The Santa Barbara Film Festival's Cinema Vanguard Award was created in recognition of actors who have forged their own path, taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film. It's makes for as subjective a reading as anything, I suppose, but this year's honorees are a fair enough choice: “The Theory of Everything” stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.
“These two actors continue to impress,” SBIFF Roger Durling said. “Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones's performances together in 'The Theory of Everything' are nothing short of an astonishing collaboration, recalling the alchemy of Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker in 'My Left Foot.'”
The accolade will be awarded during a tribute presentation on Thursday, Jan. 29.
Previous Cinema Vanguard honorees include Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, Nicole Kidman, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Stanley Tucci, Peter Sarsgaard, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Ryan Gosling.
The 30th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival runs Jan. 27 – Feb. 7, 2015.