The 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival

OPENING NIGHT! Jane Austen Wrecked My Life.  (Jane Austen a gâché ma vie). Written and Directed by Laura Piani, stars Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson and Annabelle Lengronne. Agathe (Rutherford) hopelessly clumsy, yet charming and full of contradictions, is not happy being single. Her dream is to experience the same kind of romance as in a Jane Austen novel with the ultimate goal to be as accomplished a writer. Instead, she works selling books in the legendary British bookshop, Shakespeare & Co, in Paris. When she is invited to the Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she has to overcome her being so insecure with a chance to finally fulfill her dream to be a novelist and change her life.

CLOSING NIGHT! –A Missing Part (Une part manquante). Written and Directed by Guillaume Senez (in attendance) stars Romain Duris, Judith Chemla, Mei Cirne-Masuki, Tsuyu, and Shungiku Uchida. Every day, Jay travels the length and breadth of Tokyo in his taxi, looking for his daughter Lily he hasn’t seen since he separated from his wife 9 years previous and lost custody. About to move back to France without ever seeing her, Lily pops into his cab, without recognizing him.

TRIFOLE – Directed by Gabriele Fabbro (The Grand Bolero)  who cowrote with Ydalie Turk who also stars as Dalia, the granddaughter of Truffle Hunter Igor (Umberto Orsini). Dalia goes to her grandfather’s rural home in Italy at her mother’s request, to see make sure he’s ok. In process, he, with his dog, Birba, reluctantly teach her about how to hunt for truffles with the goal of finding the big  one to win the prize that could save his house and land from being taken by neighboring vineyards.  Beautiful cinematography of the region showing the trials and tribulations of truffle hunting who slowly bond over the course of the film.

THE KNIFE –  Director Nnamdi Asomugha also writes the story of an African American father who confronts an intruder in his home, but his actions lead to a confrontation and a series of events that become a disturbing investigation by a veteran female detective interviewing each member of the family, including his wife and young daughters. Melissa Leo stars as the detective in this harrowing scenario with an unexpected resolution. Watch for interviews with Nnamdi Asomugha and Melissa Leo about getting a Black perspective on crime and getting to the truth

FOLLOWING HARRY – The powerful story following Harry Belafonte publicly and privately during the last 12 years of his life. Director Suanne Rostock shows the talented singer/actor whose work for civil rights and social justice continued tirelessly until the end. From the death of Trayvon Martin, to protests in Ferguson, the Women’s March and his involvement in many more activist movements . Belafonte worked with everyone early on from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Baldwin, Robert Kennedy, JFK, Lyndon Johnson and more on civil rights and justice. The film also shows him working with Angela Davis, Jesse Williams, Kerry Kennedy, Rosario Dawson, and the highlight is seeing Jamie Foxx do a live impression in front of Harry that’s spot on.