‘TENOR,’ ‘TOITŪ’ and ‘Invisible Dragons’ Head to Santa Barbara
Three films from DEGANZ members are featuring at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) next month. SBIFF is running from 4-14 February, marking the 41st iteration of the festival, discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema.
Rebecca Tansley‘s TENOR: My Name is Pati is celebrating its world premiere at SBIFF. The film traces the incredible journey of celebrated opera singers and brothers Pene and Amitai Pati. By weaving intimate family archival footage with behind-the-scenes observations and soaring performances, the film blends humour and heart to reveal the power of family, cultural pride, and determination when chasing dreams.
Rebecca comments on the selection in a NZFC press release, saying,
Our TENOR: My Name Is Pati āiga feels deeply uplifted to have the film welcomed into this festival. There’s something fitting about a World Premiere on the edge of the Pacific, in a place that played such a key role in Pene and Amitai’s early careers, before the film travels homeward to Sāmoa and Aotearoa shortly after,
Joining TENOR at SBIFF is another documentary feature, TOITŪ Visual Sovereignty, edited by Cushla Dillon, Brendon Chan, and Huhana Ruri-Panapa. It offers unprecedented insight into the curation of the Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art exhibition, revealing the struggle for Māori artistic sovereignty within the structures of Aotearoa New Zealand’s cultural institutions.
The drama short Invisible Dragons, written and directed by Victoria Boult and edited by Jack Woon, will also be screening. When a determined young woman confronts her estranged, conspiracy-obsessed father, she must face the chilling question: what if he’s not entirely wrong?
Last updated on 29 January 2026
