The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling will be presented with the 2017 Outstanding Performers of the Year award on Friday, February 3, 2017 for their remarkable performances in Damien Chazelle’s dazzling La La Land, from Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment label. This marks the first time Stone has been honored by the festival and will be a return for Gosling who was the inaugural recipient of the Cinema Vanguard Award in 2008.
The tribute, which will take place at Santa Barbara’s historic Arlington Theatre, will be moderated by SBIFF's Executive Director Roger Durling. The 32nd annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place from Wednesday, February 1 through Saturday, February 11.
Gosling and Stone will join a recognized group of previous Outstanding Performer Award recipients, including Brie Larson and Saoirse Ronan, Steve Carell, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Viola Davis, James Franco, Colin Firth, Penelope Cruz, Angelina Jolie, Helen Mirren, Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet and Charlize Theron.
Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee Damien Chazelle, La La Land, set in modern day Los Angeles, tells the story of Mia (Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts.
The festival announced that Warren Beatty (Rules Don’t Apply) will be honored with its Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film and will honor Aaron Taylor Johnson (Nocturnal Animals), Dev Patel (Lion), Janelle Monáe (Hidden Figures, Moonlight), Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Ruth Negga (Loving), Simon Helberg (Florence Foster Jenkins), and Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences), with the Virtuoso Award among additional, yet to be announced, honorees.
For more information, and to purchase tickets, festival passes and packages, please visit www.sbiff.org.
