MICHELLE YEOH TO RECEIVE SBIFF’S
15TH ANNUAL KIRK DOUGLAS AWARD FOR
EXCELLENCE IN FILM
--
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2022
THE RITZ-CARLTON BACARA, SANTA
BARBARA
SANTA BARBARA, CA -
The Santa Barbara International Film
Festival is honored to announce
global icon Michelle Yeoh will be
receiving the 15th annual Kirk
Douglas Award For Excellence In
Film. This marks the first time
since the passing of screen legend
Kirk Douglas that the honor will be
awarded. The award, which benefits
Santa Barbara International Film
Festival’s year-round educational
programs, will be presented on
Friday, December 9 at a Black-Tie
dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara,
Santa Barbara.
“A well-deserved honor for the
legendary and multi-talented
Michelle Yeoh. She has been
entertaining and thrilling us in
films since the 1980s …… AND she
does her own stunts!! Bravo
Michelle!" says Michael Douglas.
Michelle Yeoh is an internationally
recognized Malaysian-born actress
who rose to fame in 1990s Hong Kong
action films before going on to
shatter convention and star in a
myriad of globally acclaimed
blockbusters. In March 2022, she
starred in Daniels’ mind-bending,
critically acclaimed Everything
Everywhere All At Once, which has
since become A24’s highest grossing
film worldwide.
She has appeared in more than 70
features and television series, with
her filmography showcasing a
collection of iconic roles,
including Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger
Hidden Dragon 1 & 2, Rob Marshall’s
Memoirs of a Geisha, Roger
Spottiswoode’s James Bond film
Tomorrow Never Dies, Danny Boyle’s
Sunshine, and Jon Chu’s Crazy Rich
Asians, the highest-grossing
romantic comedy in the U.S. in the
past 10 years. After appearing in
James Gunn’s second installment of
the Guardians of the Galaxy
franchise, Yeoh returned to the
Marvel universe in Destin Daniel
Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend
of the Ten Rings.
In television, Yeoh was most
recently seen as Emperor Philippa
Georgiou in CBS’ Star Trek:
Discovery. Next, she will be
reuniting with Destin Daniel Cretton
in the Disney+ series American Born
Chinese and starring in Netflix’s
upcoming limited series, The Witcher:
Blood Origin. Other upcoming credits
include James Cameron’s Avatar
sequels and Paul Feig’s The School
for Good and Evil.
The 38th Santa Barbara International
Film Festival will take place LIVE
February 8 - February 18, 2023.
Official events including
screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry
panels, and celebrity tributes, will
be held throughout the city,
including at the historic Arlington
Theatre. Passes for the 2023
Festival are on sale now at sbiff.org.
Last year, SBIFF had a triumphant
return to in-person screenings,
panels, and events. The festival had
48 world premiere, 95 U.S.
premieres, with honorary awards
feted on Javier Bardem, Nicole
Kidman, Kristen Stewart, Penélope
Cruz, Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis,
Benedict Cumberbatch, Caitriona
Balfe, Ariana DeBose, Alana Haim,
Ciarán Hinds, Emilia Jones, Troy
Kotsur, Simon Rex, Saniyya Sidney,
Paul Thomas Anderson, Kenneth
Branagh, Jane Campion, Ryusuke
Hamaguchi, and Steven Spielberg.
Historically, organizers are
expecting A-list guests to once
again ascend to Santa Barbara,
making it a must-stop location on
the awards circuit, and delivering
an unpresented number of films with
many World and U.S. premiere. The
film lineup and schedule will be
announced January, 2023.
About the Santa Barbara
International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film
Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit arts and educational
organization dedicated to
discovering and showcasing the best
in independent and international
cinema. Over the past 37 years,
SBIFF has become one of the leading
film festivals in the United States
– attracting 100,000 attendees and
offering 11 days of 200+ films,
tributes and symposiums, fulfilling
their mission to engage, enrich, and
inspire the Santa Barbara community
through film.
SBIFF continues its commitment to
education and the community
throughout many free educational
programs and events. In 2016, SBIFF
entered a new era with the
acquisition of the historic and
beloved Riviera Theatre. After a
capital campaign and renovation, the
theatre is now SBIFF’s new
state-of-the-art, year-round home,
showing new international and
independent films every day. In
2019, SBIFF opened its own Education
Center in downtown Santa Barbara on
State Street to serve as a home for
its many educational programs and a
place for creativity and learning.
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Michelle Yeoh Headshot
Credit: Courtesy of A24