The Banshees of Inisherin stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson have been tapped to receive the Cinema Vanguard Award at the 38th annual Santa Barbara Film Festival.
The prize recognizes artists — primarily actors — who have forged their own path, taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film. Past recipients include 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, Bérénice Bejo, Nicole Kidman, Peter Sarsgaard, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Kristin Scott Thomas, Stanley Tucci and Ryan Gosling.
Farrell and Gleeson will accept the award on February 16th while appearing for an in-person conversation about their careers. They star in Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin for Searchlight as lifelong friends on the Irish isle of Inisherin who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly decides to end their relationship. They’ve joined McDonagh this awards season in claiming Critics Choice Award and Golden Globe nominations, among other accolades for their work, having come to the project after collaborating with McDonagh on his acclaimed 2008 film, In Bruges.
“Gleeson and Farrell’s individual careers have been exemplary and their collaboration in two McDonagh films show us two actors perfectly in sync – in both pathos and humor,” said SBIFF’s Executive Director, Roger Durling. “They’re a joy to behold and quite a treat for us to get to celebrate them together.”
Farrell is a three-time Golden Globe nominee who has also recently starred in Matt Reeves’ The Batman for Warner Bros., Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives for MGM, the BBC/AMC miniseries The North Water, based on Ian McGuire’s novel of the same name, and Kogonada’s After Yang for A24. Among his upcoming projects is The Batman spin-off series The Penguin, which will have him reprising his role as the Batman villain.
Gleeson is an Emmy winner and two-time nominee, with five Golden Globe nominations under his belt, who has also recently been seen in the second season of Nick Hornby’s Emmy-winning short-form series State of the Union for Sundance TV, as well as Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth for Apple TV+. He’ll soon be seen starring alongside Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips’ anticipated Warner Bros. sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.
This year’s Santa Barbara Film Festival is taking place in-person from February 8-18. Passes and tickets are on sale now at this link.
