The Santa Barbara International Film Festival honored cinema icon Colman Domingo with the Montecito Award at the 40th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Domingo received the prestigious award on Friday, February 14. The evening highlighted his powerhouse performance in Greg Kwedar’s SING SING where Domingo’s portrayal of Divine G brings an incredible mix of vulnerability, charisma, and resilience to the big screen. This recognition followed Domingo’s win at the Gotham Awards, where he took home the honor for Outstanding Lead Performance.
“Colman is such a committed performer and of the most extraordinary talents in the small screen, in theatre and in film, and he makes it all seem effortless. His work in SING SING is unforgettable” remarked SBIFF’s Executive Director Roger Durling.
Colman Domingo has been nominated for an Oscar, BAFTA, Tony® Award, Critics Choice Awards, Independent Spirit, Gotham Awards, Lawrence Olivier, Drama Desk, Drama League and NAACP Image, and Black Reel Award. He has won an Emmy, Astra, AAFCA, NAACP Image, and Black Reel Award.
In 2023, Domingo starred as Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin in Netflix and Higher Ground’s film “Rustin” for which he received an Academy Award Nomination, Golden Globes, BAFTA and SAG nomination. He can also be seen as “Mister” in the Warner Bros production of “The Color Purple”, which received a SAG Ensemble nomination. Domingo executive produced and starred in Greg Kwedar’s film “Sing Sing” which was purchased for distribution by A24 and had its theatrical release in summer 2024. He also executive produced “It’s What’s Inside”, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was released on NETFLIX in October 2024.
Domingo is well known for his Emmy Award-winning role as “Ali” in HBO’s “Euphoria” as well as his roles in “Zola”, “If Beale Street Could Talk”, ‘Selma’, “Candyman”, and many more.
He can currently be seen in Netflix limited series “The Madness” created by Clement Virgo. He also recently wrapped production on ‘Michael’ playing Joe Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Lionsgate will release the film October 3rd, 2025. Additionally, Domingo will voice Norman Osborn in the upcoming Disney+ animated series “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” Domingo is currently in production on NETFLIX’s “The Four Seasons” alongside Tina Fey and Steve Carrell.
The Montecito Award is named after one of the most beautiful and stylish areas in Santa Barbara. Past recipients include Jeffrey Wright, Angela Bassett, Penélope Cruz, Amanda Seyfried, Lupita Nyong’o, Melissa McCarthy, Saoirse Ronan, Isabelle Huppert, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Daniel Day-Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, and Javier Bardem.
Credit: Courtesy of SBIFF
Quotes From the Awards Presentation:
- Colman Domingo stated on his perseverance throughout his career, “I just kept going and believed that the love I was seeking would also be seeking me. I just always believed that.”
- Talking about Selma, Colman Domingo said, “The most beautiful thing about that film, when you get to have an audience with these Civil Rights leaders, we were able to meet with a lot of people who did this work. You get to know them, how they were outside of the history book. The whole thing that Ava put together was ahead of its time.”
- Colman Domingo shared about his work on Fear the Walking Dead, “Victor had a complicated moral compass. It is a show about survival. I loved that there were questions about him. And I wanted to lean into these questions.”
- Discussing Euphoria, Colman Domingo said, “Ali is the moral compass of Rue. But he has a complicated history. I like the idea that he is not there to judge her. He is just there to present her with options and opportunities.”
- Colman Domingo stated about If Beale Street Could Talk, “Barry and I talked about how Joseph Rivers is such a feminist and lives in a house full of strong women. And he loves that he is in this hustle with strong women in the 1970s. And it doesn’t make him less of a man at all.”
- On Zola and his character X, Colman Domingo shared, “He was using language to control a room. So for me, it was all elements of control. I played the character with a lot of charm and finesse, and it could turn on a dime.”
- Colman Domingo explained about Rustin, “It felt like we were in alignment. That Rustin’s journey and my journey were meeting at the exact moment, and I was the actor to help pull this black, queer, Civil Rights revolutionary out of the shadows of history, while I was being pulled into new history. I needed every year, every step, every misstep in my career, to enable me to play Bayard Rustin.”
- On Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Colman Domingo stated, “We were in a room making choices and interrogating the work together. I feel like the best in the business were in the boxing ring together. You knew there could only be good work.”
- Colman Domingo said about his role in The Color Purple, “It’s easy to think of Mister as a villain and as an abuser. But what is complicated is finding the heart of an abuser. Why hurt people hurt other people.”
- For his work on Sing Sing, Colman Domingo shared, “It’s a quiet act of revolution. I have such loving relationships with the men in my life. We are holding each other and touching each other. And I want more of that.”
- Colman Domingo continued, “It’s about putting myself on the line in every single way as an artist. If I’m going to have an impact, if I’m going to do this work that I think is meaningful and can really change lives… I think a film like Sing Sing is really changing lives. It’s actually doing work. So I have to give everything.”
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 39 years, SBIFF has become one of the top 10 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.
Sponsors of the 40th SBIFF include: Lexus, Manitou Fund, FIJI Water, DAOU Vineyards, Sonos, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Panavision, Santa Barbara City, US Bank, Yardi, Montecito Bank & Trust, Kaleidoscope Productions, Fujifilm, The Fund for Santa Barbara, ADL Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties, National Endowment for the Arts, Black Market Spirits, American Society of Cinematographers, John C. Mithun Foundation, Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation, The Veraison Fund, Northern Trust, Netflix, UCSB, Bentson Foundation, Volentine Family Foundation, Toad&Co, Topa Topa Brewing Company, and many more generous supporters.
SBIFF continues its commitment to education and the community throughout many free educational programs and events. SBIFF’s programs support over 18,000 kids, students and families in our local community by introducing film as an art form to young children with programs like AppleBox and Mike’s FieldTrip to the Movies; teaching film analysis to highschool and college students with programs like Rosebud and the Film Studies Program; and teaching the craft of screenwriting and filmmaking with Film Camp and 10-10-10 Mentorship programs. Most importantly SBIFF’s programs are always directed towards the under-represented and under-served communities within Santa Barbara County.
More recently, SBIFF secured a long-term lease for the iconic multi-plex at 916 State Street in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. This landmark acquisition paves the way for the creation of a state-of-the-art Film Center — a vibrant, year-round destination that will serve as a central hub for cinema enthusiasts and the heart of SBIFF’s renowned Film Festival. Building on the success of the Riviera Theatre revitalization in 2016 and the opening of its own Education Center in 2019 in the downtown area, SBIFF continues to strengthen its commitment to the cultural fabric of Santa Barbara.
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