The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) will be celebrating their 41st year February 4-14, 2026. The festival will showcase 46 world premieres and 81 U.S. premieres from 50 countries with 50% of films directed by women, along with tributes featuring the year’s top talent, panel discussions, and free community education and outreach programs.
The number of world and U.S. premieres is up from last year. The percentage of films directed by women is about the same, but there are fewer countries represented. SBIFF Programming director, Claudia Puig commented on the line up, “We have a standout slate this year, and we’re especially proud to continue SBIFF’s legacy of showcasing fascinating movies from local filmmakers to international voices in our state-of-the-art theatrical setting.”
2026 will mark the debut of the new SBIFF Film Center on State Street (916 State St) which has been under renovation since last summer (formerly the Fiesta 5). The progression of the renovation has been shared via the SBIFF Instagram account. Having a central location for the screenings will be an interesting change this year because attendees will not be spread out over various downtown theaters and it will be much easier to go from one film to the next.
From the SBIFF Center:
SBIFF’s Film Center Project marks a leading investment in the revitalization of downtown Santa Barbara and will dramatically increase access to thoughtfully curated arthouse film programming for our community, every day of the year.
The McHurley Film Center will secure our Festival a permanent home, with five completely renovated auditoriums to showcase 200+ films during our Festival; beyond the Festival and our arthouse Riviera Theatre, which we have run successfully for a decade, The McHurley Film Center will allow us to expand our programming from 1,000 to 6,000 screenings annually. Every day, we will present an independent film, a foreign film, a retrospective or restoration, a documentary, and a family film.
There will also be screenings at the SBIFF Riviera Theatre (2044 Alameda Padre Serra) and the tributes will continue to be at the Arlington Theatre with red carpets featuring the honorees as well as other filmmakers that are part of the festival. The FREE Filmmaker seminars will take place at 901 State Street each weekday at 11:00am.
The full schedule and film descriptions can be found here.
Check out our interviews with honorees and filmmakers from SBIFF 2025 and SBIFF 2024.
See the full list of tributes below. We spoke with the 2025 Oscar nominated directors last year at the ‘Outstanding Directors of the Year Award’ tribute event
THE TRIBUTES
- Maltin Modern Master Award honoring Adam Sandler– Thursday, February 5 at 8:00pm. Moderated by Leonard Maltin.
- American Riviera Award honoring Ethan Hawke – Friday, February 6 at 8:00pm.
- Variety Artisans Award honoring EJAE – Original Song “Golden” (KPOP DEMON HUNTERS), Alexandre Desplat – Original Score (FRANKENSTEIN), Jack Fisk – Production Design (MARTY SUPREME), Kate Hawley – Costume Design (FRANKENSTEIN), Mike Hill – Makeup and Hairstyling, (FRANKENSTEIN), Andy Jurgensen – Editing (ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER), Al Nelson – Sound Editing (F1), Eric Saindon – Visual Effects (AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH), Adolpho Veloso – Cinematography (TRAIN DREAMS), Chris Welcker – Sound Mixing (SINNERS) – Saturday, February 7 at 8:00pm. Moderated by Jazz Tangcay.
- Virtuosos Award honoring Jacob Elordi – FRANKENSTEIN, Chase Infiniti – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, Amy Madigan – WEAPONS, Wagner Moura – THE SECRET AGENT, Renate Reinsve – SENTIMENTAL VALUE, Sydney Sweeney – CHRISTY, Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, Jeremy Allen White – SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE – Sunday, February 8 at 8:00pm. Moderated by Dave Karger.
- Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award honoring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro – Monday, February 9 at 8:00pm. Moderated by Pete Hammond.
- Outstanding Directors of the Year Award – Honorees TBA – Tuesday, February 10 at 8:00pm. Moderated by Scott Feinberg.
- Montecito Award honoring Stellan Skarsgård – Wednesday, February 11 at 8:00pm.
- Outstanding Performer of the Year Award honoring Michael B. Jordan – Thursday, February 12 at 8:00pm. Moderated by Roger Durling.
- Arlington Artist of the Year Award honoring Kate Hudson – Friday, February 13 at 8:00pm.
THE PANELS
Women’s Panel – Saturday, February 7at 11:00am – Arlington Theatre – Moderated by Madelyn Hammond
Casting Directors Panel – Saturday, February 7 at 2:00pm – Arlington Theatre – Moderated by Debra Birnbaum
Producers Panel – Sunday, February 8 at 11:00pm – Arlington Theatre – Moderated by Nicole Sperling
International Directors Panel – Sunday, February 8 at 2:00pm – Arlington Theatre – Moderated by Roger Durling
Writers Panel – Saturday, February 14 at 11:00am – Arlington Theatre – Moderated by Anne Thompson
For the complete list of films, synopses, and other special events visit sbiff.org.
— Kari Lane