The Virtuosos award honors rising stars who have made waves in the year’s film circuit. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Virtuosos Award took place at the Arlington Theatre on the evening of Feb. 8.
Virtuosos is the most star-packed event of the festival, honoring eight rising stars who have made waves in the year’s film circuit. This year’s recipients include Teyana Taylor (“One Battle After Another”), Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein), Amy Madigan (“Weapons”), Sydney Sweeney (“Christy”), Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”), Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”), Chase Infiniti (“One Battle After Another”) and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (“Sentimental Value”).
The ceremony brought out fans in droves, lining up outside of the theater as early as 4 p.m. in eager anticipation of spotting the Virtuosos. Elordi proved to be the main subject of adoration — fans even climbing on each other’s backs to get a glimpse of the actor, who sported sunglasses as he autographed posters and took selfies with the crowd.
Jacob Elordi signing autographs on the SBIFF red carpet. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
Following the red carpet, the stars and fans made their way into the theater. Each Virtuoso sat down with entertainment journalist Dave Karger for a one-on-one conversation about their breakthrough performances and careers.
Going in alphabetical order by first name, Madigan kicked off the evening, running across the stage before sitting across from Karger. The 75-year-old actress, who has been acting since 1977, received renewed recognition for her bone-chilling antagonist role as Aunt Gladys in the horror movie “Weapons.” Her performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, her first nomination in 40 years.
When speaking to Karger, Madigan reflected on her career.
“I’ve had a long career. It’s not easy to sustain it … I worked with so many good directors, so many good writers. So, I just kept doing that,” Madigan said.
The actress then heralded the uniqueness of “Weapons” director Zach Cregger’s script, saying it was her main draw to the project.
“From the beginning, it was so original … and that’s the point. Original film, original idea and original books, and we just need more of that,” Madigan said.
Amy Madigan’s performance in “Weapons” earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, her first nomination in 40 years. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
Earlier that evening, Madigan told the Nexus that she found acting in the horror genre “comforting.”
“[Acting in horror] didn’t make me nervous at all, because I read the script. And the script is so unique, so smart, so funny, so scary … it just felt very comforting to me,” Madigan said.
After a clip from “One Battle After Another” played, Infiniti entered the stage to a roar of audience applause. The highlighted scene was not only the first the young actress filmed, but also the first scene she shot with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays her father.
“I do remember waking up that day and being like ‘Oh my god, I’m about to start filming my first movie and it’s with Leonardo DiCaprio,’” Infiniti said.
“One Battle After Another” is Chase Infiniti’s first film role. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
Infiniti was the break-out actress of the film, starring alongside established actors like Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn. With no prior films under her belt, Infiniti underwent a six-month casting process before she officially landed the role of Willa.
“The casting director had seen dance videos I had on YouTube and that was the only thing I had,” Infiniti said, earning laughter from audience members.
“A leap of faith,” Krager responded.
Infiniti has earned several nominations for her role in the film, including a BAFTA nomination for Best Leading Actress.
Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress Ibsdotter Lilleaas described her experience working with director Joachim Trier in “Sentimental Value.”
With Trier’s guidance, Ibsdotter Lilleaas discussed improvising one of the most sentimental scenes in the film — making the sister relationship more intimate with a hug following the Norwegian phrase for “I love you.”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Wagner Moura posing together on the red carpet. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
“I was scared to ruin the take … but I really want to hug her,” Ibsdotter Lilleaas said. “[Trier] feels what we feel [in the room] and he said, ‘Go hug her.’ It was such a joyful feeling to feel like my instincts were right.”
Audience members roared with excitement as Elordi emerged from backstage for his conversation with Karger. The actor’s transformative role as The Creature in director Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” marked a career-first in the fantasy genre, garnering him critical acclaim.
In his interview with the Nexus, Elordi gave insight into his characterization process for The Creature, and how he identified the emotional heart of his performance.
“It was a process of making everything around me quiet, and leaving the normal world for a little while so I could really turn inside myself, explore myself,” Elordi said.
The actor also praised del Toro’s direction for his success. “I was in such great hands with Guillermo del Toro. He molded me by clay while we shot this movie, he made me his creature,” Elordi said.
Jacob Elordi walking across stage, smiling as audience members cheer for him. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
During his discussion with Krager, Elordi reflected on his career trajectory. “Frankenstein” earned Elordi his first-ever Academy Award nomination, where he is up for Best Supporting Actor.
When asked if Elordi ever imagined he would achieve success as an actor, he emphasized his longstanding commitment to his craft. “It seemed unattainable when I first looked at it, but I also remember thinking that there was no other choice,” Elordi said.
“My dad came to me and said ‘this is an unfeasible thing, you need a plan B,’” he shared. “But I didn’t want a plan B. I wanted to make movies.”
Sweeney was next to take the stage for her titular role in “Christy,” a biopic about former professional boxer Christy Martin.
The actress received a colder response to her presence at the festival, creating an unusually awkward conversation with Karger on stage and a notable drop in audience enthusiasm.
Sweeney has faced controversy over the past year for an American Eagle ad campaign, which was accused of promoting eugenics and white supremacy. She has also received rumors of conservative political affiliation, a controversial claim seeing as the real-life “Christy” is a lesbian boxer.
Sydney Sweeney and Wagner Moura talking on the red carpet. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
Despite the tension, the actress emphasized the importance of “Christy.” Karger noted that even though the movie performed poorly at the box office, the actress continued to speak highly of the project.
“I truly [believed] ‘Christy’ would be the most special project. It’ll be the most important story and message that I’ve gotten to tell. And I’m incredibly proud to do that,” Sweeney said in response.
Taylor immediately revived the theater’s energy as she danced across the stage for her discussion. Taylor has been the clear standout in the 2026 awards circuit for her performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” for which she is a nominee for and predicted winner of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In addition to acting, Taylor has had a long career as a singer-songwriter and dancer, being a performer since she was 15 years old. “One Battle After Another” earned Taylor her first major recognition in the acting world.
“I’ve been at this for 20 years, and I’m just now getting to really smell my whole garden, see my whole garden blossom all at one time … so be patient,” Taylor told the Nexus in a red carpet interview.
Teyana Taylor has been the clear standout in the 2026 awards circuit for her performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” for which she is a nominee for and predicted winner of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
With Karger, Taylor spoke about her first impressions reading director and writer Paul Thomas Anderson’s screenplay, commenting on its political nature.
“I knew that this movie would shake the table. I knew that it would spark dialogue whether it was uncomfortable dialogue, comfortable dialogue, through good, bad or indifferent,” Taylor said. “I think this movie is very necessary especially with everything that’s happening right now.”
Karger welcomed Moura on the stage by congratulating him on being the first Brazilian actor to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, earning screams and shouts from the Brazilians in the audience.
“Brazllians in the house?” Moura asked, jokingly.
Moura touched on what it meant to have the support of the Brazilian people.
“To see Brazilians, here and in Brazil especially, rooting for this film and being proud … and thinking this film represents me in some way is very special,” Moura said.
Wagner Moura in the Arlington Theatre crowd. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
When discussing the political tone of “The Secret Agent,” Moura reflected on his and director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s intent for the film after having to fight back against authoritarian forces in Brazil.
“We were both very vocal about what was going on in Brazil and we both suffered the consequences of that,” Moura said. “How do you keep the values that you have when everything around you says the opposite of what you believe?”
The next person to join Karger onstage was “Sinners” actress Mosaku. Unbeknownst to her, director Ryan Coogler had written the role of Annie for Mosaku — a role for which she now has an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
“When I got the call to meet him for the audition, I had no idea. I was just god-struck that Ryan Coogler knew me, to call me for an audition,” Mosaku said.
Wunmi Mosaku talking to reporters. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
On her ancestral ties to Nigeria, Mosaku reflected on what it meant to her to play Annie and connect with parts of her ancestry.
“I think about the lessons I learned from Annie every single day,” Mosaku said. “When I was doing my research into Hudu, I found a part of myself in Annie. I found a part of my ancestry, a part of my survival. I’ve never felt so connected to Nigeria as I did playing Annie.”
Mosaku ended her interview by reminding everyone in the audience that they all came from ancestors and will be ancestors one day, so they should make that matter.
Following a brief intermission, all eight Virtuosos took to the stage for the group interview portion of the evening. Krager asked a series of questions that were relevant to the honorees, whether it be about their films or their connections to one another.
After acknowledging the co-star relationship between Elordi and Sweeney in the HBO series “Euphoria,” Krager moved to highlight the mother-daughter duo Taylor and Infiniti play in their film, despite having few scenes together.
Virtuosos Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney co-star in the television series “Euphoria.” (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
“She was instantly my baby,” Taylor said, in regards to watching Infiniti’s performance.
Krager pointed out that Ibsdotter Lilleaas studied abroad and lived in Brazil for some time. Moura told the audience he was surprised that the first time he met Ibsdotter Lilleaas she started speaking Portuguese. As it turns out, Ibsdotter Lilleaas learned Portuguese watching telenovelas that starred Moura.
“My goal is to bring Inga [Ibsdotter Lilleaas] to Brazil to shoot a film in Brazil speaking Portuguese,” Moura said.
With two of the films being in different languages, Karger asked what language the panelists would want to act in.
“Pig Latin,” Madigan said in a rapid response, causing laughter to spread across the audience.
Connecting the question back to “Sinners,” Mosaku responded with Yoruba, which would have been her mother tongue had she grown up in Nigeria.
At the end of the group interview, actress and Santa Barbara local Jane Lynch presented each Virtuoso with their awards. The audience gave one more thunderous applause for the eight honorees as the night came to an end, each honoree posing for a group photo on stage and smiling at their fellow rising stars.
Teyana Taylor receiving her Virtuosos Award. (Sherine John / Daily Nexus)
The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15. Moura is nominated for Best Actor. Taylor, Madigan, Lilleaas and Mosaku are nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Elordi is nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
A version of this article appeared in the 2/12 print edition of the Daily Nexus
