A feature film documentary about the life of a biologist turned award-winning filmmaker will be shown Wednesday night as the 34th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival gets underway.
The film “Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy” will show tonight at 8 p.m. at The Arlington Theatre.
In 2012, deGruy was killed in a helicopter crash in Australia while filming for famous Hollywood director James Cameron.
The documentary is told through the eyes of his wife and filmmaking partner, Mimi. deGruy was among the first to film many rarely seen creatures in the world’s oceans.
According to the press release about the film, deGruy’s passionate belief of “we are destroying the ocean before we even know what’s there” is highlighted in this retrospective of his remarkable life and career.
Here is a list of the rest of the events:
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
- 8:00 pm The Outstanding Directors of the Year Award, sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter
- Honorees: Roma‘s Alfonso Cuaron, The Favourite‘s Yorgos Lanthimos, BlacKkKlansman‘s Spike Lee, Vice‘s Adam McKay and Cold War‘s Pawel Pawlikowski
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
- 8:00 pm The Outstanding Performer of the Year Award
- Honoree: Rami Malek Bohemian Rhapsody
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2
- 8:30 – 9:30 am Filmmaker Press Breakfast: Festival Pavilion (directly behind the Lobero Theatre)
- 10:00 am Producers Panel moderated by Glenn Whipp. Panelists to be announced
- 1:00 pm Writers Panel moderated by Anne Thompson. Panelists to be announced
- 3:00 pm American Riviera Award
- Honoree: Viggo Mortensen Green Book
- 1:45 pm Red Carpet opens
- 8:00 pm Maltin Modern Master Award, moderated by longtime friend, film historian, and award namesake Leonard Maltin
- Honoree: Glenn Close The Wife
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3
- 11:00 am Women’s Panel moderated by Madelyn Hammond Panelists to be announced
- 8:00 pm Montecito Award, sponsored by Bella Vista Designs
- Honoree: Melissa McCarthy Can You Ever Forgive Me?
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4
- 8:00 pm The Variety Artisans Awards, sponsored by Variety moderated by Tim Gray. Honorees to be announced
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
- 8:00 pm The Virtuosos Award, presented by UGG®, moderated by Dave Karger.
- Honorees: Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Sam Elliott (A Star is Born), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Claire Foy (First Man), Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace), John David Washington(BlacKkKlansman), and Steven Yeun (Burning)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7
- 8:00 pm Cinema Vanguard Award presented by Belvedere Vodka
- Honoree: Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther, Creed II)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9
- 2:00 pm 10–10–10 Student Screenwriting and Filmmaking Mentorship and Competition
- In October, 20 high school and college screenwriters and filmmakers were accepted after a competitive application process before beginning a series of workshops, a table read, and a casting day. Since then, the ten writer/director teams and their crews have worked with industry mentors to produce short films that will be screened with an announcement of the winning scripts and films following the screening. Sponsored by Final Draft Inc. and generously supported by Mary Beth Riordan.
- 8:00 pm Closing Night Film Spoons: A Santa Barbara Story
- SPOONS: A SANTA BARBARA STORY is an exploration of how one of the most significant corners of the world produced, and continues to produce, some of the most talented surfers and innovators. Deeper than all is a story of craftsmanship, work ethic, renegades and tradition. This is a film that goes beyond the time spent in the ocean to define how one spends a lifetime.
