Ceylon International Film Festival holds opening night at Direct Relief

GOLETA, Calif.-The 3rd Ceylon International Film Festival held its opening night celebration at Direct Relief's headquarters in Goleta.

During the week, screenings start at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The closing night celebration will move to the Lobero Theatre on Saturday.

The festival is free to the public.

Film festival founder Aruni Boteju encouraged people to come out and enjoy it.

"This year we got 275 submissions from 45 countries so these filmmakers are actually from areas that they never get a chance to showcase their movies so this is very inspiring for us to see their work ," said Boteju, "and being able to showcase their work in a beautiful city like Santa Barbara that appreciates art and culture."

The festival includes shorts, features, documentaries, and animation.

Sponsors include Pavilions, Mesa Cafe, and Community West Bank, just to name a few.

For more information visit https://www.ceyiff.com