After four decades of operating out of rented venues, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) now has a permanent theatre to call home in downtown Santa Barbara.
On Tuesday evening, festival organizers and city officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the newly renovated, state-of-the-art McHurley Film Center.
The five-auditorium complex, located at 916 State Street in the former Fiesta Five theatre space, will serve as the year-round hub for SBIFF’s acclaimed programming. The center will officially open to the public on Wednesday, February 4, at 8 a.m., just in time to kick off the 41st annual film festival, which runs from February 4-14.
Speaking at the ceremony, SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling called the completion of the project “something very close to a miracle.”
“For years, having a film center was a dream,” said Durling. “A year ago, it became a necessity, an urgent necessity. With this building, we will no longer be dependent on rentals. We have direct control over our future and our programming.”
The highly anticipated Film Center is named in honor of a transformational leadership gift from longtime community philanthropists Nora McNeely Hurley and Michael Hurley, affectionately known as “The McHurleys.” Their generosity is the cornerstone of the festival’s $25 million capital campaign, which surpassed the halfway mark in December 2025.
“We believe in the people and good works of SBIFF and recognize and applaud its impactful presence in our community,” said Nora McNeely Hurley. “SBIFF’s programming is inspirational, educational, and entertaining for all — through its festivals, at the Riviera Theatre, its education programs, and very soon at the spectacular new Film Center.”
Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse, who also gave remarks at the event, praised the project as “a great shot in the arm for downtown,” noting that it is expected to anchor both the organization’s future and the continued revitalization of State Street.
The renovation, part of the larger capital campaign, was completed just days before the festival is set to welcome thousands of film lovers. The extensive overhaul includes new seats, screens, sound systems, renovated bathrooms, soundproofing, and an ADA-approved entrance.
With its own permanent venue, SBIFF plans to dramatically expand its offerings. Annual programming is projected to grow from roughly 1,000 screenings to more than 6,000, featuring a daily slate of independent, foreign, documentary, and family films. During the upcoming 11-day festival, the McHurley Film Center’s 900 seats will screen a significant portion of the event’s more than 200 films.
Fundraising for the final portion of the project’s $25 million capital campaign is still underway.
Jackie Spafford and Mahil Senathirajah contributed to this report.
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They desperately need some diversity in that photo of the ribbon cutting ceremony
Classic SBIFF crowd. Wealthy, old, white folks. Plenty of LA types. But cmon Oscar was in one of the photos! Oh wait, he’s just getting a political photo op.
As you seem to often be totally ignorant of the history of Santa Barbara, I’ll let you know that film-making is baked in to our community’s DNA and in fact people were making movies in Santa Barbara before they ever did in Los Angeles. First credit in SB was back in 1910.
You should really learn a little bit about our community before you crap on industries that we created.
100+ years ago? So what. Flying A studios. Big deal. I simply think it’s funny how white and wealthy and LA the SBIFF is. That’s all. And I’m not mad. I, like others, just notice these things. Go watch some films if you want.
BASIC – learn to read. No one said you’re mad. We’re all just saying that you are an ignorant and poorly educated person who spends his day here crapping on people who have done absolutely nothing to affect your life (eg, hikers, film buffs, elderly and wealthy locals who have more spine and dignity than you’ve ever had as they stand up for others). You know that’s true so spare us the retort.
Others may notice, but unlike you, they don’t take the time to stop their lives and whine and cry about it online.
Nope, it wasn’t Flying A. You don’t know, that’s okay, I find it hysterical that Mr. Hyper-Local gatekeeper doesn’t even know our history.
The droppy crybaby probably Googled that and thought he/she would sound smart.
BASIC – stop your nonstop crying, FFS. Get a hobby. You don’t give AF about actual problems in this country, you just spend all day here talking shiff about people who aren’t doing anything that remotely affects you.
Lazy crybaby.