Events - Recent Events

As film festivals grow in number, the 24th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) stands out by screening 182 films from 68 countries, including 42 of the 71 foreign language entries for this year’s Academy Awards. The January event provided ample entertainment to the Palm Springs community as area theaters were packed with attendees eager to hear directly from filmmakers. The festival closed with the announcement of numerous winners and the handing out of awards.

“I couldn’t be more delighted that our juries selected so many films by debuting and emerging directors for honors, in addition to the films they singled out from established filmmakers at this year’s event,” said Festival Director Darryl Macdonald. “In that sense, their choices perfectly reflected the Festival’s own programming choices for this year’s lineup, validating our selections and providing ample evidence of a new generation of exceptional filmmaking talent currently emerging on the world stage.”

Artistic Director Helen du Toit also celebrated the event. “This is a great day for Ibero-American cinema!” she enthused. “I was delighted that Pablo Berger’s magnificent film Blancanieves was selected to receive our inaugural Cine Latino Award. This is Pablo’s third time at PSIFF and the third time he has won a prize. In fact, this has been an extraordinary year for Cine Latino cinema at the Festival, with new Argentinean Director Dario Nardi winning the Cine Latino Award special mention for Sadourni’s Butterflies and the New Voices/New Visions jurors selecting Peru’s The Cleaner followed by Paraguay’s 7 Boxes.” Other PSIFF winners include The Sapphires for the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature; Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey for the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature; Fill the Void for the FIPRESCI Prize; and Stolen Seas for the John Schlesinger Award.

Photos:

a) Gala Red Carpet Event

b) Talking Pictures Les Miserables

c) Canadian Reception

d) Directors Retreat