SBIFF 2021 Mid-Fest Report
Reframing Santa Barbara’s Film Festival, Indoors and Out
SBIFF 2021 highlights so far include, clockwise from top left, Bill Murray being honored, the seaside drive-ins, the Artisans Award, and locally produced films such as Highway One. | Images Courtesy of SBIFF and Jean Ziesenhenne (top right)
It’s official: The unofficial cuisine of the 2021 SBIFF is La Super-Rica’s rightfully celebrated #16, a k a Super Rica Especial. The legacy of #16 is a commonly known highlight of Santa Barbara life, but its new crowning comes courtesy of Bill Murray, who capped off his sometimes madcap Modern Master Award tribute with a tip of the hat to longtime award host, veteran critic Leonard Maltin, and the dish in question.
“Leonard,” Murray deadpanned, “I congratulate you for 31 years doing this. I can only imagine how many times you’ve ordered the #16 at La Super-Rica. It’s the #16. You gotta get it.”
Beyond the instant buzz factor and kitschy tanginess of Murray’s foodie comments in chat rooms and around town, the moment was a rare acknowledgment of the street cred of a festival that, by necessity, was restricted mostly to the generic forum of Zooming and streaming. In short, Murray helped put the “Santa Barbara” back into the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and had us longing for the festival’s usual creature “discomforts” of waiting in lines, crowding into theaters with strangers, discussing and arguing the relative merits of this Lithuanian puzzler versus that cheeky indie flick, and generally sharing an experience. That will have to wait.
