Angelina Jolie to Be Honored With the Maltin Modern Master Award at the 2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival
by Jack Dunn · VarietyThe Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor Angelina Jolie with the Maltin Modern Master Award at its 40th annual edition on February 5, 2025.
Established in 1995, the Modern Master Award was created to honor filmmakers who have changed the movie industry through significant contributions and impact. The award was renamed the Maltin Modern Master Award in 2015 to honor long-time SBIFF moderator and film critic Leonard Maltin.
“Angelina Jolie makes bold choices, both as an actress and as a director,” Maltin said. “She sets the bar high in both disciplines and always comes through. I look forward to reviewing her career with her in Santa Barbara!”
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Jolie joins a list of past recipients which includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood and Peter Jackson.
Jolie’s lengthy list of credits includes films like “Maleficent,” “Girl, Interrupted,” “Challenging” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” Her latest performance in Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria” was praised by Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman as “imperious, mysterious, fusing the life force of a genius diva with the downbeat emotional fire of a femme fatale. Jolie, for the first time in years, reminds you that she can be a deadly serious actor of commanding subtlety and power.”
The 40th annual SBIFF runs from Feb. 4-15, 2025. Festival events like screenings, filmmaker Q&As, celebrity tributes and industry panels will take place between the Rivera Theatre, the SBIFF Film Center and the Arlington Theatre.
Passes for SBIFF 2025 can be found on the organization’s website.