Academy Award-winners Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman will be honored with the Maltin Modern Master Award at the 37th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
They will receive the award on Thursday, March 10 following an in-person conversation about their careers leading up to this year’s performances as Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos from Amazon Studios, for which they have both received individual Lead Actor SAG Award nominations.
Bardem and Kidman previously won Oscars for No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Hours (2002).
“Nicole Kidman continues to challenge and reinvent herself year after year. Javier Bardem’s talent is a gift to the world,” said Leonard Maltin. “Only in Hollywood could these actors find themselves playing America’s all-time favorite tv couple. It’s cause for celebration.”
In Academy Award®-winning writer and director Aaron Sorkin’s behind-the-scenes drama Being the Ricardos, Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) are threatened by personal accusations, a political smear, and cultural taboos.
The Modern Master Award was established in 1995 and is the highest accolade presented by SBIFF.
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 Bill Murray, Brad Pitt, Glenn Close, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Bruce Dern, Ben Affleck, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, George Clooney and Peter Jackson.
The 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place from March 2 through March 12, 2022.
Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes, will be held throughout the city, including at the historic Arlington Theatre.
This year’s lineup will be announced in February 2022. For additional information or to buy passes, visit sbiff.org.
