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Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio will be presented with the Cinema Vanguard award at the 26th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, set to take place on Feb 6.
The award recognises “those who have forged his/her own path, taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film”.
Scorsese and DiCaprio will receive the award in celebration of their collaboration within the film industry. Together they have created five films; “Gangs of New York”, “The Aviator”, “Shutter Island”, “The Departed”, and their latest work “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
SBIFF executive director Roger Durling said in a statement, “Scorsese and DiCaprio’s partnership has become a legendary cinematic pas de deux recalling other great collaborations like John Ford and John Wayne, Fellini and Mastroianni, John Huston and Bogart – and even Scorsese and De Niro.”
Not without its share of controversy, the pair’s latest film, “The Wolf of Wall Street”, has come under fire recently from anyone and everyone who has something to say. The debate on whether the film glorifies criminals is raging, while animal rights groups have claimed that the film demonstrates unfair treatment of animals.
“I hope people understand we’re not condoning [criminal] behavior, that we’re indicting it,” DiCaprio recently told Variety.
“I think it’s amazing somebody like Martin Scorsese is still making films that are vital and talked about, and have an element of controversy about them and are appealing to people of my generation.”
Indeed the film is being talked about, perhaps demonstrating the consequence of the “artistic risks” that the Cinema Vanguard award honours.
The event will take place at the Arlington Theatre and will see Scorsese and DiCaprio follow in the footsteps of past recipients such as Amy Adams, Jean Dujardin & Bérénice Bejo, Nicole Kidman, Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Stanley Tucci, Christoph Waltz, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ryan Gosling.
