Santa Barbara Film Festival Winners Include ‘Transmexico’, ‘Andragogy’, More

Claudia Sanchez’s documentary Transmexico took the Audience Choice Award on Saturday at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, which revealed winners in its juried categories as it wraps its 39th edition.

The doc follows three trans women who challenge societal norms while inspiring change against daunting odds.

Other winners include Sophia Sabella and Pablo Feldman’s Edge of Everything, which took the fest’s Spirit Award for Independent Cinema; Nays Baghai’s Driving Into the Darkness as Best Documentary; and Wregas Bhanuteja’s Andragogy from Indonesia as Best International Feature Film.

The fest also bestowed wins on short films A Man’s Man (documentary), Area Boy (live-action) and On the 8th Day (animated), qualifying the pics for the 2025 Oscars.

“We are so grateful to our dedicated group of jurors for their fine selections,” SBIFF programming director Claudia Puig said as part of the awards ceremony, held at a breakfast today at Santa Barbara’s El Encanto hotel. “The winning films tell stories that span the globe, from the magic of movie palaces in the Atacama Desert to the stunning mystery of ice caves in Antarctica to the social hazards of cancel culture in Indonesia. All are riveting tales told with verve and originality. We at SBIFF are thrilled to congratulate this year’s jury award winners.”

See the list of 2024 winners below.

Audience Choice Award

Transmexico
Dir: Claudia Sanchez

Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema

Edge of Everything
Dir: Sophia Sabella and Pablo Feldman

Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award – Best International Feature Film

Andragogy
Dir: Wregas Bhanuteja

Best Documentary Award

Diving Into the Darkness
Dir: Nays Baghai

Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema

The Blue Star (La estrella azul)
Dir: Javier Macipe

Best Nordic Film Award

Before It Ends (Når befrielsen kommer)
Dir: Anders Walter

Social Justice Award for Documentary Film

The Last Daughter
Dir: Brenda Matthews and Nathaniel Schmidt

The ASC Award for Cinematography

The Movie Teller
Dir: Lone Scherfig

ADL Stand Up Award

The Last Daughter
Dir: Brenda Matthews and Nathaniel Schmidt

Best Documentary Short Film Award

A Man’s Man
Dir: Myles Desenberg

Bruce Corwin Award – Best Live-Action Short Film

Area Boy
Dir: Iggy London

Bruce Corwin Award – Best Animated Short Film

On the 8th Day (Au 8ème Jour)
Dir: Agathe Sénéchal, Alicia Massez, Elise Debruyne, Flavie Carin and Théo Duhautois