The Santa Barbara International Film Festival kicks off on Wednesday.
The 37th edition of the festival will begin with the United States premiere of "Phantom of the Open" starring Academy Award-winning actor Mark Rylance.
The festival will feature nearly 50 world premieres and almost 100 U.S. premieres from 54 different countries.
The film fest will also include panels and award presentations featuring many of the year's most decorated directors and performers.
"I'm so excited to have the red carpets back. We didn't have it last year, we just kind of had some movies in the drive-in theater format," said Lena Childers, Volunteer Manager at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. "it's going to be really exciting, just nice to have everything coming back to normal."
Masks and proof of vaccination will be required to enter theaters.
The event will also present free screenings of many Oscar-nominated films including "Power of the Dog," "Belfast," and "King Richard."
Admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis for those screenings.
