A projection of its people

In the thick of Hollywood’s awards season, it is rare and downright surprising to pass up an opportunity for a self-congratulatory moment. Yet that is exactly what Roger Durling has done as the 20th anniversary of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival gets underway Friday night and runs through Feb. 6.

Rather than plan a lavish party or retrospective film screenings, the festival’s artistic director rather modestly said he tried to honor the occasion by simply making this year’s festival the best yet. “I suppose what we’ve done is just make it bigger,” Durling said.

His decision is in keeping with his status as an outsider. The festival circuit can often represent a sprawling game of musical chairs as programmers and staffers drift from one festival to the next. By contrast, this is Durling’s second year heading the festival in Santa Barbara, and he had never worked for a festival before Santa Barbara’s.

An avid film lover, for many years he had at his own expense traveled to many of the world’s most lauded festivals -- Telluride, Sundance, New York, Cannes -- and participated as an audience member. This front-of-house perspective is, according to Durling, a big part of what won him the job in Santa Barbara.

As well, Durling has made it a goal to integrate the community of Santa Barbara into the festival.

“Everybody always tries in festivals to look for the universal,” he says, “but I felt we needed to be very specific to the community of Santa Barbara. There are two sides to the festival, both the films and also the local community.

“I felt the festival needed to embrace the community more in order for the community to embrace the festival.”

One way the festival is responding to the community is an expanded series of screenings oriented toward nature and extreme sports. Among these events is a rare theatrical screening of the popular early skateboarding video “The Search for Animal Chin.”

As well, the festival will feature a “Cult Asian” sidebar programmed by local resident Tim Matheson, better known as Otter from the movie “Animal House,” or the vice president in the early seasons of “The West Wing.”

The assignment stemmed from an informal gathering at a local coffeehouse owned by Durling that has become a destination for impassioned film fans who show up to shoot the breeze. While on the lookout for something along the lines of last year’s “Cult Classics” series to please the local late-night student audience, Durling discovered Matheson’s deep interest in Asian obscurities (“He’s obsessed,” Durling notes dryly) and a new series was born.

Festivals wear their premieres like badges of honor, of course, and this year Santa Barbara has more than a healthy share.

Friday’s opening-night screening of Woody Allen’s “Melinda and Melinda” marks the film’s U.S. premiere, and the centerpiece and closing-night films, “Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys” and “The Moguls,” respectively, are world premieres.

Other notable films include the world premiere of “Dust to Glory,” the new film from “Step Into Liquid” director Dana Brown. “Glory” chronicles the Baja 100 race through Mexico, a frenetic event where motorcycles, high-end race cars and old-fashioned Volkswagens all compete. And having already launched his previous film, “Dummy,” at the Santa Barbara fest to much acclaim, filmmaker Greg Pritikin returns with the world premiere of his reality-craze parody “Surviving Eden.”

Among other films screening at the festival are “5X2” from “Swimming Pool” director Francois Ozon; Hong Kong filmmaker Stephen Chow’s lively “Kung Fu Hustle”; and “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” which features the oddball cast of Paul Schneider (“All the Real Girls”), Jennifer Westfeld (“Kissing Jessica Stein”), Tori Spelling and Fred Willard.

No festival is complete without celebrities, and in that regard Santa Barbara is also doing pretty well for itself this year.

Among those scheduled to attend for tribute events are Leonardo DiCaprio, Annette Bening, Kate Winslet and Kevin Bacon. As well, the series of panel discussions is strong: A fully loaded writer’s panel will be held Saturday, including John Logan, Zach Braff, Charlie Kaufman, Julie Delpy, Paul Haggis, Jim Taylor, Jose Rivera, Brad Bird and Bill Condon.

The one film that all Santa Barbara staffers seem to be behind is the documentary “Emmanuel’s Gift,” directed by Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern, which has its world premiere Feb. 4. Narrated by Oprah Winfrey, the film tells the story of a young man in Ghana determined to overcome not only his own physical disability but to change the way in which his society treats the disabled. It takes a pretty hard heart not to be moved by the film.

Durling explains that the film is what every festival programmer is waiting for. “We didn’t ask for that submission,” he says. “It came in a manila envelope. You pop it in and are just amazed. I hate sentimentality and schmaltzy stuff and I was just grabbed and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.”

While rubbing shoulders with Hollywood heavyweights is certainly a plus, for Durling the highlight of the festival experience is showing films to an audience.

“If you’ve been involved in programming,” he says, “you watch most of the movies in your house by yourself in front of your TV, or in the office.

“You find gems, something you want to champion, and it’s just delicious to then share it with a group of people and be able to talk to them about it.”

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Santa Barbara International Film Festival

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Screenings

* “Melinda and Melinda”: Opening night, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St.

* “Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys”: Centerpiece, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Arlington Theatre

* “The Moguls”: Closing night, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6, Arlington Theatre

Panel

* “It Starts With the Script”: 1 p.m. Saturday, Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

Where: Other films, panels and events at multiple venues.

When: Friday to Feb. 6

Price: General screening tickets, $10. Panels, $16 to $35. Events, $10 to $60.

Info: (800) 504-8587; www.sbfilmfestival.org