Santa Barbara Film Festival Honorees: Jeffrey Wright To Receive 2024 Montecito Award

Patrick Hipes
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

UPDATED with latest: Jeffrey Wright has been set to receive the Montecito Award at the 39th Santa Barbara Film Festival, which unspools February 7-17.

Wright, who has been getting award-season accolated for his starring role in American Fiction, will be honored in a ceremony February 15 featuring a panel conversation about his career.

More from Deadline

Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios’ American Fiction, which won the People’s Choice Award after its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, hit theaters over the weekend in Los Angeles, New York and Austin and will continue to expand.

Wright has received Gotham, Spirit, Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations for playing the film’s lead Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. The Tony- and Emmy-winning actor was busy in 2023 and can currently be seen in Rustin and Asteroid City.

Previous recipients of the Montecito Award include Angela Bassett, Penélope Cruz, Amanda Seyfried, Lupita Nyong’o, Melissa McCarthy, Saoirse Ronan, Isabelle Huppert, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Daniel Day-Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts and Javier Bardem.

PREVIOUSLY, December 5: The Santa Barbara Film Festival on Tuesday rounded out the list of recipients for its Virtuosos Award, its annual honor recognizing noteworthy performances in films this season. It marks the latest awards announcement from SBIFF, which has become a must-stop on the movie circuit in the run-up to the Oscars.

Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Colman Domingo (The Color Purple and Rustin), America Ferrera (Barbie) and Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers) were added today to the Virtuosos list, joining the previously announced Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers), Greta Lee (Past Lives) and Charles Melton (May December).

All are slated to attend a ceremony set for February 10, 2024 and will discuss their work with Turner Classic Movies host and moderator Dave Karger.

The 39th annual Santa Barbara Film Festival, which runs February 7-17, has been rolling out its list of honorees. Already, it has tapped Bradley Cooper to receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award, and Ryan Gosling to receive the Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film.

More honorees will be announced soon.

In 2023, SBIFF celebrated awards contenders including eventual Oscar winners Jamie Lee Curtis, The Daniels, Brendan Fraser, Key Huy Quan and Cate Blanchett along with the likes of Angela Bassett, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Austin Butler, Kerry Condon, Stephanie Hsu, Jeremy Pope, Jermey Strong, Danielle Deadwyler and Nina Hoss.

Here’s the full list of 2024 SBIFF honorees so far:

Outstanding Performer of the Year Award: Bradley Cooper
Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film: Ryan Gosling
Virtuosos Award: Lily Gladstone, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Greta Lee, Charles Melton, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, America Ferrera, Andrew Scott

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.