All five of this year’s best director Oscar nominees — Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) and Steven Spielberg (West Side Story) — will participate in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Directors of the Year Award tribute, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively report.
The event, which will take place at the historic Arlington Theatre on the evening of March 3, will be presented by THR and, per usual, moderated by yours truly.
THR can also announce the participants on the fest’s other panels, three of which will take place on Saturday, March 5, two on Sunday, March 6 and one on Saturday, March 12.
The Writers Panel, which will take place on the morning of March 5 and will be moderated by IndieWire’s Anne Thompson, will feature Oscar nominees Branagh, Campion, Zach Baylin (King Richard), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter), Sian Heder (CODA), Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up), Denis Villeneuve (Dune) and Eskil Vogt (The Worst Person in the World)
All 10 of this year’s best picture Oscar nominees will be represented on the Producers Panel, which will take place on the afternoon of March 5 and will be moderated by the Los Angeles Times‘ Glenn Whipp. The panelists will be Laura Berwick (Belfast), Miles Dale (Nightmare Alley), Kevin Messick (Don’t Look Up), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Sara Murphy (Licorice Pizza), Mary Parent (Dune), Tanya Seghatchian (The Power of the Dog), Patrick Wachsberger (CODA), Tim White (King Richard) and Teruhisa Yamamoto (Drive My Car).
SBIFF has also added Belfast‘s best supporting actor Oscar nominee Ciarán Hinds to the list of this year’s Virtuosos Award honorees, who will be feted at the Arlington on the evening of March 5, with TCM’s Dave Karger moderating. Hinds will be joining his costars Caitriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan, as well as Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza), Emilia Jones (CODA), Troy Kotsur (CODA), Simon Rex (Red Rocket) and Saniyya Sidney (King Richard).
The morning of March 6 will bring the inaugural Animation Panel, with SBIFF executive director Roger Durling moderating, and all five best animated feature Oscar nominees represented on the panel. The panelists will be Enrico Casarosa, co-writer/director of Luca; Charlotte De La Gournerie, producer of Flee; Don Hall, co-director of Raya and the Last Dragon; Mike Rianda, co-writer/co-director of The Mitchells vs. The Machines; and Charise Castro Smith, co-writer/co-director of Encanto.
And Madelyn Hammond will, as always, anchor the Women’s Panel, which will take place on the morning of March 12 and feature Lynn Harris, producer of King Richard; Jessica Kingdon, best documentary feature Oscar nominee for Ascension; Elizabeth Mirzaei, director of best documentary short Oscar nominee Three Songs for Benazir; Amber Richards, best production design Oscar nominee for The Power of the Dog; and Diane Warren, best original song Oscar nominee for “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days.
“The heart and soul of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has always been the camaraderie and conversation emanating from its panels,” Durling said in a statement. “After two years of virtual dialogues, it will definitely be thrilling and exhilarating to be in a room listening live to all of this incredible talent.”
The 37th edition of SBIFF runs from March 2-12.
Source: HollyWood
