Santa Barbara Film Festival Announces Producers & Writers Panels Lineup

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced today their lineups for their annual Writers and Producers panel series. Todd Black (Fences), Angie Fielder (Lion), Jordan Horowitz (La La Land), Theodore Melfi (Hidden Figures), David Permut (Hacksaw Ridge), Adele Romanski (Moonlight), Kimberly Steward (Manchester by the Sea), Arianne Sutner (Kobu and the Two Strings), and Julie Yorn (Hell or High Water) are this year's participants on the "Movers and Shakers" Producers Panel. Luke Davies (Lion) Eric Heisserer (Arrival), Phil Johnston (Zooptopia), Theodore Melfi (Hidden Figures), Mike Mills (20th Century Women), Rhett Reese (Deadpool), and Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water) will speak on the "It Starts With the Script" Writers Panel. The panels will take place on Saturday, February 4th at the Lobero Theatre.jeremy

"These artists are true masters of their craft," said SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling. "The Santa Barbara stage will serve as a platform for them to share their experiences, lessons, and advice with the filmmaking world."

SBIFF has become renowned for producing insightful, intelligent, and thoughtful panels that feature some of the brightest minds working in film today, many of whom are Oscar® contenders. The panelists will touch on their current projects, provide insight into the creative process, and share their thoughts on the future of filmmaking. The Producers Panel will be moderated by Glenn Whipp, and the Writers Panel will be moderated by Anne Thompson.

Last year's panelists included Pete Docter (Inside Out), Finola Dwyer (Brooklyn), Alex Garland (Ex Machina), Drew Goddard (The Martian), Jonathan Herman (Straight Outta Compton), Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa), Jeremy Kleiner (The Big Short), Mary Parent (The Revenant), Josh Singer (Spotlight) among others.

The festival previously honored Warren Beatty (Rules Don't Apply) with its Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film and has announced that it will honor Denzel Washington (Fences) with its Maltin Modern Master Award; Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone (La La Land) with its Outstanding Performers of the Year Award; Aaron Taylor Johnson (Nocturnal Animals), Dev Patel (Lion), Janelle Monáe (Hidden Figures, Moonlight), Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Ruth Negga (Loving), Simon Helberg (Florence Foster Jenkins), and Stephen Mckinley Henderson (Fences) with the Virtuoso Award; Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea) with the Cinema Vanguard Award; Isabelle Huppert (Elle) with its Montecito Award; and Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water) with the American Riviera Award, among additional, yet to be announced, honorees.

For more information, and to purchase tickets, festival passes and packages, please visit www.sbiff.org.

About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 30 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States - attracting 90,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film.

SBIFF continues its commitment to education and the community through free programs like its 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking and Screenwriting Competitions, Mike's Field Trip to the Movies, National Film Studies Program, AppleBox Family Films, 3rd Weekend and educational seminars. This past June, SBIFF entered a new era with the acquisition of the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. The theatre is SBIFF's new home and is the catalyst for program expansion and marks the first time that Santa Barbara has had a 24/7 community center to expand their mission of educational outreach.

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