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2025 SBIFF Award Winners

(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.

“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.”

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.

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O Horizon
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O Horizon stars Oscar nominees Maria Bakalova and David Strathairn and is written & directed by Emmy Award winner Madeleine Rotzler. A neuroscientist mourning the loss of her father is suddenly able to speak with him through a new technology, causing her to question everything from her relationships to her life’s work.
Yen and Ai-Lee (Xiao Yan Yu Wu Ai-Lee)
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After serving eight years in prison for killing her abusive father to save her mother’s life, Yen returns—with some trepidation—to her Hakkaese village, only to learn that her mother’s new boyfriend is also a violent man.
Roads of Fire
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ROADS OF FIRE examines the global migrant crisis through the lens of the $35 billion immigrant smuggling trade.
Glimmers (Los destellos)
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Isabel is confronted with resentments she thought she had overcome when she’s forced to visit Ramón, her ailing ex-husband, at the request of the daughter they have in common.
The Three Sisters
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One day, three sisters on an isolated island are forced to rent out one of their houses. This film is part of the 2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Animation Shorts viewing which is 88 min total.
The Green Buffalo
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The biggest strides in hempcrete construction are going down on one of the smallest Native American reservations. This film is part of the 2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Nature Shorts 1 - Land & Sustainability. Watch time is 84mins.
Bitter Chocolate (Shokolade talkh)
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Yasi has made it to the capital, using the excuse of the IELTS exam, to terminate her pregnancy before time runs out.
Separated
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Academy Award-winner Errol Morris probes one of the darkest chapters in US history: family separations. Merging vignettes of one migrant family’s plight with interviews of government officials, Morris paints a potent picture of a state-sponsored crisis of cruelty, as hundreds of families remain separated today. Winner of the Social Justice Award sponsored by The Fund for Santa Barbara.
Lilly
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Based on the remarkable true story of Lilly Ledbetter, LILLY chronicles how an aggrieved Alabama tire factory worker tenaciously fought monolithic patriarchies for employment justice for women.
Color Book
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Following the passing of his wife, a devoted father learns to raise his son with Down Syndrome as a single parent.

See full list of winners below:

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 Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for Best International Feature Film

YEN AND AI-LEE directed by Tom Shu-yu Lin

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

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.

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.

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