Two-time Academy Award-nominated actor Andrew Garfield will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award, Feb. 6 at the 42nd annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF).
Garfield will join film critic Leonard Maltin for an on-stage conversation about his acclaimed career and wide-ranging body of work.
The honor comes on the heels of Garfield’s latest performance in Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” the story of OpenAI and a two decade artificial intelligence arms race.
The film follows a computer scientist and AI pioneer Professor Geoffrey Hinton who makes a breakthrough he is certain will alter humanity forever. Sam Altman, Elon Musk and the most prominent figures in Silicon Valley race to become part of their vision.
As the technology becomes more powerful and more valuable than anyone ever imagined, a battle wages over who should control the tech that could change the fate of humanity.
The film recently premiered at the New York Film Festival to critical acclaim and will be released theatrically by NEON on Christmas Day.
“Andrew Garfield has long since proven himself to critics and audiences alike. It’s no simple matter to balance a career between mainstream Hollywood movies and challenging director-driven projects, but he has done exactly that and done it well,” said Maltin.
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 film critic Leonard Maltin.
A two-time Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe and Tony Award winner, Garfieldhas established himself as one of the most versatile actors of his generation, moving between intimate character-driven dramas, major studio films and acclaimed stage productions, according to SBIFF.
He earned his first Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of World War II medic Desmond Doss in Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge,” and his second for his performance as composer Jonathan Larson in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “TICK, TICK … BOOM!, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
He received a Golden Globe nomination for his breakout performance in David Fincher’s “The Social Network.”
Garfield’s extensive filmography includes Martin Scorsese’s “Silence;” Ramin Bahrani’s “99 Homes;” Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go;” John Crowley’s “We Live in Time,” opposite Florence Pugh; and Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt,” opposite Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri.
He also brought Peter Parker to the screen in “The Amazing Spider-Man” films, and reprised the role in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
The 42nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place Feb. 3-13. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes will be held throughout the city, including at the Arlington Theatre and the recently opened SBIFF Film Center.
Passes for the 2027 Festival are on sale at sbiff.org.