The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced today that actor Ryan Gosling would be the first honored with a new award: the Independent Award. Gosling, star of films like The Notebook, Half Nelson, and most recently Lars and the Real Girl is scheduled to accept the award on January 29. “He’s the best actor of his generation and has made a name for himself in independent features,” said festival director Roger Durling of the festival’s reasoning for choosing Gosling. “He’s a young maverick and embodies young independent cinema.”
The Independent Award is in no way affiliated with the Santa Barbara Independent.