Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce to receive Cinema Vanguard Award honors at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce are the latest awards contenders to receive honors at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
On Tuesday, festival organizers revealed “The Brutalist” co-stars will be given the Cinema Vanguard Award at the 40th annual SBIFF next year.
“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,” remarked SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling.
Set for release in December, “The Brutalist” is Brady Corbet’s American epic about post-war American life in the 1940s as seen through the eyes of a Hungarian immigrant, played by Brody. Pearce plays a mid-Atlantic titan of industry who hires Brody’s Lazlo Toth, an architect of great renown, to help him with a new project.
Brody is the youngest Best Actor winner ever, having won the award for “The Pianist” in 2002. He’s widely expected to receive his second Best Actor nomination for “The Brutalist,” with many predicting he might win again.
Pearce has never been nominated before at the Academy Awards despite an exemplary career. He is expected to receive his first-ever nomination for the film in the Best Supporting Actor category.
Brody and Pearce’s co-star Felicity Jones is also predicted to land among this year’s acting nominees.
In a release, Santa Barbara International Film Festival organizers described the Cinema Vanguard Award as an honor that “recognizes actors who have forged their own path, taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film.” Previous honorees 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.
Brody and Pearce will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award on February 13, 2025.