Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Events Calendar

2019 SBIFF OPENING NIGHT & GALA

Wednesday, January 30, 2019, 08:00pm

Each year, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival kicks off the festivities with the Opening Night Film and Gala. Directly following the film at the historic Arlington Theatre, guests over 21 will dive into the center of downtown Santa Barbara to see the beautiful Spanish Paseo Nuevo transform into a film-themed gala filled with food and drinks, dancing, and live entertainment. This event is open to the public with tickets available for purchase prior to the Festival.

OPENING NIGHT FILM Presented by UGG
Filmmaker Mimi deGruy's
Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
8:00PM
Arlington Theatre
Santa Barbara, CA

AND
OPENING NIGHT GALA Presented by Amazon Studios
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Following the Opening Night Film
10:00PM
Paseo Nuevo
Santa Barbara, CA

SBIFF 2019 will start with the Opening Night Film, presented by UGG®, on Wednesday, January 30, at the historic Arlington Theatre with the world premiere of Diving Deep:The Life and Times of Mike deGruy directed by Mimi deGruy.

Diving Deep:The Life and Times of Mike deGruy is a feature film documentary about Mike deGruy, an irrepressible biologist turned award-winning filmmaker who swam, dived and filmed in oceans around the world and in the process became the first to film many rarely seen creatures in their own oceans. He was also a passionate advocate of the ocean’s creatures and became increasingly outspoken as an environmental activist. In 2012, deGruy died tragically in a helicopter crash in Australia while filming for director James Cameron. Told through the eyes of Mimi deGruy, his wife and filmmaking partner, Diving Deep:The Life and Times of Mike deGruy celebrates deGruy’s remarkable life, career and what he passionately believed: we are destroying the ocean before we even know what’s there.
For more information, details, and clips visit divingdeepmovie.com.

Following the film, the Opening Night Gala, sponsored by Amazon Studios, will take place in the beautiful outdoor Paseo Nuevo Shops and Restaurants in downtown Santa Barbara. It will feature entertainment, food, libations, and a chance to celebrate the start of SBIFF.