The 40th Santa Barbara Film Fest Wraps Up With Fun, Glitz And Glamour

SANTA BARBARA, CA — It's a wrap! The 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival has come and gone, capping another all-out edition of amazing films, tributes, awards season buzz, vibrant cultural gatherings, and community outreach programs.

Lights! Camera! Action! The film fest is renowned for its touch of Hollywood magic, and the 2025 edition was no different. During the 12-day event, A-listers descended, once again, on the coastal paradise of Santa Barbara.

This year, the festival honored Will Ferrell with the Kirk Douglas Award, Ralph Fiennes with the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award, Zoe Saldaña with the American Riviera Award, Guy Pearce and Adrien Brody with the Cinema Vanguard Award, Angelina Jolie with the Maltin Modern Master Award, Colman Domingo with the Montecito Award and Timothée Chalamet with the Arlington Artist Award.

Photos: The 40th Santa Barbara Film Festival Shines With Hollywood Stars

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival also celebrated Coralie Fargeat, James Mangold, Sean Baker, Jacques Audiard, and Brady Corbet, feting them with the Outstanding Directors of the Year Award.

Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Fernanda Torres, Monica Barbara, Mikey Madison, Clarence Maclin, John Magaro, Kieran Culkin, Karla Sofa Gascón, and Harris Dickinson were this year’s winners of the Virtuosos Award. This honor is bestowed upon artists whose performances in this season’s films have launched them to the forefront of conversation about cinema.

(Below, see Zoe Saldaña, Guy Pearce, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet and other Hollywood celebrities walk the red carpet.)

Judy Becker, Kris Bowers, Clement Ducol, Camille, Nick, Jomo Fray, Tod Maitland, Pierre-Olivier Persin, Paul Tazewell and Erik Winquist were the 2025 SBIFF recipients of the Variety Artisans Awards, an honor presented to the craftspeople behind this year’s biggest films.

“It's an undeniable pleasure to celebrate such a diverse and wonderful array of winning films,” said the festival's programming director Claudia Puig. “We have been so excited to showcase storytelling from 60 countries around the world in our slate of 185 films at SBIFF. Congratulations to all the winning filmmakers, and a big thank you to our dedicated jurors.”

Filmmakers Daniel Straub and Rosanna Xia’s “Out Of Plain Sight” took home the festival’s top prize, the Audience Choice Award, while Madeleine Rotzler’s “O Horizon” scored the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema.

Other top honors included the Best International Feature Film Award for Tom Shu-yu Lin's “Yen and AI-Lee,” and the Best Documentary Award for Nathaniel Lezra’s “Roads of Fire.”

Dedicated to showcasing independent and international cinema, the 2025 Santa Barbara Film Festival opened on Feb. 4 with the U.S. premiere of “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” French filmmaker Laura Piani’s love letter to the renowned novelist, highlighting her penchant for reason over passion. The film stars Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson and Annabelle Lengronne.

Eleven days later, the fest closed on Saturday with the U.S. premiere of “A Missing Part,” writer-director Guillaume Senez’ Belgian-French drama about a French taxi driver in Tokyo, who spends his days and nights searching for his long-lost daughter. The film stars Romain Duris, Judith Chemla, Mei Cirne-Masuki, Tsuyu and Shungiku Uchida.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will return for the 41st edition next year. For more information on Santa Barbara International Film Festival, visit the festival's website (sbiff.org).

Photo Highlights From The 2025 Santa Barbara Film Festival

American Riviera Award Ceremony Honoring Zoe Saldaña

American Riviera Award Ceremony Honoring Zoe Saldaña, Presenter Rob Lowe

Cinema Vanguard Award Ceremony Honoring Guy Pearce

Arlington Artist Award Ceremony Honoring Timothée Chalamet

Arlington Artist Award Ceremony Honoring Timothée Chalamet, Presenter/Moderator Josh Brolin

The Cinema Vanguard Award Ceremony Honoring Adrien Brody

Fashion Designer Georgina Chapman At The Vanguard Award Ceremony

Outstanding Directors Of The Year Award Ceremony Honoring Jacques Audiard

Outstanding Directors Of The Year Award Ceremony Honoring Coralie Fargeat

Outstanding Directors Of The Year Award Ceremony Honoring James Mangold

Outstanding Directors Of The Year Award Ceremony Honoring Sean Baker

Outstanding Directors Of The Year Award Ceremony Honoring Brady Corbet