When The Dragon Swallowed The Sun got accepted into the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2010. Now in its 25th year, The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching local culture and raising consciousness of film as an art form. It presents quality American Independent, Spanish and Latin American, European, World and Documentary cinema within the beautiful setting of downtown Santa Barbara, a perfect backdrop and premier tourist destination in its own right.
After a nomination in 8 categories, When The Dragon Swallowed The Sun receives the Maverick Movie Award for Best Chronicle (Dirk Simon), Best Cinematography (Jeff Pointer, Robert Muratore) and Best Original Score (Philip Glass, Thom Yorke, Damien Rice).