People Have the Power!
The Social Justice Film Series, sponsored by The Fund for Santa Barbara, presents a slate of films that that engage community and galvanize change to advance Economic, Environmental, Political, Racial or Social Justice.
This year’s compelling crop includes five films that showcase powerful women taking individual action, driven by an unwavering moral compass, and making profound change.
Accordingly, this year’s theme is, “People Have the Power”, echoing the protest anthem by proto-punk provocateur, Patti Smith. If you haven’t heard it and want to get your blood going, here’s a link to her singing it with a choir in New York, with Stewart Copeland on percussion Patti Smith – People Have The Power.
This year’s Social Justice Film Series covers urgent topics including: the critical importance of investigative journalism to the preservation of democracy, the ongoing fight to address the devastating impacts of the fossil fuel industry, the profound psychological toll of war and conflict, the rebuilding of urban environments degraded by structural racism, and the historic abuse of native communities.
While the subject matter may seem difficult, the films are selected to be inspiring and fuel “power to the people”.
Winner: This year, the Fund chose STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! as the winner of the SBIFF Social Justice Award sponsored by The Fund for Santa Barbara. Amy Goodman founded Democracy Now! which pioneered activist journalism. She’s a hero to many, putting her personal safety at risk to extract truth from power and speak it back to them. Here’s a link to the Democracy Now! website: https://www.democracynow.org/.
The film is a beautifully rendered personal portrait and a raucous recounting of political battles over 40 years. The film starts with Goodman chasing through the airport and confronting the Trump administration’s climate policy advisor at a UN Climate Summit in Poland. The scene is a heady combination of fearlessness and absurdity.
The Fund for Santa Barbara is holding a reception at the Carillo Ballroom and all are welcome. Amy Goodman will be in conversation with Ryan Cruz of the Independent and will highlight the role of journalism right now.
What: Fund for Santa Barbara Reception Honoring SBIFF Social Justice Award Winner
Film: Steal This Story! – a riveting portrait of Democracy Now! Founder and investigative journalist Amy Goodman
When: Saturday, February 7, 5 – 7 pm
Where: Carrillo Ballroom, 100 East Carrillo Street, Santa Barbara
Reception: Light appetizers and libations
Presentation: Amy Goodman will be in conversation with Independent journalist Ryan Cruz
RSVP: The event is open to the public who are encouraged to come. Please RSVP to: https://fundforsantabarbara.org/event/2026-sbiff-social-justice-award-reception/
Cost: Suggested donation of $20 but all are welcome
Organization: The Fund for Santa Barbara is a leading, local foundation that provides support to grassroots organizations that advance movements for Economic, Environmental, Political, Racial, and Social Justice .
Here’s the rest of the films. Go and feel empowered.
1. STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! – WINNER —(US): Undeterred by armed soldiers, smooth-talking politicians, and riot police, journalist Amy Goodman has reported some of the most consequential stories of our time. STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE! Is a gripping portrait of the trailblazer whose unwavering commitment to truth-telling spans three decades of turbulent history. From the frontlines of global conflict to the organized chaos of her daily news program Democracy Now!, Goodman amplifies stories and voices routinely silenced by commercial media.
February 6: 8:20 pm – 9:46 pm, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 2
February 7: 11:40 am – 1:20 pm, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 3
2. GASLIT–(US): As the world teeters on the brink of irreversible climate disaster, actor and activist Jane Fonda ventures deep into oil and gas country, meeting the people who are exposing the fossil fuel industry’s lies. These are the stories of the shrimpers, cattle ranchers, former oil workers, families, faith leaders, community organizers, and self-described “reluctant activists” who have come together across political and cultural spectrums in the defense of the communities and coastlines they love.
February 5: 3:00 pm – 4:51 pm, SBIFF Riviera Theater
February 8: 11:40 am – 1:31 pm, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 3
February 10: 8:00 am – 9:51 am, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 1
3. CUBA & ALASKA— (Ukraine, France, Belgium): Best friends. “Cuba” & “Alaska”, two wisecracking medics on Ukraine’s frontline, live the same battlefield story as all soldiers: the longer they fight for Ukraine, the more they lose touch with friends, family and their former lives. With war so deeply rooted in them, can the two friends go back to the life they knew?
February 5: 5:20 pm – 6:52 pm, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 2
February 6: 11:20 am – 12:53 pm, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 2
4. SAVING ETTING STREET—(US): In this riveting documentary by Dena Fisher and Amy Scott, master carpenter Shelley Halstead trains three young Black women in carpentry, electrical work and plumbing. Together, cheered on by long-time residents, they transform a block of abandoned row houses in Baltimore into a community of Black women first-time homeowners. But when tensions arise with the group and a suspicious fire breaks out, Shelley questions her vision of community.
February 5: 8:20 am – 9:27 am, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 2
February 10: 3:20 pm – 4:27 pm, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 5
5. WHAT WE CARRY—(Canadian): In 1964, a restless Jennifer Notley spots an ad in a teacher’s magazine for a position in Northern Alberta. Leaving her life in England behind, she arrives by bush plane to Wabasca-Desmarais – an isolated place with bad roads, no electricity, limited services and a residential school. Jennifer teaches for five years at a Desmarais Indian Residential School during its transition into a day school. In 2022, her daughter Katrinka and granddaughter Bracken return to this beautiful northern lakeside community in the heart of Treaty 8 territory with questions – and a trunk full of history. Kat McDermott and Willow Auger, of the Bigstone Cree nation, introduce Bracken and Katrinka to the community. Together, they open the trunk and the doors to discovery.
February 12: 11:40 am – 1:08 pm, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 3
February 13, 5:00 pm – 6:28 pm, SBIFF Film Center, Auditorium 1
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