The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is honored to announce that cinema icon Angelina Jolie will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award at the 40th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Jolie will receive the prestigious award on February 5, 2025. Angelina Jolie’s career as an actress has been marked by versatility and critical acclaim, with significant impact globally. Angelina Jolie’s latest film, “Maria” marks a significant turn in her career, as she portrays the iconic opera singer Maria Callas. Critics have praised Jolie for her transformative performance, particularly her ability to embody Callas’ intensity and grace. Her performance evokes the emotional depth and fragility behind the operatic legend’s public persona.
“Angelina Jolie makes bold choices, both as an actress and as a director. She sets the bar high in both disciplines and always comes through. I look forward to reviewing her career with her in Santa Barbara!” remarked Leonard Maltin.
Angelina Jolie is an Academy Award-winning actress, director, and producer, with film credits including Walt Disney Pictures’ “Maleficent” series, “Salt,” and “Girl, Interrupted.” Jolie directed, produced and co-wrote the critically acclaimed feature “First They Killed My Father” and the upcoming “Without Blood;” additionally, she directed the Oscar-nominated drama “Unbroken.” She is a Tony Award-winning producer on the acclaimed new Broadway musical “The Outsiders.”
With over 20 years working as a humanitarian focusing on work with refugees and human rights, Jolie also champions local leadership in environmental conservation and has funded schools, health and education initiatives globally. Additionally, she is founder of the Maddox Foundation, an integrated development program headquartered in Cambodia, with a focus on conservation, agriculture, education and economic development projects in the area.
She is the founder of Atelier Jolie, a hub for artists, empowering people to participate in creating their own fashion, with a focus on sustainability. Jolie is also co-author of “Know Your Rights and Claim Them,” a guide for youth.
The Modern Master Award was established in 1995. Created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry, it was re-named the Maltin Modern Master Award in 2015 in honor of long-time SBIFF moderator and renowned film critic Leonard Maltin. Past recipients include Academy Award-winning actors Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, and Christopher Plummer, and acclaimed filmmakers including Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, and Peter Jackson.
The 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place live February 4 – February 15, 2025. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes will be held at SBIFF’s Riviera Theatre and its new Film Center, plus the historic Arlington Theatre. Passes for the 2025 Festival are on sale now at sbiff.org.
Last year, the festival had a program of 200+ films from over 48 countries with honorary awards feted on Robert Downey Jr., Bradley Cooper, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright, America Ferrera, Lily Gladstone, Greta Lee, Charles Melton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Andrew Scott, Martin Scorsese, Justine Triet, Billie Eilish, and Ludwig Göransson.
A-list and industry guests will once again ascend to Santa Barbara, making it a must-stop location on the awards circuit, and delivering a record number of films with many World and U.S. premieres. The film lineup and schedule will be announced January 2025.
About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization dedicated to discovering and showcasing the best in independent and international cinema. Over the past 39 years, SBIFF has become one of the top 10 film festivals in the United States – attracting 100,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes and symposiums, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa Barbara community through film.
SBIFF continues its commitment to education and the community throughout many free educational programs and events. SBIFF’s programs support over 18,000 kids, students and families in our local community by introducing film as an art form to young children with programs like AppleBox and Mike’s FieldTrip to the Movies; teaching film analysis to highschool and college students with programs like Rosebud and the Film Studies Program; and teaching the craft of screenwriting and filmmaking with Film Camp and 10-10-10 Mentorship programs. Most importantly SBIFF’s programs are always directed towards the under-represented and under-served communities within Santa Barbara County.
In 2016, SBIFF acquired the historic and beloved Riviera Theatre. After a capital campaign and renovation, the theatre is now SBIFF’s state-of-the-art, year-round home, showing new international and independent films every day. In 2019, SBIFF opened its own Education Center in downtown Santa Barbara on State Street to serve as a home for its many educational programs and a place for creativity and learning.