February 18, 2025
6:56 am
Publisher: creatorsfaire

2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Award Winning Films

(February 15, 2025) – The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is excited to announce the award-winning films for the 40th edition. Awards were announced at a ceremony this morning hosted by El Encanto, a Belmond Hotel, in Santa Barbara with Jury and Filmmakers in attendance.

The winning films were chosen by jury members Margaret Lazarus, Max Barbakow, Estrella Araiza, Shawn Patterson, Jeff Christian, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Gregory Nava, Andres Castillo, and Jeff Arch.

The 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival took place LIVE February 4 – February 15, 2025. Official events included screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes, held throughout the city, including at the historic Arlington Theatre.

“It’s an undeniable pleasure to celebrate such a diverse and wonderful array of winning films,” said Claudia Puig, SBIFF Director of Programming. ” We have been so excited to showcase storytelling from 60 countries around the world in our slate of 185 films at SBIFF. The jury winners this year hail from Cyprus, Spain, Germany, Iran, Taiwan, and the US and exemplify the best of creative independent filmmaking, covering subjects ranging from immigration, pay equity. environmental dangers, unwanted pregnancy, neuroscience and hempcrete construction. Congratulations to all the winning filmmakers, and a big thank you to our dedicated jurors.”

Courtesy of SBIFF

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Alex Elezar, Jessi Calidonio, Jorge Garcia, Katelyn Mihalko, Isabel Santiago, and Boomika Velineni pose with the Intern of the Year Awards at the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Susan Hecht, Yildiz Katarina Soyal, Hawk Hawkins, and Holly Peterson pose with the Volunteer of the Year Awards at the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Austin Straub, Daniel Straub, Rosanna Xia, and James Ellington pose with the Audience Choice Award sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent for "Out of Plain Sight" at the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Santiago Bailey-Musacchio, Joy Bronson, and Nicole Noren pose with the Vérasion Filmmaker Fund Awards at the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: Joel Caldwell poses with the Best Documentary Short Film Award for "The Green Buffalo" at the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Santiago Bailey-Musacchio, Joy Bronson, Gardner Grout, and Nicole Noren pose with the Vérasion Filmmaker Fund Awards at the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: Nathaniel Lezra poses with the Best Documentary Award for "Roads of Fire" at the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: Maria Bakalova poses with the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema for "O Horizon" at the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Stewart Short, Claudia Puig, and Ernie Quiroz attend the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: (L-R) Stewart Short, Claudia Puig, Ernie Quiroz, and Kiara Lin attend the Awards Breakfast during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at El Encanto on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: <> on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: Claire Waterhouse speaks onstage at the 10-10-10 Awards during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at The Arlington Theatre on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: Claire Waterhouse (R) and student filmmakers speak onstage at the 10-10-10 Awards during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival at The Arlington Theatre on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: <> on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: SBIFF Managing Director Sean Pratt speaks onstage at the closing night film for "A Missing Part" during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: A view of the audience at the closing night film for "A Missing Part" during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: SBIFF Board President Ernesto Paredes speaks onstage at the closing night film for "A Missing Part" during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: <> on February 15, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)

The Audience Choice Award sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent goes to:

OUT OF PLAIN SIGHT directed by Daniel Straub, Rosanna Xia

Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema

O HORIZON directed by Madeleine Rotzler

The Best Documentary Award

ROADS OF FIRE directed by Nathaniel Lezra

The Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema

GLIMMERS directed by Pilar Palomero

The Best Animated Short Film Award

THE THREE SISTERS directed by Timur Kognov

The Best Documentary Short Film Award

THE GREEN BUFFALO directed by Joel Caldwell

The Best Live-Action Short Film Award

BITTER CHOCOLATE directed by Sahar Sotoodeh

All three of these short award recipients are now eligible for the 2026 Academy Awards.

The Social Justice Award sponsored by the Fund for Santa Barbara

SEPARATED directed by Errol Morris

The ADL Stand Up Award sponsored by the ADL

LILLY directed by Rachel Feldman

The ASC Award for Cinematography sponsored by The American Society of Cinematographers

COLOR BOOK directed by David Fortune

About the 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 39 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 highschool 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.

In 2016, SBIFF acquired the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. After a capital campaign and renovation, the theatre is now SBIFF’s state-of-the-art, year-round home, showing new international and independent films every day. In 2019, SBIFF opened its own Education Center in downtown Santa Barbara on State Street to serve as a home for its many educational programs and a place for creativity and learning.