Human Rights Film Festival at UCSB’s Pollock Theater: UCSB’s Arts & Lectures reteams with the Santa Barbara Human Rights Watch Committee to present this collection of 12 films over the span of three weeks in April and May. Among the highlights, Monday, May 7, brings Hell and Back Again to the Pollock Theater. This Oscar-nominated film chronicles the impact of war on a 25-year-old Marine wounded in Afghanistan and his struggles upon returning home. On Wednesday, April 11, Goodbye Mubarak! looks at Egypt in the months leading up to the Tahrir Square demonstrations. Films screen two a night at 7 and 9 p.m., respectively. Monday, April 9; Wednesday, April 11; Monday, April 23; Wednesday, April 25; Monday, May 7; Wednesday, May 9. Call 893-3535 or visit artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu.
John Cusack at UCSB’s Campbell Hall: From heartthrob to sad sack to cold-blooded killer, John Cusack has played it all. This May, the actor, screenwriter, and producer takes to Campbell Hall for an evening-long retrospective of his career. Expect plenty of film clips, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from such iconic films as Say Anything, High Fidelity, Con Air, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Grifters, and Being John Malkovich, as well as a guaranteed-to-be-interesting audience Q&A sesh. My inner fangirl is rejoicing already. Wednesday, May 16, 8 p.m. Call 893-3535 or visit artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu.
Magic Lantern’s 8th Anniversary Party at Isla Vista Theater: Filmgoers get the royal treatment in celebration of Magic Lantern Films’ 8th birthday on Friday, April 27. Alongside free cake and ice cream, movie fans will be treated to an extra-special double feature of two of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpieces. At 7 p.m., catch The Lady Vanishes, the 1938 mystery about a rich young woman who discovers an old woman has gone missing from the train she’s on. At 10 p.m., James Stewart and Kim Novak star in Vertigo, the story of a San Fran detective who falls hard while investigating the activities of an old friend’s wife. Party: Friday, April 27, 7 p.m. Additional screening: Monday, April 30, 10 p.m. Visit islavista-arts.org.
More Film:
Pull My Daisy. At the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Thursday, March 29.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. At Isla Vista Theater, Friday, April 13, and Monday, April 16.
Declaration of War. At Ojai Playhouse, Sunday, April 29.
Mama of Dada. At the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Sunday, May 13.
My Afternoons with Margueritte. At Ojai Playhouse, Sunday, May 13.
Magic Lantern and Puppet Tyranny presents Beans! Beans! Beans! At Isla Vista Theater, Friday, May 18.
Faust. At Isla Vista Theater, Monday, May 21.
Young Goethe in Love. At Ojai Playhouse, Sunday, May 27.
Lord of the Rings Marathon. At Isla Vista Theater, Friday, June 1.
In Darkness. At Ojai Playhouse, Sunday, June 3.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi. At Ojai Playhouse, Sunday, June 10.
Monsieur Lazhar. At Ojai Playhouse, Sunday, June 17.