Over the years, SBIFF has invited numerous 'potential award-winning celebrities', including Cate Blanchett,[4] Guillermo Del Toro, Laura Dern,[5] Leonardo DiCaprio,[6] Angelina Jolie,[7] Jennifer Lawrence,[8] Heath Ledger,[9] Eddie Redmayne, Martin Scorsese,[10] Michelle Yeoh[11] and Kate Winslet.

[13] In addition to its annual festival in February, the SBIFF "Cinema Society" hosts programming year round at the Riviera Theater in Santa Barbara.

The award honors "an artist who is greatly admired and who has demonstrated an incomparable commitment to film and its craft".

[52] Students enrolled at Santa Barbara area high schools and colleges are invited to submit either a 10-page sample of writing for the Screenwriting portion of the competition, or a five-minute sample of their best filmmaking efforts for the directing portion.

[53] The program was extended into a summer camp where area youths from schools and local Boys & Girls Clubs learned filmmaking skills.