It was an evening that began with a drum beat and ended with a crescendo of applause for the Virtuosos Awards at Santa Barbara International Film Festival, a perennial favorite event that recognizes a number of breakthrough performances from the previous year’s films.
This year’s honorees — interviewed by Dave Karger for the 14th consecutive year (he’s also the host of Turner Classic Movies) — included America Ferrera (Barbie), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Greta Lee (Past Lives), Charles Melton (May December), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers), and Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers), as well as two actors who sent in video greetings because they were on set and couldn’t get away: Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) and Colman Domingo (Rustin and The Color Purple).
But before the evening’s more traditional festivities got rolling, we had a special performance by musician Scott George and his Osage tribal ensemble performing their Academy Award–nominated song “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from The Killers of the Flower Moon. It was an invigoratingly refreshing way to start the evening — although the optics of the Old Mission Santa Barbara’s good-hearted, music-loving Father Larry Gosling in his priestly garb rising out of his seat to dance alone to the Indigenous drum sounds did give me some pause, as well as a whole host of one-liners I will refrain from sharing.