It's not Cannes or Sundance, but over the last three decades the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has established itself as one of America's leading movie fests. The event typically draws about 70,000 people and features some 200 screenings, along with an impressive line-up of tributes, award shows, and panels with industry insiders.
But the big story each year revolves around the celebrities—the beautiful people who come to town and, for a few days, transform the place into the epicenter of the entertainment world. Given Santa Barbara's proximity and deep ties to Hollywood, as well as the festival's serendipitous timing—right in the middle of awards season—it's no surprise the event has become a crucial stop on the Oscar trail.
The festival announces its line-up of awards and tributes in early January, before the annual Oscar nominations are revealed. The organizers have proven to be surprisingly prescient in recent years, often booking appearances with actors, directors and others in the industry who go on to be nominated for Academy Awards.
But the festival's knack for predicting winners can be attributed in no small part to the Hollywood publicity machine. Today celebrities and industry insiders routinely go on "Oscar tours" to generate buzz for their latest films, often backed by million-dollar advertising budgets. For Academy Award-contenders, an appearance in Santa Barbara can not only generate valuable publicity but improve the odds of a big win at the Oscars.
Santa Barbara's film festival is an aficionado's dream — eleven full days of screenings, panels with prominent writers, producers, and directors, and tributes to the best and brightest in the business. The photos gathered here capture some of the festivities. They were taken between 2008 and 2014. (For images from the 2015 film festival, check out the latest gallery here.)