Santa Barbara Film Festival Honors Dame Judi Dench

By Joyce Schwarz for Marina Del Rey PATCH, January 22, 2018

Johnny Depp says 'Dame Dench is the love of my his life.'

And once you see her and meet her in person you will totally agree with Depp. This reporter was fortunate enough to be on hand for the major tribute to Dame Dench by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival recently. What a glittering Hollywood style evening it was at the glamorous Ritz Carlton Bacara Hotel in Goleta, California. The event, held at a black-tie gala reception and dinner at the Bacara Resort & Spa, is an annual fete for a lifelong contributor to cinema through work in front of the camera, behind, or both.

The amazing Ritz Carlton Bacara Resort and Spa in Goleta was the site for the Santa Barbara Film Festival tribute to Dame Judi Bench who was received the 12th annual Kirk Douglas award. (see picture of the resort above).

It was an impressive group of VIP's on hand to present Dame Dench the Kirk Douglas Award for excellence in film. Jeff Bridges, Arnie Hammer and "Victoria & Abdul" star Ali Fazal were all on the dais

BEST PARTY SHE'S EVER BEEN AT:

What was so touching was that Dench called the event “the best party I’ve ever been at,” unlike other awards ceremonies where, “when someone else is called, you have to have that face, like you’re fine, but you’re actually livid!” Truly amazing the honesty of that remark.

KIRK DOUGLAS HAS SAME BIRTHDAY:

A pre-filmed video showed Dench visiting with Kirk Douglas at his home. They both share the same birthdays it turn out but Douglas, of course was celebrating his 100th. On screen Douglas admitted he has always had a crush on the Dame.

Bridges who lives in nearby Montecito has never collaborated with Dench, but said he was happy to just hang out with the legend for a few hours. “I’m the only person in Hollywood who hasn’t worked with her, but there’s time,” he quipped. Then he added chidingly, “She didn’t have a true starring role until ‘Mrs. Brown’ in 1997. Shame on Hollywood; she was right there!”

VICTORIA AND ABDUL FILM

Dench received the Kirk Douglas Award at the 12th Annual Kirk Douglas Award celebration for her excellence in film in “Victoria & Abdul.” Throughout her career, Judi Dench has received many accolades from BAFTA, Academy Awards, Golden Globes and many more.

It was an honor to meet Dame Dench and I got a moment to not only get my picture taken with her but to tell her about my vision of creating more films by and for women over age 50. She smiled and said to keep her posted and she applauded me for the effort. How charming and encouraging that time was.

Funds raised from the Gala event will support the many educational and community programs hosted by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival including special family and children's programs and events. The evening was a wonderful preview for the 33rd annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival which will take place from Wednesday, January 31 through Saturday, February 10, 2018. Hope you enjoy reading about the wonderful evening as much as I enjoyed attending and writing about it for YOU!