40th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival! American Riviera Award! Honoree Zoe Saldaña! Photos! Recap! And More!

The Santa Barbara Film Festival is in full swing and the American Riviera Award Honoree Zoe Saldaña was on hand to accept her award.

The film and TV icon took the stage and talked about all aspects of her career.

“I don’t think I would have been able to book Avatar or Gamora or Colombiana [without dance]. It gave me such a deep connection to my body. And as I was learning about the craft of acting, I knew that I needed to bring my body into every character I inhabited.”

That makes sense, as so many of Zoe Saldaña’s performances have a distinct degree of physicality.

Especially when you think of the motion capture in Avatar.

Looking back to the beginning of her career, Zoe Saldaña mentioned some of the best advice she received and it happened to come from a directing icon.

“After being mentored by Steven Spielberg throughout the shoot (The Terminal), I remember him saying, ‘In order to move forward, you have to know where you’re coming from.’”

Zoe talked about her film Columbiana, and said “If I have to be personal about it, I’ve always been trying to manage and understand my grief. Losing my father at such an early age has probably been one of the most impactful things that has happened in my life.”

Before the event Zoe arrived and greeted fans, took photos and signed autographs for the hundreds of people waiting.