Roger Durling Meeting

This week we have met with a big director, went to a directors panel with some of today’s best directors, award ceremonies with top actors, but one man we met with seemed like he was doing what he wanted to do more than anything else. On Saturday morning, we met with the director of the Santa Barbara Film Festival Roger Durling. Roger is a film Studies professor here at Santa Barbara City College as well as directing our film festival. He was brought the Santa Barbara Film Festival back from the low point it was at, to being one of the top 50 Film Festivals in the world. This is a great accomplishment that he has achieved not only for our film festival but also for the city of Santa Barbara as well.

During our meeting with Roger, our class was prepared to ask him questions from how he got the job, how films are selected, and even about his hair. He was able to answer all of these questions thoroughly. He explained to us his love and passion for film, which to me was the most interesting thing of the Q&A. Roger told us that ever since he was young all he wanted to do was watch films. He had tried to make in the film industry but felt like watching films was more interesting.

One very impressive thing that I had notice was how much time and effort Roger Durling puts into this festival. Every year that he has been director, Roger spends all year round going to film festival, screening entry films, and setting up for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. He explained to us how he is an insomniac and how all night he watches and analyses film. The best thing is that this is Rogers work, but also the thing that he enjoys the most.

Another thing the talked to us about is how he had gotten the job as the director for the SBIFF. It a great story about how his knowledge and passion for film placed him into the passion. With his consistency of talking about film at his coffee shop, Roger was offer a chance of a lifetime. He got the job by being in the right place at the right time, combined with great knowledge and love for film. Roger Durling took that chance and never looked back.