Read more from our SBIFF 2026 cover story here.
For all of its many, many charms, rolling out the red carpet for big-name celebrity tributes at the Arlington Theatre is a critical part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s special sauce, made not-so-secret to the wider world thanks to the lavish national — and international — coverage of the movie stars the festival fetes.
This year’s tribute roster represents many of the finest (and many Oscar-nominated) films of the year, once again, as well as some of the hottest names in show business.
The Virtuosos Award panel alone is enough to give any casting director heart palpitations. The Super Bowl of tributes will honor Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
(Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent),
Sydney Sweeney (Christy), and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) on February 8. Once again, the evening will be moderated by the affable Dave Karger (host of Turner Classic Movies), who always does a terrific job of keeping the evening lively, memorable, and on track — not an easy feat, although he makes it look that way!
Receiving the Maltin Modern Master Award on February 5 is Adam Sandler, whose most recent role was in one of my personal favorite films of the year, Jay Kelly, where he co-starred as George Clooney’s loyal manager, showing off an ability to play a sensitive, likeable, real guy with the same impressive chops he brings to his more over-the-top comedic roles.
As Maltin, the renowned film critic who will moderate the evening now named in his honor, said of Sandler: “Adam Sandler won me over when he sang ‘The Chanukah Song’ on SNL, then amassed a huge following in tailor-made movies like The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer. I love that he’s left his comfort zone and delivered potent performances in Uncut Gems and Jay Kelly. I can’t wait to share the stage with him in Santa Barbara.”
A late addition to the lineup, Ethan Hawke will receive the American Riviera Award on February 6. He’s had a successful 40-year career of acclaimed performances in films such as Training Day, Boyhood, Reality Bites, and First Reformed, as well as the celebrated Before trilogy (Before Sunrise and its sequels Before Sunset and Before Midnight), but it’s his role as lyricist Lorenz Hart in 2025’s Blue Moon that has earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film is excellent, and Hawke is unrecognizable. The SBIFF conversation will be moderated by TCM’s Dave Karger and will celebrate Hawke’s entire career — from young heartthrob to one of our greatest character actors.
The stellar trio of actors from Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another — Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro — helped catapult the film to 13 Oscar nominations, including acting nods for all three gentlemen, who will share the Arlington stage on February 9 when they are honored with the prestigious Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award.
This is, to put it simply as SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling did, “by far the most exciting tribute in SBIFF history. These three artists individually have regaled us with exemplary and unforgettable performances, and together, they have made one of the best films, One Battle After Another. Let’s rejoice.”
Indeed, when I asked him how SBIFF was able to bring this über-VIP group of artists to town when they are so in demand right now, Durling shared, “Every year, I feel like we need to raise the bar, to keep things exciting. This year, I knew that One Battle After Another was going to be one of the most talked-about films — and it needed to be represented in the festival.
“Leo was the obvious choice, but he’d been feted by us before. I didn’t mind that, but I kept thinking how to make it special, and then thought about adding Sean Penn into the mix. Then, Leo’s people asked me what I thought about adding the ‘Sensei’ himself — Benicio del Toro — and it took me five seconds to say yes!” said Durling.
Oscar-nominated for his role as Gustav Borg, a once-celebrated but now reclusive film director hoping to reunite with his estranged daughters while trying to reclaim his lost fame in Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, Stellan Skarsgård will receive the prestigious Montecito Award on February 11.
Skarsgård began acting professionally in Sweden in the 1960s, gaining early fame at the age of 17 and quickly becoming a prominent figure in Swedish theater and film throughout the 1970s and ’80s. His breakthrough on the international stage came in the 1990s with critically acclaimed performances in films such as The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Breaking the Waves.
Then his Hollywood career took off with his roles in Good Will Hunting (1997) and Amistad (1997), paving the way for major franchises such as the Pirates of the Caribbean series and in the Thor and Avengers films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He was already a star, but Michael B. Jordan’s acclaimed dual performance as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in the cultural and box office juggernaut Sinners (his fifth collaboration with director Ryan Coogler) brings him up to an even impossibly higher level in the stratosphere. Despite being released in the spring (Academy voters typically have short memories), Sinners not only grossed more than $366 million worldwide, but it also earned a record 16 Oscar nominations — including a Best Actor nod for Jordan.
Jordan — who longtime SBIFF-goers may remember onstage at the Arlington receiving Virtuoso honors for his first starring feature role in Fruitvale Station (also Coogler’s directorial debut) in 2014, and again in 2019 to receive the what’s now called the Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award — will receive SBIFF’s Outstanding Performer of the Year Award on February 12. After more than a decade of memorable roles in films, including Creed (three films, including his own directorial debut in Creed III), Black Panther, Fantastic Four (2015), and Just Mercy, he’s a well-deserving recipient of this year’s award, which honors an actor whose role (or, in this case, roles) in a film has exceeded greatness.
Speaking of greatness, Kate Hudson will be in town on February 13 to accept the Arlington Artist of the Year Award for her amazing, and Oscar-nominated, performance in Song Sung Blue, a moving film in which she stars alongside Hugh Jackman as a part of a real-life couple who found love and salvation performing as a Neil Diamond tribute band.
Hudson, who earned an Academy Award nomination for her breakout performance in Almost Famous, is also known for starring roles in romantic comedies including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Bride Wars. She took on what is definitely one of the most challenging and nuanced performances of her storied career with her portrayal of a real person, Claire Sardina, in Craig Brewer’s Song Sung Blue.
“We were ecstatic to see Ms. Hudson in a role worthy of her talents in Song Sung Blue. It’s a career-redefining performance, and she knocks it out of the park,” said Durling.
The SBIFF team also knocked it out of the park this year, with the announcement of the Outstanding Directors of the Year Award still to come as of press time.
This year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival takes place February 4-14. For the complete schedule and the latest updated information, see sbiff.org.
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