#XMVisivo: Robert Downey Jr. To Receive The Maltin Modern Master Award At 39th Annual SBIFF

Robert Downey Jr. will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award, its highest accolade, at the 39th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Downey Jr. will receive the prestigious award on Friday, February 9, 2024.

The ceremony will include an in-person conversation between Downey and legendary film historian and critic Leonard Maltin, for whom the award is named. The duo will discuss Downey’s expansive five-decade acting career, his rise to becoming one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful actors to date, culminating in his recent searing, indelible performance as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s staggering, global cinematic phenomenon, Oppenheimer.

“Robert Downey Jr. has staged one of the most spectacular second acts in show business history...and we in the audience are the beneficiaries. He commands the screen without any visible effort, which is perhaps the greatest feat of all,” said Leonard Maltin.

Christopher Nolan adds, “It’s thrilling to see audiences responding not just to Robert Downey Jr’s incredible charisma, but to a performance which, stripped of any movie star trappings, shows once again that he is one of the greatest actors.”

The 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place LIVE February 7 - February 17, 2024. 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 2024 Festival are on sale now at sbiff.org.