35th Palm Springs International Film Festival
 Official poster | |
| Opening film | Wicked Little Letters |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Ex-Husbands |
| Location | Palm Springs, California, United States |
| Festival date | January 4–14, 2024 |
The 35th Palm Springs International Film Festival took place from January 4 to 14, 2024, in Palm Springs, California, United States. The festival opened with the world premiere of Thea Sharrock's comedy mystery film Wicked Little Letters and closed with Noah Pritzker' black comedy film Ex-Husbands.[1]
Background and special awards
[edit]As usual, throughout late 2023, several special awards were announced, which were presented at the Opening Gala on January 4, 2023, at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Martin Scorsese's western drama Killers of the Flower Moon received the Vanguard Award.[2] The Desert Palm Achievement for Best Actor and Best Actress went to Cillian Murphy and Emma Stone for their performances in Oppenheimer and Poor Things, respectively.[3][4] Da'Vine Joy Randolph won the Breakthrough Performance Award for The Holdovers, while Jeffrey Wright received the Career Achievement Award for American Fiction. Comedy musical film Barbie received two awards: Director of the Year to Greta Gerwig and the Chairman's Award to Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell for the song "What Was I Made For?". British actress Carey Mulligan won the International Star Award for Maestro. The Spotlight Award went to Colman Domingo for Rustin and Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple. Paul Giamatti was honored with the Icon Award for The Holdovers.[5]
The following day, on January 5, the Variety's 10 Directors to Watch brunch took place at the Parker Palm Springs, where three Creative Impact awards were presented: Creative Impact in Acting Award to Penélope Cruz; Creative Impact in Screenwriting Award to Eric Roth; and Creative Impact in Directing Award to Yorgos Lanthimos.[6]
Juries
[edit]The juries consists of the following members:[7]
FIPRESCI International Film Jury
[edit]- Marriska Fernandes, Canadian film critic.
- Steffen Moestrup, Danish film critic.
- Wilfred Okiche, Nigerian film critic.
Ibero-American Jury
[edit]- Aitch Alberto, American screenwriter and producer at Vaca Frita Inc.
- Kristen Lopez, film editor at TheWrap.
- Sheryl Santacruz, festival director for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
Documentary Jury
[edit]- Nive Das, South Asian documentary film director and member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia.
- Ken Jacobson, executive director for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
- Elvis Mitchell, American film critic and host at KCRW.
New Voices New Visions
[edit]- Liliana Granados, Mexican-American film producer.
- Sonaiya Kelley, American reporter at Los Angeles Times.
- Jacqueline Lyanga, American film curator at US Delegate for the Berlin International Film Festival.
Sections
[edit]The films selected for each section are as follows:[1]
Awards Buzz – Best International Feature Film Submissions
[edit]The following section consists of submissions for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards:
- Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Talking Pictures
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Talking Pictures section, each with discussion panels with their directors, writers and actors:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Fiction (with actor Jeffrey Wright) | Cord Jefferson | United States | |
| Barbie (with director Greta Gerwig) | Greta Gerwig | ||
| Killers of the Flower Moon (with screenwriter Eric Roth) | Martin Scorsese | ||
Modern Masters
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Modern Masters section, consisting of new films by well-established directors:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anselm | Anselm – Das Rauschen der Zeit | Wim Wenders | Germany |
| Close Your Eyes | Cerrar los ojos | Víctor Erice | Spain, Argentina |
| The Convert | Lee Tamahori | New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom | |
| Green Border | Zielona granica | Agnieszka Holland | Poland, Czech Republic, France, Belgium |
| Kidnapped | Rapito | Marco Bellocchio | Italy, France, Germany |
| La chimera | Alice Rohrwacher | Italy, France, Switzerland | |
| Monster | 怪物 | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| The Old Oak | Ken Loach | United Kingdom, France, Belgium | |
| Shoshana | Michael Winterbottom | United States, Italy | |
New Voices New Visions
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the New Voices New Visions section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animalia | Sofia Alaoui | France, Morocco | |
| The Animal Kingdom | Le Règne animal | Thomas Cailley | France, Belgium |
| Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant | Ariane Louis-Seize | Canada |
| The Kitchen | Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya | United Kingdom | |
| Solitude | Einvera | Ninna Pálmadóttir | Iceland, Slovakia, France |
| Stolen | Karan Tejpal | India | |
| The Sweet East | Sean Price Williams | United States | |
| We Have Never Been Modern | Úsvit | Matěj Chlupáček | Czech Republic, Slovakia |
- Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
American Indies
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the American Indies section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairyland | Andrew Durham | United States | |
| Fancy Dance | Erica Tremblay | ||
| Fresh Kills | Jennifer Esposito | ||
| LaRoy, Texas | Shane Atkinson | ||
| Late Bloomers | Lisa Steen | ||
Talking Pictures
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Talking Pictures section, each with discussion panels with their directors, writers and actors:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Look Through His Lens | Matthew Berkowitz and Gregory Hoblit | United States, France, Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| All Illusions Must Be Broken | Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell | United States | |
| All We Carry | Cady Voge | United States, Mexico | |
| Art for Everybody | Miranda Yousef | United States | |
| Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy | Stephen Ujlaki and Chris Jones | ||
| Born Hungry | Barry Avrich | Canada, India | |
| Call Me Dancer | Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour | India, United States, Israel | |
| Common Ground | Josh Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell | United States | |
| Copa 71 | Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine | United Kingdom | |
| The Echo | El eco | Tatiana Huezo | Mexico, Germany |
| First We Bombed New Mexico | Lois Lipman | United States | |
| Flipside | Chris Wilcha | ||
| Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive | Betsy Schechter | United States, Spain | |
| Going Varsity in Mariachi | Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn | United States | |
| The Gullspång Miracle | Miraklet i Gullspång | Maria Fredriksson | Sweden, Norway, Denmark |
| Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes | Sam Shahid | United States | |
| In the Rearview | Skąd dokąd / Звідки куди | Maciek Hamela | Poland, France, Ukraine |
| Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Traveled | Dheeraj Akolkar | Norway, United Kingdom | |
| Mad About the Boy: The Noel Coward Story | Barnaby Thompson | United Kingdom, United States | |
| Maestra | Maggie Contreras | United States | |
| Música! | Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman | ||
| Obsessed with Light | Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum | United States, France, Netherlands, Spain, Iceland | |
| Queendom | Agniia Galdanova | France, United States | |
| Sloane: A Jazz Singer | Michael Lippert | United States | |
| The Space Race | Diego Hurtado De Mendoza and Lisa Cortés | ||
| Susan Feniger, Forked | Liz Lachman | United States, Vietnam, China | |
| Swan Song | Chelsea McMullan | Canada | |
| This World is Not My Own | Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell | United States, Sweden | |
| Truth Be Told | Nneka Onuorah | United States | |
South Korean Focus
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the South Korean Focus section, dedicated to celebrate South Korean cinema:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Normal Family (2023) | 보통의 가족 | Hur Jin-ho | South Korea |
| Cobweb (2023) | 거미집 | Kim Jee-woon | |
| The Handmaiden (2016) | 아가씨 | Park Chan-Wook | |
| The Housemaid (1960) | 하녀 | Kim Ki-young | |
| In Our Day (2023) | 우리의 하루 | Hong Sang-soo | |
| Memories of Murder (2003) | 살인의 추억 | Bong Joon-ho | |
| Oasis (2002) | 오아시스 | Lee Chang-dong | |
| Sleep (2023) | 잠 | Jason Yu | |
| Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) | 봄 여름 가을 겨울 그리고 봄 | Kim Ki-duk | |
| Sunny (2011) | 써니 | Kang Hyeong-cheol | |
| Train to Busan (2016) | 부산행 | Yeon Sang-ho |
Queer Cinema Today & The Gayla
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Queer Cinema Today section and The Gayla:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Boys | Corey Sherman | United States | |
| Bonus Track | Julia Jackman | United Kingdom | |
| Chasing Chasing Amy | Sav Rodgers | United States | |
| Chuck Chuck Baby | Janis Pugh | United Kingdom | |
| Egoist | エゴイスト | Daishi Matsunaga | Japan |
| Studio One Forever | Marc Saltarelli | United States | |
| Summer Qamp | Jen Markowitz | Canada | |
Spotlight: James Ivory
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of a section destined to highlight American director James Ivory's filmography:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bostonians (1984) | James Ivory | United Kingdom, United States | |
| Howards End (1992) | United Kingdom | ||
| Maurice (1987) | |||
| Merchant Ivory (2024) | Stephen Soucy | United States | |
| Quartet (1981) | James Ivory | France, United Kingdom | |
| Shakespeare Wallah (1965) | United States, India | ||
Family Day
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Family Day section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dancing Queen | Aurora Gossé | Norway | |
| Flamin' Hot | Eva Longoria | United States | |
| Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson | ||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem | Jeff Rowe | ||
World Cinema Now
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the World Cinema Now section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Yards | Xu Haofeng and Xu Junfeng | China | |
| 20,000 Species of Bees | 20.000 especies de abejas | Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren | Spain |
| All About the Lefvoviches | Lefkovicsék gyászolnak | Ádám Breier | Hungary |
| Amal | Jawad Rhalib | Belgium, France | |
| BlackBerry | Matt Johnson | Canada | |
| Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry | Shashvi shashvi maq'vali | Elene Naveriani | Switzerland, Georgia |
| Bonjour Switzerland | Peter Luisi | Switzerland, Italy | |
| Chicken for Linda! | Linda veut du poulet! | Sébastien Laudenbach and Chiara Malta | France, Italy |
| Day Off | 本日公休 | Tien-Yu Fu | Taiwan |
| Empire | Viften | Frederikke Aspöck | Denmark |
| The Extortion | La extorsión | Martino Zaidelis | Argentina |
| Ezra | Tony Goldwyn | United States | |
| The Fishbowl | La pecera | Glorimar Marrero Sánchez | Puerto Rico, Spain |
| Freud's Last Session | Matthew Brown | United States | |
| The Goldman Case | Le Procès Goldman | Cédric Kahn | France |
| Guardians of the Formula | Čuvari formule | Dragan Bjelogrlić | Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia |
| Hajjan | هجّان | Abu Bakr Shawky | Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan |
| Hesitation Wound | Tereddüt Çizgisi | Selman Nacar | Turkey, Spain, Romania, France |
| Holly | Fien Troch | Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France | |
| Joika | James Napier Robertson | New Zealand, Poland | |
| Les Indésirables | Bâtiment 5 | Ladj Ly | France |
| Let the Dance Begin | Empieza el baile | Marina Seresesky | Argentina, Spain |
| Lies We Tell | Lisa Mulcahy | Ireland | |
| Listen Up! | Kaveh Tehrani | Norway | |
| Memory | Michel Franco | United States, Mexico | |
| Mr. Blake At Your Service! | Well Done!, Complètement cramé! | Gilles Legardinier | France |
| Mrs | Arati Kadav | India | |
| Night Courier | Ali Kalthami | Saudi Arabia | |
| One Life | James Hawes | United Kingdom, United States | |
| The Performance | Shira Piven | United States | |
| Power Alley | Levante | Lillah Halla | Brazil, France, Uruguay |
| Puan | María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat | Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, France | |
| Red Rooms | Les chambres rouges | Pascal Plante | Canada |
| Temporaries | Richelieu | Pier-Philippe Chevigny | Canada, France |
| Robot Dreams | Pablo Berger | Spain, France | |
| Running on Sand | Adar Shafran | Israel | |
| Shame on Dry Land | Syndabocken | Axel Petersén | Sweden, Malta |
| Sumo Didi | Jayant Rohatgi | India | |
| Terrestrial Verses | آیه های زمینی | Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami | Iran |
| They Shot the Piano Player | Dispararon al pianista | Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal | Spain, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Peru |
| Together 99 | Tillsammans 99 | Lukas Moodysson | Sweden, Denmark |
| The Trouble with Jessica | Matt Winn | United Kingdom | |
| Unicorns | Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd | United Kingdom, United States, Sweden | |
| The Vanishing Soldier | החייל | Dani Rosenberg | Israel |
| Without Air | Elfogy a levegő | Katalin Moldovai | Hungary |
| Wonderland | 乐园 | Chai Yee Wei | Singapore, Malaysia, United States |
Flashback
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Flashback section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodfellas (1990) | Martin Scorsese | United States | |
| Paris Is Burning (1990) | Jennie Livingston | ||
| Wild at Heart (1990) | David Lynch | ||
Local Spotlight
[edit]The following films were selected to be screened as part of the Local Spotlight section:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amongst the Trees | Trent Ubben and Jack Jensen | United States | |
| The Green Desert | Leo Zahn | ||
Awards
[edit]The following awards were presented at the 35th Edition:[7][8]
International Film competition
[edit]- Best International Feature Film: Four Daughters by Kaouther Ben Hania
- Best Actor in an International Feature Film: Mads Mikkelsen for The Promised Land
- Best Actress in an International Feature Film: Leonie Benesch for The Teachers' Lounge
- Best International Screenplay: Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest
Ibero-American Competition
[edit]- Ibero-American Award: Power Alley by Lillah Halla
- Ibero-American Special Mention: 20,000 Species of Bees by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
Documentary competition
[edit]- Best Documentary: The Echo by Tatiana Huezo
- Special Mention: This World is Not My Own by Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell
New Voices New Visions
[edit]- New Voices New Visions Award: The Animal Kingdom by Thomas Cailley
- New Voices New Visions Special Mention: Animalia by Sofia Alaoui
Other awards
[edit]- Local Jury Award: Wonderland by Chai Yee Wei
- Young Cineastes Award: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person by Ariane Louis-Seize
- MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award: Green Border by Agnieszka Holland
- MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Special Mention: The Old Oak by Ken Loach
- Aucience Award for Best Fiction Film: One Life by James Hawes
- Audience Award for Best Documentary Film: Common Ground by Josh Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell
Opening Gala Awards
[edit]The following awards were presented during the opening gala:[5]
- Vanguard Award: Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese
- Desert Palm Achievement for Best Actor: Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer
- Desert Palm Achievement for Best Actress: Emma Stone for Poor Things
- Breakthrough Performance Award: Da'Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers
- Career Achievement Award: Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction
- Director of the Year Award: Greta Gerwig for Barbie
- International Star Award: Carey Mulligan for Maestro
- Spotlight Award: Colman Domingo for Rustin
- Spotlight Award: Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple
- Chairman's Award: Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell for the song "What Was I Made For?" from Barbie
- Icon Award: Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers.
Creative Impact Awards
[edit]The following creative impact awards were presented:[6]
- Creative Impact in Acting Award to Penélope Cruz
- Creative Impact in Screenwriting Award to Eric Roth
- Creative Impact in Directing Award to Yorgos Lanthimos
Variety's 10 Directors to Watch
[edit]The list consisted of the following directors:[9]
- Blitz Bazawule (The Color Purple)
- İlker Çatak (The Teachers' Lounge)
- Sophie Dupuis (Solo)
- Cord Jefferson (American Fiction)
- Titus Kaphar (Exhibiting Forgiveness)
- Anna Kendrick (Woman of the Hour)
- Kobi Libii (The American Society of Magical Negroes)
- Aaron Schimberg (A Different Man)
- Ena Sendijarević (Sweet Dreams)
- Eva Trobisch (Ivo)
References
[edit]- ^ a b Wu, Valerie (December 5, 2023). "Palm Springs International Film Festival to Open With 'Wicked Little Letters,' Full Lineup Announced". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (November 14, 2023). "'Killers of the Flower Moon' to Receive Vanguard Award at Palm Springs Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (November 16, 2023). "Emma Stone to Receive Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award at Palm Springs International Film Fest". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ McGovern, Joe (November 17, 2023). "Cillian Murphy to Receive Palm Springs Achievement Award for 'Oppenheimer'". The Wrap. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Brew, Caroline; Thompson, Jaden (December 14, 2023). "Paul Giamatti to Receive Icon Award at Palm Springs Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Earl, William (December 20, 2023). "Penélope Cruz to Receive Variety's Creative Impact in Acting Award at Palm Springs International Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ a b Blueskye, Brian (January 13, 2024). "Palm Springs film festival: Best of Fest screenings and juried award winners announced". The Desert Sun. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
- ^ Brew, Caroline (January 14, 2024). "'Four Daughters,' 'The Zone of Interest' Among Palm Springs 2024 Jury Award Winners". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ Debruge, Peter; Elfadl, Murtada; Gilchrist, Todd; Goldstein, Gregg; Hendrickson, Paula; Howard, Courtney; Jackson, Angelique; Simon, Brent; Vary, Adam (January 4, 2024). "Variety's 10 Directors to Watch for 2024: Blitz Bazawule, Cord Jefferson and Anna Kendrick Among Noteworthy Helmers". Variety. Retrieved September 14, 2024.