Santa Barbara International Film Festival  presents the Jacques Audiard Film Retrospective January 10 - January 17, 2025 at the SBIFF Film Center with an In-Person Q&A on Friday, January 10 at the SBIFF Riviera Theatre following EMILIA PÉREZ

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is proud to present a career retrospective on Jacques Audiard, a celebrated French filmmaker and screenwriter known for his emotionally intense and stylistically distinctive films. Audiard made his directorial debut with REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER, which won a César Award for Best First Feature Film. He gained international acclaim with works like THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, A PROPHET, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes, and DHEEPAN, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. His films often explore themes of identity, redemption, and human resilience, blending gritty realism with poetic sensibilities. Audiard remains one of the most influential figures in contemporary French cinema.

“Audiard is a master of cinema - combining genres in order to tell his complex yet compelling stories which always draw attention to important and urgent subjects like immigration and the disenfranchised.    As a filmmaker, he is generous, challenging, and humane, and he exemplifies the best of world cinema.   He is cinema!” stated Roger Durling, Executive Director of SBIFF.

Audiard’s latest film, EMILIA PÉREZ, is yet another triumph. The film follows the story of EMILIA PÉREZ, a notorious Mexican cartel leader who undergoes gender affirming surgery to start living life as her most authentic self. Blending elements of crime, music, and comedy, the film has a bold and unconventional narrative. Starring Karla Sofia Gascón in the titular role, alongside Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña, EMILIA PÉREZ marks a significant departure from Audiard’s previous works, showcasing his versatility and willingness to explore new genres. The film’s vibrant mix of humor, suspense, and music is lauded as an innovative addition to Audiard's diverse filmography.

Among his most acclaimed works is THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, a gripping drama about a man torn between violence and his dream of becoming a pianist, which won 8 César Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. A PROPHET, considered a masterpiece, chronicles the rise of a young Arab man in a brutal French prison, earning the Grand Prix at Cannes, 9 César Awards, and an Oscar nomination. DHEEPAN, a poignant tale of Sri Lankan refugees seeking asylum in France, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, further cementing Audiard’s legacy as one of cinema’s finest auteurs.

The retrospective which will take place January 10th - January 17th at the new SBIFF Film Center. It will feature:

• EMILIA PEREZ
• THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED
• RUST AND BONE
• A PROPHET
• PARIS, 13TH DISTRICT
• DHEEPAN
• THE SISTERS BROTHERS

Jacques Audiard in-person conversation on Friday, January 10 at the SBIFF Riviera Theatre following a screening of EMILIA PÉREZ.

Please come over to the Film Center to see this amazing retrospective celebrating Jacques Audiard’s work. 

For tickets and retrospective schedule, please visit here. 

About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 39 years, SBIFF has become one of the top 10 film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film.

SBIFF continues its commitment to education and the community throughout many free educational programs and events. SBIFF’s programs support over 18,000 kids, students and families in our local community by introducing film as an art form to young children with programs like AppleBox and Mike’s FieldTrip to the Movies; teaching film analysis to highschool and college students with programs like Rosebud and the Film Studies Program; and teaching the craft of screenwriting and filmmaking with Film Camp and 10-10-10 Mentorship programs. Most importantly SBIFF’s programs are always directed towards the under-represented and under-served communities within Santa Barbara County.

More recently, SBIFF secured a long-term lease for the iconic multi-plex at 916 State Street in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. This landmark acquisition paves the way for the creation of a state-of-the-art Film Center — a vibrant, year-round destination that will serve as a central hub for cinema enthusiasts and the heart of SBIFF’s renowned Film Festival. Building on the success of the Riviera Theatre revitalization in 2016 and the opening of its own Education Center in 2019 in the downtown area, SBIFF continues to strengthen its commitment to the cultural fabric of Santa Barbara.

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