Jeffrey Wright to be Honored at Santa Barbara Film Festival

American Fiction directed by Cord Jefferson
American Fiction

Jeffrey Wright, star of American Fiction, and Rustin, will receive the Montecito Award at the 39th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Wright will receive the award on Thursday, February 15th, 2024 at an in-person conversation about his career leading up to this year’s performance in American Fiction, written and directed by Cord Jefferson.

Wright has received lead actor nominations from the Gotham Awards, Spirit Awards, Golden Globe Awards and the Critics Choice Awards thus far for his wonderful performance as protagonist, ‘Thelonious “Monk” Ellison.’

“I’ve been a fan of Mr. Wright since I first saw him in 1993 in the original Broadway production of Angels in America. I’ve since admired that he brings a high level of class and integrity to every role he does. Yet, no film had capitalized on his extraordinary range and virtuosity until American Fiction. It is about time.” SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling stated.

Jeffrey Wright as Adam Clayton Powell in Rustin (Netflix)

Jeffrey Wright is a Tony, Emmy, AFI, and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, and can currently be seen in the George C. Wolfe-directed Civil Rights pic, Rustin, portraying ‘Adam Clayton Powell.’ Wright was also seen as part of the all-star ensemble cast in the Wes Anderson film Asteroid City. In October 2021, he starred in another all-star ensemble cast in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. 20 Other recent projects include lead roles in Netflix’s All Day and A Night (May 2020), and HBO’s O.G., which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, where Wright won the award for Best Actor in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film.

The Montecito Award is named after one of the most beautiful and stylish areas in Santa Barbara. Past recipients include Angela Bassett, Penélope Cruz, Amanda Seyfried, Lupita Nyong’o, Melissa McCarthy, Saoirse Ronan, Isabelle Huppert, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Daniel Day-Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts and Javier Bardem.

The 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place LIVE February 7 – February 17, 2024.

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