Zoe Saldaña will be honored with the American Riviera Award at the 40th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF). Saldaña is set to receive the award on Friday, February 7, 2025 at an in-person conversation about her career, leading up to her acclaimed performance this year as Rita Moro Castro in Netflix’s Emilia Perez. This marked one of her most transformative roles to date, and adds another unique facet to her career.
“Zoe Saldaña has a fantastic filmography worth celebrating any year, but her commanding and stouthearted performance in Emilia Perez makes our tribute to her imperative,” remarked SBIFF’s executive director Roger Durling.
Saldaña’s career spans more than 20 years as an actor and producer. She is the only actor in history to have starred in four films that have grossed over $2 billion and the top three highest grossing films of all time–Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water and Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame.
Most recently, Saldaña led and executive produced the independent film The Absence of Eden, directed by Marco Perego in his feature film debut, and currently stars in Taylor Sheridan’s undercover CIA drama series Lioness for Paramount+, which she also executive produces with her production company Cinestar Pictures. Saldaña can next be seen starring in the Spanish-language musical crime comedy from Jacques Audiard, Emilia Perez, which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and took home the Jury Prize. Saldaña received the festival’s prestigious Best Actress Award alongside the female ensemble and Netflix will release the film in theaters this fall.
From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard comes Emilia Perez, an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Written and directed by Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), the double Cannes-winning film also stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Édgar Ramírez.
The American Riviera Award was established to recognize actors who have made a significant contribution to American cinema. Previous recipients include Mark Ruffalo, Brendan Fraser, Kristen Stewart, Delroy Lindo, Renée Zellweger, Viggo Mortenson, Sam Rockwell, Jeff Bridges, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Robert Redford, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening, Sandra Bullock, Mickey Rourke, Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon and Diane Lane.
The 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place February 4-15, 2025. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes, will be held throughout the city, including at the historic Arlington Theatre. Passes for the 2025 Festival are on sale now.
Last year, the festival had a program of 200+ films from over 48 countries with honorary awards feted on Robert Downey Jr., Bradley Cooper, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright, America Ferrera, Lily Gladstone, Greta Lee, Charles Melton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Andrew Scott, Martin Scorsese, Justine Triet, Billie Eilish, and Ludwig Göransson.
A-list and industry guests will once again ascend to Santa Barbara, making it a must-stop location on the awards circuit, and delivering a record number of films with many World and U.S. premieres. The film lineup and schedule will be announced in January 2025.
