase Infiniti (for One Battle After Another), Amy Madigan (for Weapons), Wagner Moura (for The Secret Agent), Renate Reinsve (for Sentimental Value), Sydney Sweeney (for Christy), Teyana Taylor (for One Battle After Another), and Jeremy Allen White (for '). On January 31, 2026, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (for Sentimental Value) and Wunmi Mosaku (for Sinners) were added to the lineup of Virtuosos Award recipients. Additionally, the Montecito Award was awarded to Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård for his performance in Sentimental Value.

In January 2026, One Battle After Another trio Benicio del Toro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sean Penn were announced as the recipients of the Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award. Moreover, Kate Hudson (for Song Sung Blue) was named Arlington Artist of the Year and Ethan Hawke (for Blue Moon) was announced as the recipient of the American Riviera Award.

Overview

From February 6 to February 10, Julian Schnabel was feted with a hosted retrospective of his films.

From February 11 to February 14, Jessie Buckley was feted with a hosted retrospective of her films.

Opening and closing nights

On February 4, the festival opened with the film A Mosquito in the Ear, an American drama written and directed by Nicola Rinciari (his directorial debut); it is based upon the graphic novel Una Zanzara nell'Orecchio by Andrea Ferraris.

On February 14, the festival closed with the film Laundry (Uhlanjululo), a South African drama written and directed by Zamo Mkhwanazi (another directorial debut).

Official selection

The festival presented 46 world premieres and 80 United States premieres from 50 countries with half of the films directed by women.

Opening and closing films

The festival opened with Nicola Rinciari's A Mosquito in the Ear and closed with Zamo Mkhwanazi's Laundry (Uhlanjululo).

Feature films

Short films

  • A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil, Daniel Straub (United States)
  • Abel, Brian Zahm (United States)
  • Agnes, Leah Vlemmiks (United Kingdom)
  • Agnès, Nora Arnezeder (France)
  • Ali's Story, Benito Sinclair (United States)
  • All Heart, Michael Govier and Will McCormack (United States)
  • Amazeze (Fleas), Jordy Sank (South Africa)
  • Astronauta, Giorgio Giampà (Italy, Mexico, Guatemala, France)
  • At Night, Pooya Afzali (Iran)
  • The Baddest Speechwriter of All, Ben Proudfoot, Stephen Curry (United States)
  • Barbara, Jillian Moray (United States)
  • The Bear Beneath, Olivia Hille (United States)
  • Behind the Mask, Catherine Andre (United States)
  • Beyond Silence, Marnie Blok (Netherlands)
  • Bimo, Oumnia Hanader (France)
  • California is Burning, Bennett Curran (United States)
  • Candy Bar, Nash Edgerton (Australia)
  • Change Makers, Casey Beck (United States, Greece)
  • Committee Animal, Robert Redfield (United States)
  • Coyotes, Said Zagha (France, Palestine, UK, Jordan)
  • The Crash Out, Emelie Claxton (United States)
  • Daddy's Little Meatball, Yael Grunseit (Australia, United States)
  • Dark Skin Bruises Differently, Susan Wokoma (United Kingdom)
  • The Divine Feminine, Ivana Todorovic (Serbia)
  • Dongmei (冬梅), Rubing Zhang (China)
  • Earworm, Patrik Eklund (Sweden)
  • Egg Timer, Rosie May Bird Smith (United Kingdom)
  • Fil-Am, Ralph Torrefranca (United States)
  • The Finger Wife, Taryn Stickrath-Hutt and Dan Lund (United States)
  • Fly on the Wall (La Mosca en la Pared), Mar Novo (Mexico)
  • Get Her Back, Leah Nanako Winkler (United States)
  • The Gift of Darkness (El Regalo de Oscuridad), Lauren David (United States)
  • The Green Truck, Nicole Noren (United States)
  • Habbal et al., Sean Paulsen and Brad Wickham (United States)
  • Habibi, Alexey Evstigneev (France)
  • The Halfway Between All This, Heather Greer and Alison Cornyn (United States)
  • Halifax Pier, Matthew Daniel Herst (Canada)
  • A Hand to Hold, Philip Clyde-Smith and Eliza Power (United Kingdom)
  • His House, Home, Aisling O'Regan Sargent (Ireland)
  • I Am Li Yangqiao (我叫李杨桥), Qianai Lin (林千爱), Yiqian Ma (马艺芊), Xihan Yin (殷熙涵), Zhiyan Chen (陈祉彦), Junqi Long (龙骏骐), and Ruizhe Pan (潘睿喆) (China)
  • Impact, Aidan Largey (United Kingdom)
  • Invisible Dragons, Victoria Boult (New Zealand)
  • Jeanne & Jean Jean, Thanys Martin (France)
  • Keelhaul, Edgar Cortés Campoy (United States)
  • Mandatory Call (Toque Reglamentario), Ana Cecilia Sandoval (Mexico)
  • Mary Is Missing, Aisling Byrne (Ireland)
  • Memory Experiment, Kerrilee Gore (United States)
  • Moths, Pema Baldwin (United States)
  • My Boyfriend Follows You on Instagram, Caroline Falls (United States)
  • My Type, Daniela Ruah (United States)

Awards

References

External links