Santa Barbara International Film Festival announces Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce as winners of the Cinema Vanguard Award
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced Tuesday that Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award during the 40th iteration of the event.
Both actors will receive their award on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, during the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival which will run from Feb. 4 through Feb. 15.
The Cinema Vanguard Award recognizes actors who have created their own path in the film industry by taking artistic risks and making unique contributions to film.
Passes for the Vanguard Award event can be purchased here.
Brody and Pearce star in The Brutalist, a portrayal of an immigrant's struggle to overcome his war-torn past while navigating Post-War America and Americans with a different vision of the future of the free world.
"Both Adrien and Guy have had lengthy, rewarding and uncompromising careers - and in this year’s THE BRUTALIST - they each give us their best work to date," said Executive Director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Roger Durling.
Brody won an Academy Award and a Cesar Award for Best Actor for his role as real-life Holocaust survivor Wladislaw Szpilman in The Pianist, the youngest person to receive an Oscar in that category shared the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Prominent directors have sought Brody's skill for their projects including Peter Jackson in King Kong, Ken Loach in Bread and Roses, Barry Levinson in Liberty Heights, and Spike Lee in Summer of Sam.
Brody has frequently worked alongside distinctive director Wes Anderson in five of his films: The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City.
Pearce has a career of over 40 years in film, television, and theatre. He has had notable roles in many films including his international debut in The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, LA Confidential, Christopher Nolan's Memento, John Hillcoat's The Proposition and Lawless, Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Alien Covenant, as well as the Oscar-winning films The Hurt Locker and The King's Speech.
Pearce received an Emmy Award in 2011 for his portrayal of Monty Beragon in Todd Haynes' adaptation of Mildred Pierce for HBO and has also been credited in the following television projects: Jack Irish, Mare of Easttown, When We Rise, The Innocents, BBC's A Christmas Carol, The Clearing and A Spy Amongst Friends.
Previous Cinema Vanguard awardees include: Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell & Brendan Gleeson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Carey Mulligan, Laura Dern, Michael B. Jordan, William DaFoe, Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Rooney Mara, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, Jean Dujardin, Bernice Bejo, Nicole Kidman, Peter Sarsgaard, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Kristin Scott Thomas, Stanley Tucci, and Ryan Gosling.
