Costner’s “McFarland, USA” Closes Out Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The 30th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival rolled out the red carpet for the last time this year.

The festival closed Saturday night with the sold-out U.S. premiere of “McFarland, USA”-starring Kevin Costner.

Costner and his wife, Christine, didn’t have to travel far to attend the premiere at the Arlington Theatre.

He lives in Santa Barbara and has deep roots in the community, having grown up in Ojai, Santa Paula and Ventura.

The two-time Academy Award-winning actor also had a deep connection to the film which is based on the true story of a 1987 cross-country team from a predominantly Latino high school- in McFarland, in California’s Central Valley. The film opens nationwide on Feb. 20.

Costner plays Jim White, the coach who ultimately leads to team to win championships.

“I lived up in Visalia. I actually played McFarland in high school. We drive on our freeways, on our highways, and especially in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard, and Camarillo. We see people out in those fields. We see it every day,” Costner said.

The actors who portrayed the runners have never starred in a feature film before.

“We searched for a couple of years for those boys. Even though we searched far and wide, We found three of them in McFarland itself,” director Niki Caro said.

The actors said Costner took them under his wing.

“This is my first thing ever in acting. He told me, ‘Hey, you see that lens right there? If its shiny, you’re on it. Your mother wants to see you on that big screen.’ He taught you, but in a way that you are going to remember,” actor Sergio Avelar said.

“I reminded them this was a job and they came every day with a smile. They looked at all the people, the trailers the food. And of course, it’s fun and I wanted them to have that,” Costner said.