It's not Cannes or Sundance. But over the past two decades the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has established itself as one of America's leading movie fests. The 2009 event, which ran from January 22 to February 1, drew some 70,000 people and featured over 200 screenings — including sessions devoted to nature, extreme sports, and Latin American and Eastern European cinema — along with an impressive line-up of tributes, award shows, and panels with industry insiders. But the big story, as always, revolved around the celebrities, the beautiful people who came to town and, for a few days, transformed the place into the epicenter of the entertainment world.... View photos>>