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Michael B. Jordan to be honored at the 34th Santa Barbara Festival

By Instep Desk
Mon, 12, 18

The actor will receive the Cinema Vanguard Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for his work in Black Panther and Creed II.


The 31-year-old actor has delivered remarkable performances this year in hits, Black Panther and Creed II and the good news is that the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has selected Michael B. Jordan as the recipient of its Cinema Vanguard Award for his work in both the movies.

The 34th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from January 30 to February 9, 2018 where Jordan will be honored at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara, Calif., on February 7.

“It’s thrilling to honor Michael B. Jordan this year for the emboldened way he’s shown us what it means to be a movie star for the 21st century — mixing sensitivity with swagger, choosing important material that remains full of integrity yet becomes world phenomenon, and forging a cinematic partnership with visionary director Ryan Coogler,” said Roger Durling, executive director of the festival.

Michael B. Jordan came into the spotlight for his breakout role in Fruitvale Station, his first collaboration with Ryan Coogler. In 2015, he reteamed with Coogler in the critically acclaimed and crowd-pleasing Creed. And this year he returned to the silver screen as the tormented and revenge driven Erik Kilmonger in Black Panther, which went on to become the 9th highest growing film of all time. Moreover, Jordan produced and starred in Creed II that released earlier this year and made waves by announcing that his production company Outlier Society would adopt an inclusion rider for every future project they take on. All this led to the implementation of the inclusion policy which has been adapted by Warner Media for all productions from HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner.

In an earlier interview with Vanity Fair, Michael B. Jordan said, “I’m first and foremost a black man, for sure, but what I’m trying to do, and what I’m trying to represent and build, is universal. We live in the times where everything is based around race, and for me, it’s like, I get it, I understand. It just makes everything so loaded.”

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 Willem DaFoe, Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Rooney Mara, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, Nicole Kidman, Peter Sarsgaard, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Kristin Scott Thomas, Stanley Tucci, and Ryan Gosling.

– With information from Variety and Vanity Fair.