Michelle Yeoh, the veteran Malaysian actress who is currently generating awards buzz for her star turn in A24’s spring breakout hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, will be presented with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s 15th annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film, SBIFF announced in a statement on Wednesday.
The presentation will take place on Friday, Dec. 9, during a black-tie dinner at Santa Barbara’s Ritz-Carlton Bacara hotel.
Yeoh will become the first recipient of the award — which raises money for SBIFF’s year-round educational programs — since the passing of its legendary namesake in February 2020 at the age of 103.
Michael Douglas, Kirk’s son, said in a statement that it is “a well-deserved honor for the legendary and multi-talented Michelle Yeoh, [who] has been entertaining and thrilling us in films since the 1980s… AND she does her own stunts! Bravo, Michelle!”
Past recipients of SBIFF’s Kirk Douglas Award, which goes “to a lifelong contributor to cinema through their work in front of the camera, behind, or both,” include both Douglases, John Travolta, Ed Harris, Quentin Tarantino, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Forest Whitaker, Jessica Lange, Jane Fonda, Warren Beatty, Judi Dench, Hugh Jackman and Martin Scorsese.
The 38th edition of SBIFF will take place in-person from Feb. 8-18, 2023.
