The Hammond Cinema Vanguard Awards took place at Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) Feb. 9. It was a night held to honor the careers of Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn, three highly admired actors of over 35 years. SBIFF director Roger Durling said, “It’s definitely the biggest night we’ve ever had in film festival history.” The “trifecta” of highly acclaimed actors worked together in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-nominated “One Battle After Another”, which was a big topic of conversation during the ceremony. The Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award was presented by none other than Paul Thomas Anderson, critically acclaimed American filmmaker and writer, director of “One Battle After Another”, surprising the crowd of over 2,000 people. The theater was packed, with nearly every seat full of thrilled fans.
DiCaprio, Del Toro and Penn were described by moderator Pete Hammond as, “three cinema icons truly at the top of their game.” All three men have renowned careers all starring in a variety of films from drama to comedy. The award interview featured montages of their works dating back to DiCaprio’s “Titanic” of 1997.
The Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award was formally known as the Cinema Vanguard Award. Last year at the SBIFF ceremony, the award was renamed after Hammond and his wife Madelyn Hammond. Mr. Hammond has been a SBIFF moderator for over 20 years. The award was named after him in honor of his career and loyalty to the film festival.
“Roger shocked me last year when he said they were renaming the award… I couldn’t be more proud of it.” Hammond said when discussing the renaming of the award.
Penn, Del Toro and DiCaprio have had careers full of renowned films with “One Battle After Another” being another successful addition. All three continue to be a part of the film industry and hope to work together on future projects.
