Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce to Receive Cinema Vanguard Award from Santa Barbara International Film Festival for ‘The Brutalist’

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced today that Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award for Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist at the 40th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday, February 13, 2025.

In Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, Brody’s portrayal of Toth highlights an immigrant’s struggle to overcome his war-torn past and rebuild his life in a Post-War America. Pearce, in contrast, delivers a chilling, domineering performance as a wealthy art patron whose vision of American modernity collides with Toth’s. The tension between the two not only drives the narrative but also symbolizes the larger struggle between innovation and tradition.

“Both Adrien and Guy have had lengthy, rewarding and uncompromising careers – and in this year’s The Brutalist – they each give us their best work to date,” remarked SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling.

Adrien Brody won the Academy Award and Cesar Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of real-life Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist, making him, to date, the youngest person to have received the Oscar in that category.

Over the course of his career, Brody has worked with a wide range of prominent filmmakers including Peter Jackson (King Kong), Ken Loach (Bread and Roses), Barry Levinson (Liberty Height), and Spike Lee (Summer of Sam). He is also a frequent collaborator of Wes Anderson, having appeared in five of Anderson’s films (The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City).

Guy Pearce’s career has spanned nearly four decades in film, television, and theatre. Pearce had his international break in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. This paved the way for iconic roles in critically acclaimed films such as L.A. Confidential; Christopher Nolan’s MEMENTO; John Hillcoat’s The Proposition and Lawless; Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and Alien: Covenant; and Oscar winners The Hurt Locker and The King’s Speech, to name a few.

In 2011, Pearce won an Emmy award for his portrayal of Monty Beragon in the Todd Haynes adaption of Mildred Pierce for HBO alongside Kate Winslet. Other television credits include the much-loved Jack Irish, Mare of Easttown, When We Rise, The Innocents, BBC’s A Christmas Carol, and most recently The Clearing with Miranda Otto, and the critically acclaimed A Spy Amongst Friends.

The Cinema Vanguard Award recognizes actors who have forged their own path, taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film. Previous honorees include Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell & Brendan Gleeson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Carey Mulligan, Laura Dern, Michael B. Jordan, William DaFoe, Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Rooney Mara, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, Jean Dujardin, Bernice Bejo, Nicole Kidman, Peter Sarsgaard, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Kristin Scott Thomas, Stanley Tucci and Ryan Gosling.

The 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place live February 4 – February 15, 2025. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes, will be held at SBIFF’s Riviera Theatre and its new Film Center, plus the historic Arlington Theatre.