The Santa Barbara Film Festival is once again bringing out the Oscar hopefuls.
The festival on Thursday revealed the recipients of the 2026 Virtuosos Award, an honor established to recognize a select group of talent whose work in films this year has placed them at the center of the conversation around cinematic performances and the awards race.
Frankenstein’s Creature Jacob Elordi, One Battle After Another’s Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor, Weapons’ creepy Aunt Gladys Amy Madigan, The Secret Agent’s Cannes Best Actor winner Wagner Moura, Sentimental Value’s Norwegian star Renate Reinsve, Christy revelation Sydney Sweeney, and Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’s title star Jeremy Allen White will discuss their work and receive their awards in person at the festival during a ceremony February 8, 2026. The evening will be moderated for a 16th year by Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger.
“This year’s group of Virtuosos are as impressive as they are eclectic. We’ve got three international actors, two megastars from acclaimed television series, two breakouts from the latest Paul Thomas Anderson film, and even one veteran performer who earned an Oscar nomination 40 years ago. I can’t wait to return to Santa Barbara for my 16th year and chat with them all,” said Karger.
Virtuosos honorees from the past five years include Kieran Culkin, Harris Dickinson, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Clarence Maclin, Mikey Madison,John Magaron, Lily Gladstone, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Greta Lee, Charles Melton, America Ferrera, Andrew Scott, Austin Butler, Kerry Condon, Danielle Deadwyler, Nina Hoss, Stephanie Hsu, Jeremy Pope, Ke Huy Quan, Jeremy Strong, Caitriona Balfe, Ariana DeBose, Jamie Dornan, Alana Haim, Ciarán Hinds, Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Simon Rex, Saniyya Sidney, Riz Ahmed, Maria Bakalova, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Andra Day, Sidney Flanigan, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim and Zendaya.
The 41st Santa Barbara Film Festival runs 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.
