The 2023 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Is Off and Running!

With a star-studded cast in attendance — Abigail Breslin, Mireille Enos, Emily VanCamp, Josh Bowman, Luke Wilson, Ryan Phillippe, Enrique Muricano, Andy Garcia, Nolan Gould, John Buffalo, Sebastian Quinn, and Taryn Manning, along with Director Michelle Danner — and the emotional debut of the powerful true story of the 1963 kidnapping and rape case that went on to establish the laws concerning notifications given by police to criminal suspects in custody that advise them of their right to silence, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is back in fine form. 

A compellingly told story about a terrifically violent act, though it certainly has its share of legal and historical angles, Miranda’s Victim is also, in the end, a coming-of-age story of sorts, about a timid young woman who finds the courage to stand up for herself, at a time when society — and even her own mother — tells her to swallow her pain and move on. 

It’s not a perfect film; like just about everything these days, it could have benefited from being about 15 minutes shorter. But the performances — particularly Abigail Breslin as the lead; Mireille Enos as her mother; and Sebastian Quinn as Ernesto Miranda, the convicted rapist whose name is now on the “Miranda Warnings” — are spot-on and serve to elevate what could have been conceived as straightforward true-crime drama into something much more thought-provoking. 

Early birds can join director Michelle Danner, writer George Colber, and cast members Abigail Breslin, Andy Garcia, Mireille Enos, and Enrique Murciano on Thursday morning (Feb. 9) at 11 a.m.  for a free SBIFF Filmmaker Seminar at the Tamsen Gallery, 911-½ State St.

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