REEL-LIFE ADVENTURES AT SANTA BARBARA FEST.

Byline: Amy Dawes Daily News Film Writer

The 12th annual Santa Barbara Film Festival kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, with a gala opening night reception at the historic Arlington Theater and a screening of the romantic comedy ``Rosanna's Grave,'' featuring Mercedes Ruehl and Jean Reno, who are expected to attend.

The festival expands this year to 11 days (through March 16), and will present more than 120 feature films, documentaries and shorts, including 14 world premieres, four North American premieres and six U.S. premieres.

Among the highlights will be a tribute Friday to actress Barbara Hershey, who won the L.A. Film Critics Award for best supporting actress in ``Portrait of a Lady.'' Hershey will answer questions after a screening of the movie ``A World Apart.''

Evenings with the stars continue throughout the festival. On Saturday the tribute is to actor James Woods with a screening of ``Salvador.''

At 1 p.m. Saturday, cinematographer Haskell Wexler will be feted with a screening of ``Matewan.''

On Sunday, Debbie Reynolds will be present for a salute including a screening of the Albert Brooks comedy ``Mother.''

On March 12, actor Gabriel Byrne will be feted with a screening of ``Miller's Crossing.''

On March 13, the festival honors actor and filmmaker Rob Lowe with a screening of the short film ``American Influence,'' which he wrote and directed, followed by a screening of suspense thriller ``Bad Influence,'' in which he stars with James Spader.

On March 15, Dennis Hopper is the guest for a screening of the outrageous comedy ``The Last Days of Frankie the Fly,'' in which he stars with Kiefer Sutherland, Darryl Hannah and Michael Madsen.

Seminar highlights include a screenwriting session at 11 a.m. Sunday that will feature Oscar-nominated writer-directors Anthony Minghella (``The English Patient'') and Billy Bob Thornton (``Sling Blade''). Also present will be Ellen Simon (``One Fine Day'') and Paul Brickman (``Risky Business''). Moderator is Laura Ziskin, president of Fox 2000.

A seminar on low-budget filmmaking, ``How to Put Together Feature Films for Under $500,000,'' will take place at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, to be moderated by producer Harris Tulchin.

A seminar called ``Music in Film: Creative and Practical Considerations,'' will take place at 2 p.m. March 15 and will be moderated by music supervisor Bud Carr (``The Doors,'' ``Natural Born Killers'' ``Twister'').

The closing-night film, Australian romantic comedy ``Love and Other Catastrophes,'' will be presented at 5 p.m. March 16 at the Fiesta Theater.

Approximately 30,000 admissions are expected, according to festival organizers, and events and screenings often sell out in advance.

For further information, please call the Santa Barbara Film Festival Office, [phone]. Tickets are available at the Arlington Theater, Santa Barbara, 1317 State St., or by phone through Ticketmaster at [phone].

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Photo

Photo: Festivities include a salute Sunday to actress Debbie Reynolds, co-starring with Albert Brooks in ``Mother.''