A worldly film lineup in Santa Barbara

Documentaries, U.S. indies and foreign-language Oscar hopefuls figure prominently in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s 2003 lineup of more than 100 films. The event runs Feb. 28-March 9.

Documentaries include “Stevie,” from “Hoop Dreams” director Steve James, and the world premiere of “The Day My God Died,” directed by Andrew Levine. “Life and Times of Count Luchino Visconti,” in the world cinema section, is a portrait of the Italian director.

One sidebar will be devoted to surf movies, featuring an evening with Bruce Brown, the surf cinema veteran, whose “Endless Summer” will be screened along with “Big Wednesday.”

Among other films are “Don’t Tempt Me,” from Spain, which stars Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal and Victoria Abril; “The Magdalene Sisters,” the controversial story of cruelty in an Irish orphanage that won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival; Finnish Oscar submission “The Man Without a Past”; and Spain’s “Mondays in the Sun” with Javier Bardem.

The festival has used awards season timing to its advantage, scheduling high-profile seminars with prominent directors, writers and producers, many of whom have had films contending for Oscars. Those programs will be announced at a later date.