By Nelson Antonio Denis

In six days, God created the world.  On the seventh he built Santa Barbara.  An idyllic town, fresh ocean breezes and friendly, open faces set the tone for an unforgettable week.  I'm glad I went.

The 2004 Santa Barbara International Film Festival was young and dynamic: a scrappy slate of films, world-class celebrity events, sold-out audiences, a tireless staff and selfless volunteers were all blended by a new master chef… artistic director Roger Durling. The meal was intoxicating.

I arrived with my first feature VOTE FOR ME! in the American Independents Competition.  They screened it three times.  Audiences were 90% white and middle-aged or retired, which was great since my prior audiences were mostly young, black and Latino. They laughed hysterically, LOVED the film, and festival staff had to break up our Q&A three times in a row…they wouldn't leave the theatre!   Now I KNOW our movie will "cross over."

The American Independents Jury Prize included a $30,000 Panavision camera package, but we didn't win it: that went to WOMAN THOU ART LOOSED, directed by Michael Schultz (Bingo Long and the Traveling All Stars,Car Wash, Krush Groove), produced by Rueben Cannon (Get on the Bus), financed by Johnny Cochran and Oprah Winfrey.  Two million copies of the underlying book by Bishop T.D. Jakes had already been sold through Oprah's TV show, book club and magazine.  My arms are too short to box with God.  The film was a foregone conclusion. 

But sour grapes don't last in Santa Barbara.  The staff is too friendly, the movies are too much fun.  BROADWAY: THE GOLDEN AGE was a great doc on 100 years of American Theatre.  THE MAYOR OF SUNSET STRIP was a loving biography of Rodney Bingenheimer, the 30-year guru of the L.A. music scene.  BIG CITY DICK did the same for street musician Richard Peterson.  PROTEUS provided brilliant insight into 19^th century biologist and painter Ernst Haeckel, and his discovery of the one-celled "radiolarian."

Standout narrative features included a hapless couple trying to save their sex life in DOGS IN THE BASEMENT.  Harvey Keitel produced and starred in  CUBA LIBRE, a coming of age story during the eve of the Cuban revolution.   I never thought James Coco and Burt Reynolds could be outdone in THE END, until I saw WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF.  Quirky and heartfelt (a send-up of Jules et Jim), the title alone should pack 'em in!

The Spanish/Latin American and World Cinema sections had some astonishingly accomplished projects, most notably CLEOPATRA (Argentina/Spain), EL MISTERIO DEL TRINIDAD (Mexico), and BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS (United Kingdom).

I'd already seen all the Cult Film entries, but I'm sure LES DIABOLIQUES, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, PICK UP ON SOUTH STREET, KING OF HEARTS, and FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! pleased a lot of cinema virgins.

Star-gazers had a field day with splashy tributes to Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), Charlize Theron (Monster),  and Diane Lane (Unfaithful). The three panels I attended (Masters of Cinematography, American Family, Women in the Business) were all organized, informative, and sold out. A special sidebar called 10-10-10 sent ten student film crews on a ten-day mission to complete a ten-minute digital film.  All of them finished, and the winning film aired on Santa Barbara local TV.

On the subject of TV, my hat goes off to Maureen "Mo" McFadden and Carol Marshall, the master publicists who arranged two TV appearances and one radio interview, for myself and my film.  And a special nod to Kim, Candace Schermerhorn and Amanda Lee, who worked feverishly on behalf of every film and filmmaker.  There was a lot of love at SBFF 2004.

Here's my final memories and feelings about Santa Barbara: on the day of my last screening, while getting dressed in my hotel, my movie suddenly showed up on TV…they featured it on the 6 O'clock News!

A couple hours later in a packed house, I hugged Dr. Selden Edwards: my high school English teacher whom I hadn't seen in 32 years.

Then finally I went home to New York. I opened my e-mail and read four inquiries about my film.  One of them was from a major studio. As a   filmmaker, what more can I say?