Kristin Scott Thomas will receive the 24th Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Cinema Vanguard Award on January 27, 2009.

Scott-Thomas stars in Philippe Claudel's French drama I've Loved You So Long and currently appears on Broadway in Chekhov's The Seagull.

'A masterful performance by a British actress in a French film and a triumphant Broadway debut in Chekhov in the same year - Kristin Scott Thomas is in a league by herself and an artistic force to be reckoned with,' the festival's executive director Roger Durling said.

The festival is scheduled to run from January 22-February 1.