‘The Brutalist’ Stars Adrien Brody & Guy Pearce Receiving SBIFF’s Cinema Vanguard Award

EXCLUSIVE: The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is lauding The Brutalist stars, Oscar winner Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce, with the Cinema Vanguard Award at the 40th annual event on Feb. 13, 2025.

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.

Directed by Brady Corbet with a scheduled release from A24 on Dec. 20, The Brutalist follows an immigrant architect (Brody) who makes waves in Post WWII America, working for fierce industrialist (Pearce). They plan to erect the a mesmerizing, and defying, building — but not is all as it seems between them. 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 gives us their best work to date,” said SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling.

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

Brody has worked with a wide range of filmmakers including Peter Jackson (King Kong), Ken Loach (Bread and Roses), Barry Levinson (Liberty Heights) 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.

Pearce’s cinematic canon includes The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, LA Confidential, Memento, The Proposition, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, as well as Oscar winners, The Hurt Locker and The King’s Speech.

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 and most recently The Clearing with Miranda Otto, and the critically acclaimed A Spy Amongst Friends.

The 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place live Feb. 4-15, 2025.