Artsweek

February 12, 2015

“McFarland, USA” Tells the American Story Picking and Running: Disney Film Explores Teenage Life in Central Valley

By Jane Huson, Audrey Bachelder

Kevin Costner plays Coach Jim White in Disney’s “McFarland, USA,” which tells the true story of a coach who inspired his seemingly hapless students to form a cross country team and go the distance. In interviews in...

February 12, 2015

“Partners in Crime” Sheds Light on the Truths of the Teenage Psyche

By Phi Do

Chang Jung-chi’s thriller is all about uncovering secrets, discovering lies and exposing the truth. One would expect as much from a story centered on the sleuthing adventures of high school boys, but Chang takes the co...

February 12, 2015

SBIFF Awards Steve Carell at Ceremony Looking Back on his Career

By Alex Wehrung

“Woo! Steve!” shouted someone way in the back of the Arlington Theatre. In one of the front rows, the man of the hour himself shot up in his seat, turned around and yelled, “Hey! Quiet!” in true maniacal Steve Ca...

February 11, 2015

Novelist Bruce Wagner Opens Film “Maps to the Stars” at SBIFF Spoiler Alert! New Film Deals with Incest, Hollywood and Murder

By Bin Nguyen

Sex, murder, incest — these are a few themes in the film “Map to the Stars,” written by novelist Bruce Wagner. Though the trailer makes the film seem like a satire on Hollywood’s demented lifestyle, “Map to the...

February 10, 2015

The Emerson String Quartet Brings Classical Music to Campbell

By Sophie Ho

The crowd silenced as the four beaming, salt-and-pepper-haired string players strode across the stage toward their spotlight in matching black and white suits. On Feb. 7, young and old gathered for an evening of classica...

February 10, 2015

California Rockers Shake Up the Goodland

By Nadine Bedwan

A crowd of college kids, older 20-something hipsters and a slew of oddly trendy middle-aged music fans congregated in the Goodland Hotel’s Rincon Ballroom, the unexpected venue for an unexpected event last Friday, Feb....

February 8, 2015

RL Grime Creates Turbulence at Sold-Out Velvet Jones Show

By Alexandra DeSanto

Squeezing my way into a crowd of sweaty college students and post-adolescents, I was captivated by the tall silhouette that appeared on the stage of the completely sold-out Velvet Jones. With people staggered from wall t...

February 8, 2015

LOUDPVCK turns Earl Warren into a Trap House for One Night

By Alex Bocknek

A hooded woman clad from head to toe in jet black “ǂ₩0ИK” gear stood in stark contrast against the perspiring orange walls of the bathroom hallway. Her bandana bounced onto the oversized hoodie with each hum of b...

February 8, 2015

Cirque Ziva Performs Mind-Bending Stunts at Campbell

By Kelsey Tang

One might feel a sense of shame blended with awe when witnessing the Golden Dragon Acrobats contort, bend and balance so seamlessly. The Chinese acrobatic company performed their critically-acclaimed Cirque Ziva show in ...

February 6, 2015

“The Truth About Lies” Delves into Self-Identity

By Nadine Bedwan

On one level, “The Truth About Lies” is largely an account of writer and director Phil Allocco’s own life’s misfortunes. On a deeper level, it delves into the human issue of self-identity. The title itself was en...

February 6, 2015

South Korean Thriller “Confession” Debuts at SBIFF

By Alex Wehrung

Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. -Murphy’s law

February 6, 2015

Documentary “Caffeinated” is Stimulating, Fresh

By Alex Wehrung

Ironic story: right before I went to see this documentary, I sat on a State Street bench, catching up on my Gothic literature reading. I yawned, and some random man passing by me said, “You should get some coffee.” A...

February 6, 2015

Cousteau Family Honored with the Attenborough Award “Secret Ocean 3D” Grants Cousteau Excellence in Nature Filmmaking Award

By Phi Do

The second day of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival found the Arlington Theatre packed with many eager to meet the legendary Cousteau family. Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, and ...

February 6, 2015

“It Starts With the Script” Writer’s Panel SBIFF Panel Uncovers the Process and Art Behind Screenwriting

By Phi Do

Like most Hollywood professions, the art and business of screenwriting is perplexing. Career paths don’t necessarily follow the same direction (although the formulaic nature of scripts themselves are debatable). “It ...

February 5, 2015

A-List Celebrities Flood to the Arlington for Virtuosos Award

By Bin Nguyen

Hollywood’s newest, hottest and brightest stars arrived in chauffeured SUVS on Sunday, Feb. 1 to receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Virtuosos Award. A virtuoso is defined as “a person highly sk...

February 5, 2015

Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones Honored with the Cinema Vanguard Award “Theory of Everything” Stars Speak to the Nexus on the Red Carpet

By Arasch Blurfrushan

Eddie Redmayne has been on a roll lately. Nominated for over 25 awards for his leading role as Stephen Hawking in the biographical film “The Theory of Everything,” the 33-year-old British actor has already won the Go...