Todd Longwell Early on during the pandemic, it became obvious to Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival executive director Roger Durling that the 36th edition of the festival would be like no other, and not in a good way.
But he was hoping that by pushing the event back more than three months from mid-January to spring 2021, he’d be able to mount a hybrid event with some form of indoor screenings.
When that became unfeasible, he pivoted to a seated, socially distanced outdoor event at a Santa Barbara park. Build-out plans were drawn up and budgets were calculated.
Then California experienced a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases in November, and it became clear that the city would never approve their permit request.
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