After taking a year off, EoM returns to cover Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2026 edition! This festival features a number of world and U.S. premieres, several of whom have ended up on my year-end favorites list. Time will tell if that happens again.
**These recommendations are primarily based on reading the summaries and finding them intriguing. If I’m able to cover (or EoM has covered previously), the titles will be hyperlinked with a review – so be sure to check back.**
Santa Barbara International Film Festival takes place in Santa Barbara, California from February 4th – 14th, 2026.
All of the Above
Official Synopsis:
Students from different faith backgrounds come together for an epic World Religions class in a public high school. With the guidance of their teacher, these mild-mannered suburbanites confront the preconceived notions they hold about each other’s beliefs.
Blood Lines
Official Synopsis:
An estranged Métis (Indigenous) mother and daughter struggle to overcome their differences, but their world comes crashing down when an alluring woman enters their lives.
L-R: Derica Lafrance as Chani and Dana Solomon as Beatrice in BLOOD LINES. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
California Scenario
Official Synopsis:
When single parents Jacob and Laura separately bring their struggling children to Isamu Noguchi’s sculpture garden to grapple with shared family legacies of survival, they discover the possibility of building something new together… someday.
If These Walls Could Rock
Official Synopsis:
The untold story of the Sunset Marquis—the Hollywood hotel where rock stars checked in, passed out, and made history. MADE POSSIBLE BY A DONATION FROM KATIE DEWITT.
Slash in IF THESE WALL COULD ROCK. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
The Last Picture Shows
Official Synopsis:
A filmmaker journeys into the American West searching for traces of what was once a center of small-town life: the movie theater.
Mockbuster
Official Synopsis:
A struggling Australian filmmaker takes his final shot at redemption with Sharknado’s notorious studio, The Asylum. Tasked with shooting a lost-world dinosaur movie in suburban Adelaide in under a week, he also films the chaos behind the scenes. Between demanding LA execs, a baffled cast, and his own creeping self-doubts, he finds hilarity, mayhem, and an unexpected kind of success.
No Mercy
Official Synopsis:
A radical cinematic manifesto, told through the voices of the fiercest women in filmmaking—unflinching, unapologetic, and with no mercy.
A photo still from NO MERCY. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
On The End
Official Synopsis:
The true story of Tom Ferreira, a greasy Montauk mechanic who falls for an outcast named Freckles as the town conspires to strip him of his beachside home.
A photo still from ON THE END. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Relatively Normal
Official Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Hannah is stuck at home during the pandemic. She knows she’ll survive Covid—but will she survive her dysfunctional family?
A photo still from RELATIVELY NORMAL. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Sell Your House
Official Synopsis:
A first-time director convinces his best friend to sell his house to fund their debut feature film. Everything goes really, really well. A documentary about the making of The Last Stop in Yuma County.
Sophia
Official Synopsis:
Emily travels from London to Tunisia to reunite her daughter, Sophia, with her estranged husband. But when Sophia disappears, lies and deceit ensnare the broken family as Emily races against time to find her.
Tough Old Broads
Official Synopsis:
Tough Old Broads follows three trailblazing women who continue to fight for a better world. These feisty ladies show what old age can look like when you’re a self-described “tough old broad.” MADE POSSIBLE BY A DONATION FROM NATALIE ORFALEA FOUNDATION
A photo still from TOUGH OLD BROADS. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Untethered: A Wildly Different Normal
Official Synopsis:
Untethered: A Wildly Different Normal follows a mother who leaves the expected path to worldschool her daughters. This female-driven journey reveals her resilience, courage, and empowerment as she raises strong women while defining life on her own terms.
About Santa Barbara International Film Festival:
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) 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 40 years, SBIFF has become one of the top 10 film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000 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 throughout many free educational programs and events. SBIFF’s programs support over 18,000 kids, students and families in our local community by introducing film as an art form to young children with programs like AppleBox and Mike’s FieldTrip to the Movies; teaching film analysis to high school and college students with programs like Rosebud and the Film Studies Program; and teaching the craft of screenwriting and filmmaking with Film Camp and 10-10-10 Mentorship programs. Most importantly SBIFF’s programs are always directed towards the under-represented and under-served communities within Santa Barbara County.
More recently, SBIFF secured a long-term lease for the iconic multi-plex at 916 State Street in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. This landmark acquisition and recent renovation of a state-of-the-art Film Center will be a vibrant, year-round destination that will serve as a central hub for cinema enthusiasts and the heart of SBIFF’s renowned Film Festival. Building on the success of the Riviera Theatre revitalization in 2016 and the opening of its own Education Center in 2019 in the downtown area, SBIFF continues to strengthen its commitment to the cultural fabric of Santa Barbara.
Share this:
Categories: Coming Soon, Recommendation
Leave a Reply