The Forge attended the Virtuosos event and red carpet on February 15. In combination with the Condor Press and Westmont’s film club, they received interviews on the red carpet from icons including Jane Lynch, Ke Huy Quan, Austin Butler and Nina Hoss. During the Virtuosos event, Jane Lynch spoke directly to the young reporters who spoke with her, and said, “listen to great actors talk about what they do, …kids, you just had a masterclass.”

During the event, the Virtuosos award was awarded to eight actors and actresses, Austin Butler (Elvis), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), Nina Hoss (Tár), Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Jeremy Pope (The Inspection), Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once), and Jeremy Strong (Armageddon Time). They gave individual interviews with host Dave Karger, and then joined for a group interview at the end. The group interview was lighthearted,  Jeremy Pope sang for the audience.  The group shared which actors they would like to play the spouse of; the combination of talent and humor onstage was extremely entertaining. The Virtuosos award is regarded as the most iconic award given at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and this year was certainly one to remember.