Three of the biggest names in the awards season conversation — Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro — from Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, surely the most acclaimed film of the year — are coming to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 9.
These icons of cinema will collectively be honored with the prestigious Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award, which was recently renamed after longtime friends and collaborators of SBIFF, Pete and Madelyn Hammond. Their memorable roles as Bob (DiCaprio), Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Penn), and Sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Del Toro) helped catapult the film to the forefront of the awards season as the most nominated Golden Globes contender, earning a staggering nine nominations, including individual nominations for DiCaprio, Penn and Del Toro, and an impressive 14 Critics Choice Awards nominations. One Battle After Another has also been named Best Picture of the Year by The Gotham Awards, The National Board of Review, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle.
The film follows a washed-up revolutionary, Bob (DiCaprio), who exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off the grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti, who will be part of SBIFF’s Virtuosos Awards at the Arlington the night before, February 8). When Bob’s evil nemesis (Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as father and daughter battle the consequences of his past.
“This is by far the most exciting tribute in SBIFF history. These three artists individually have regaled us with exemplary and unforgettable performances, and together, they have made one of the best films, One Battle After Another. Let’s rejoice,” said SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling.
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio at the 29th Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Photo: Paul Wellman
When I asked him how SBIFF was able to bring this über-VIP group of artists to town when they are so in demand right now, Durling shared, “Every year, I feel like we need to raise the bar, to keep things exciting. This year, I knew that One Battle After Another was going to be one of the most talked-about films — and it needed to be represented in the festival.
“Leo was the obvious choice, but he’d been feted by us before. I didn’t mind that, but I kept thinking how to make it special, and then thought about adding Sean Penn into the mix. Then Leo’s people asked me what I thought about adding the ‘Sensei’ himself — Benicio Del Toro — and it took me five seconds to say yes!” said Durling.
“It all happened rather quickly and organically. This is by far the most exciting event we’ve ever put together. It’s three giants of cinema sharing the stage at the Arlington. We’re very proud of this one. My head is exploding,” he laughed.
The actors’ credits are indeed impressive.
DiCaprio — who received SBIFF’s Cinema Vanguard Award in 2014 alongside director Martin Scorsese, for their work on The Wolf of Wall Street — is an Academy Award–winning actor, producer, and activist whose career spans more than three decades. He has received seven Academy Award nominations, six BAFTA nominations, 13 Screen Actors Guild nominations, and 15 Golden Globe nominations, winning the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA for Best Actor for his performance in Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu’s The Revenant. DiCaprio has earned critical acclaim for roles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Inception, The Great Gatsby, and Django Unchained, as well as through his long-standing collaboration with director Martin Scorsese on films including The Aviator, The Departed, Gangs of New York, Shutter Island, and Killers of the Flower Moon.
Penn is an Academy Award–winning actor, filmmaker, and author whose career spans more than four decades. As an actor, he has received five Academy Award nominations, winning Best Actor for Mystic River and Milk. Over the course of his career, he has been honored by the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice film festivals, as well as the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and major critics’ groups. His extensive filmography includes Dead Man Walking, Sweet and Lowdown, I Am Sam, 21 Grams, The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life, Carlito’s Way, The Game, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He received the Modern Master Award during the 17th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Del Toro is an Academy Award–winning actor celebrated for a body of work defined by range, intensity, and critical acclaim. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic and received an additional Academy Award nomination for Iñárritu’s 21 Grams. His portrayal of Che Guevara in Soderbergh’s Che won him the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival and Spain’s Goya Award. Del Toro’s extensive filmography includes The Usual Suspects, Basquiat, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Sicario and Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Inherent Vice, Snatch, Sin City, Things We Lost in the Fire, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as well as television work such as Escape at Dannemora, which earned him an Emmy nomination. Recent projects include Netflix’s Reptile, which he also executive produced, Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move, and Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme.
The Cinema Vanguard Award (now the Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award) has previously honored an illustrious group of actors who have forged their own paths, taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film. The honorees include: Adrian Brody & Guy Pearce, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell & Brendan Gleeson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Carey Mulligan, Laura Dern, Michael B. Jordan, Willem Dafoe, Casey Affleck & Michelle Williams, Rooney Mara, Eddie Redmayne & Felicity Jones, Martin Scorsese & Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, Jean Dujardin & Berenice Bejo, Nicole Kidman, Peter Sarsgaard, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Kristin Scott Thomas, Stanley Tucci, and Ryan Gosling.
The 41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place February 4-14. Official events, including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes, will be held throughout the city, including at the historic Arlington Theatre and at the soon-to-be-completed SBIFF Film Center. Passes for the 2026 Festival are on sale now at sbiff.org. Recently announced tributes include Michael B. Jordan for the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award, Adam Sandler for the Maltin Modern Master Award, Stellan Skarsgård for the Montecito Award, and the Virtuosos Award, which will honor Jacob Elordi, Chase Infiniti, Amy Madigan, Wagner Moura, Renate Reinsve, Sydney Sweeney, Teyana Taylor, and Jeremy Allen White. More will be announced in the coming weeks.
