Actress and director Angelina Jolie’s many iconic movie roles were chronicled Wednesday night in Santa Barbara as she was honored by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Jolie was on hand at the Arlington Theatre to accept the Maltin Modern Master Award and sit down for an interview about her career.
Movie critic and historian Leonard Maltin took Jolie back through her career, with clips from films ranging from “Changeling,” “Girl, Interrupted,” and “Tomb Raider,” along with her latest movie, “Maria.”
The latter film details the life story of opera singer Maria Callas.
During the interview, Jolie shared the process of making the movie and described preparing for the role.
She said she had always wanted to work with Pablo Larraín, the director of the film. When he called her to discuss the movie, Jolie said she took a couple of days to decide and consider the role.
She accepted after watching interviews with Callas and learning more about her.
“What I saw was a person who was really holding herself under a lot of stress, and a very articulate, thoughtful woman who was a really complex artist,” Jolie said.
Jolie added that the movie was another chance to tell the story of a person who felt very alone and abandoned at the end of her life.
In preparing for the role, Jolie also had to learn how to sing opera. When she accepted the movie, she did not tell the director that she had never sung before.
“It’s such an amazing gift to say, ‘We’re going to help you. You’re going to meet nice people who are gonna help you learn to do something you’ve never done before.’ That’s the extraordinary thing about being an actor,” Jolie said.
At the end of the interview, Jolie was presented with the Maltin Modern Master Award by writer and director Ava DuVernay.
DuVernay called Jolie a woman she deeply respects, and praised her for her risks and ability to reinvent herself.
“She’s never settled for the unexpected. She’s always searched for the truth beneath the surface, the unspoken emotion, the quiet strength in the midst of struggle,” DuVernay said.
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival began on Feb. 4 and will continue until Feb. 15. To see the full list of panels and movies, visit sbiff.org.
