Golden Globe and Actor Award winner and Academy Award-nominee Emily Blunt will receive the 19th annual Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence in Film, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) has announced.

The award, named after screen legend Kirk Douglas, benefits the film festival’s year-round educational programs and will be presented Dec. 10 at a black-tie dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara.

“Emily Blunt takes risks most actors wouldn’t dare — moving between drama, comedy, and blockbuster spectacle with the same precision and commitment,” said actor Michael Douglas.

“That range and authenticity are exactly what the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film was created to celebrate. We’re proud to honor her,” he said.

This summer, Blunt earned some of the strongest reviews of her career for her performance in Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi epic “Disclosure Day.” She stars in the film, alongside Josh O’Connor, as Margaret Fairchild, a Kansas City TV meteorologist whose increasingly inexplicable experiences draw her into a sweeping effort to reveal the existence of extraterrestrial life to the world.

In this role, Blunt showcases the full breadth of her remarkable range, moving between humor, fear, confusion, vulnerability and wonder, SBIFF said.

The performance marks another high point in a career defined by Blunt’s extraordinary versatility, according to SBIFF.

She earned her first Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Kitty Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s Oscar Best Picture winner “Oppenheimer,” and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award this past year for her role opposite Dwayne Johnson in Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine.”

“She has moved effortlessly between drama, comedy, action, musicals and thrillers in films such as “A Quiet Place” and “A Quiet Place Part II,” “Sicario, Edge of Tomorrow,” “Into the Woods,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” “Looper” and “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Earlier this year, Blunt reprised her beloved role as Emily Charlton in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” reuniting with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci two decades after the original film became a cultural phenomenon and helped launch her international film career.

Since 2006, the annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film has been awarded to a lifelong contributor to cinema through their work in front of the camera, behind or both.

Past honorees include Cynthia Erivo, Will Ferrell, Ryan Gosling, Michelle Yeoh, Martin Scorsese, Hugh Jackman, Dame Judi Dench, Warren Beatty, Jane Fonda, Jessica Lange, Forest Whitaker, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Quentin Tarantino, Ed Harris, and John Travolta.

The benefit event supports SBIFF’s commitment to education and the community through free educational programs and events.

SBIFF’s programs support more than 18,000 kids, students and families in the 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 high school 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.

SBIFF’s programs are always directed towards the under-represented and under-served communities within Santa Barbara County.

The 42nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place Feb. 3-13.