Roger Durling

Roger Durling is the director of Santa Barbara International Film Festival. We first noticed him at the Norman Jewison event along with other film showings that he introduced and gave his opinion on before viewing the films. As we all know now, his passion for film is what drove him into getting onto the board of the S.B.I.F.F and his input on making the film festival had a very big impact on the film festival’s existence. If it were’nt for Roger Durling’s attempt by working for free on the project, our beloved film festival would have been shut down due to debt.

Many people perceive him by his image of a crazy guy with styled colored hair but, Roger admits this to understanding the film industry, that we all have an image that we re-invent and are known for. Looks are deceiving; Roger Durling has a very shy and down-to-earth personality that comes across as being very humble. He even admitted that he gets more nervous talking to directors than film stars.

We were fortunate as a class to talk with Roger and ask some questions about starting out in the industry.We also asked what films really stood out in his mind and he very recommend films for us to check out. As a class we are obliged to Roger Durling, since we are one of the film festival classes. Without Roger’s hard working efforts for the festival, this class event wouldn’t be what it is today.