The term ‘virtuoso’ evokes a sense of mastery in one’s craft, and 2024’s eight recipients of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Virtuoso Award more than certainly deserve recognition for their work over the past year. Honoring multiple “up-and-coming” actors for achieving a breakthrough performance, this year SBIFF chose to award Danielle Brooks (THE COLOR PURPLE), Colman Domingo (RUSTIN & THE COLOR PURPLE), America Ferrera (BARBIE), Lily Gladstone (THE KILLERS OF FLOWER MOON), Greta Lee (PAST LIVES), Charles Melton (MAY DECEMBER), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (THE HOLDOVERS), and Andrew Scott (ALL OF US STRANGERS). While they may be deemed “up and coming”, half of the actors honored — Domingo, Ferrera, Gladstone, and Randolph — are now Oscar nominees.

WHAT MAKES THE VIRTUOSO AWARDS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER TRIBUTES

Where other celebrity tributes at SBIFF feel like intimate one-on-ones, the Virtuoso are more akin to actor speed-dating. The evening’s spectacularly charismatic moderator, TCM host and author Dave Karger, spoke to each actor (Brooks and Domingo were both unfortunately absent due to scheduling conflicts) about their performance in the film they’re honored for. At the end of the evening, he brought everyone out for a less formal panel conversation. The variety kept the tribute from dragging and the breadth of talent left little doubt why SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling told Temple of Geek that this event was his favorite of the festival.

WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH SBIFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ROGER DURLING

VIRTUOSOS REFLECT MOVE TOWARD INCLUSION IN HOLLYWOOD

Given the caliber of the talent, it wasn’t until Karger made a point to mention it that most of the audience realized that no straight white men were chosen as this year’s Virtuosos. The diversity of actors celebrated and the movies they were in signal to a seemingly glacial shift taking place in Hollywood with regards to inclusion.

In that spirit of inclusion, the evening opened with a surprise performance by of the Oscar-nominated song “Wahzahze” (A Song for My People) from KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by Scott George and the Osage Tribal Singers. It was an invigorating and powerful way to open the event.

WATCH THE PERFORMANCE OF “Wahzahze” (A Song for My People)

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Each of the six actors present spoke to the importance of variety and authenticity of the stories they brought to life. Lily Gladstone, the first Native American woman nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award, underscored how much the nod meant not only to her, but to the American indigenous community, “A win for one of us means a win for all of us.” Osage tribe member George is also the first Native American to receive an Oscar nomination in his respective category of Best Music (Original Song). While Gladstone pointed out much more must be done to properly represent indigenous peoples on screen, she shared “I’m so grateful to share this historical nomination with Scott George.”

HONOREES CHAMPION COMRADERIE OVER COMPETITION

One of the most refreshing and novel elements of the Virtuoso Awards was that everyone on stage received a trophy. Where the Academy Awards are notorious for inspiring betting pools and social media rants over wins and snubs, the atmosphere in the Arlington Theatre was joyous as opposed to fraught. Melton expressed a desire to work with all of his fellow honorees, and likened the bonds created on this awards season circuit to a team.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars this year for her performance in THE HOLDOVERS, told Temple of Geek on the red carpet that she was “so grateful” to be honored alongside this group of artists. Randolph continued, “It’s such an exciting, beautiful time. I think especially coming off the strike, there’s a buzz, there’s an energy, and I just feel so grateful to be a part of it.”

WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH OSCAR NOMINEE DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH

SANTA BARBARA RESIDENT JANE LYNCH PRESENTS AWARDS

Karger did an expert job hosting the evening. He balanced delving deep into each actor’s performance with keeping the event moving. Even so, he received help from “Only Murders in the Building” star and Santa Barbara local Jane Lynch when it came time to give the Virtuosos their hardware. When speaking with Temple of Geek, Lynch called the festival “a big time for us [locals]” and called her inclusion in the revelry “a preposterous reality that I’m living in, so I’m really happy.”

WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH ACTOR/PRESENTER JANE LYNCH

Even though many of the honoree’s films deal with heavy subject matters, if not are all out tear-jerkers, the tribute ended on an upbeat, festive note. Karger asked each of the six in-person Virtuosos for movie recommendations and for music they listened to when bringing their characters to life. Andrew Scott brought down the house with laughter when made a joke about Greta Lee’s awkward response to meeting Jennifer Lopez. The sold out audience left with grins on their faces.