Santa Barbara Honoring Several Oscar Nominated Directors

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced the recipients of their Outstanding Directors of the Year Award for this year, with a lineup that looks familiar to anyone who has seen this year’s Oscars nominations. 

Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), David Fincher (Mank), Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), and Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) will all receive their awards and participate in live-streamed conversations on Tuesday, April 6th at 6:00pm PST. The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg will moderate the tribute. 

Roger Durling, SBIFF’s Executive Director, had this to say about the four filmmakers selected: “In this past difficult year, these four exemplary storytellers showed us ways to dream and reevaluate our perception of the world at large. They’re all rewriting cinema history, and lucky for us to get to hear them converse with one another.” 

These four filmmakers have charted their own very different paths to the point in their careers where they’re at now, and it’ll be interesting to see how each contributes to what is sure to be an exciting conversation with four unique perspectives on filmmaking. 

The 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place March 31st through April 10th, 2021 online and at two free ocean-front drive-in theatres. More information, festival passes and tickets are available at www.sbiff.org.