At Fantastic Fest 2023, writer/director Francis Galluppi made his feature-length directorial debut with The Last Stop in Yuma County, a tense thriller involving bad timing, worse luck, and oh so much greed. By May of 2024, it was released in… Read More ›
Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2026
Generational trauma, cultural horror, and the persistence of healing converge within James Takata’s “California Scenario.” [SBIFF]
Trigger Warning: California Scenario includes depictions of self-harm and sexual material that may be difficult for sensitive viewers. “Art is our weapon. Culture is a form of resistance” – Shirin Neshat, Iranian photographer and visual artist Regardless of the generation… Read More ›
“All of the Above” demonstrates the significance of embracing curiosity while creating space for multiple answers. [SBIFF]
“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” – Tao Te Ching The concept of religion never quite seemed like a casual topic of conversation, but it has grown to be quite the sticky wicket. It often seems that around… Read More ›
Documentarian Rustin Thompson’s “The Last Picture Shows” explores what’s lost when local picturehouses disappear from communities. [SBIFF]
Photosensitivity Warning: In one of the later segments of archival photos, they are stylized like old film footage with light blips and visible scratches which may prove triggering for photosensitive individuals. The evolution of the movie-watching experience is fairly straight-forward…. Read More ›
Documentary “Mockbuster” or how the process of making a low-budget feature made me enjoy what I love without guilt. [SBIFF]
Of all the terms to be used to describe media consumption, “guilty pleasure” should be stricken from the record. The phrase implies that, regardless of perceived quality, the thing itself is not good in some way and that the enjoyment… Read More ›
13 Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2026 films I’d like to cover.
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… Read More ›