We are just one day away from the Palm Springs Film Festival! I will be reporting from the Southern California oasis and chatting with some of Hollywood’s most inspired actors and actresses who are being honored for their breathtaking performances in 2009.
The fest has 189 films from 70 countries on its lineup. “Our film lineup this year is a strong reflection of the current zeitgeist in world cinema,” festival director Darryl Macdonald told The Hollywood Reporter. “Sixty-seven first-time feature film directors will screen this year, representing a surge of new filmmaking talent on the world stage.”
Entertainment Tonight‘s Mary Hart will emcee the awards, and the gala will be truly star studded. Check out this year’s honorees: Anna Kendrick, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Mariah Carey, director Jason Reitman, Jeff Bridges, T-Bone Burnett, Jeremy Renner and the recently announced French actress, Marion Cotillard and acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino.
“Following a distinguished career in French cinema, Marion Cotillard has firmly established herself as a major actress in American films. Her performance in Rob Marshall’s Nine is nothing short of breathtaking.” says Festival chairman Harold Matzner in a statement, adding “Quentin Tarantino is one of the most gifted, iconoclastic filmmakers of his generation.”
Awards will be presented by luminaries such as Clint Eastwood, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rob Marshall and Jerry Weintraub. The festival is thriving, with ticket sales up six percent. This year’s events include the inauguration of the New Voices/Visions Award, where emerging international directors will compete for a $60,000 camera package.
The festival programmers spend the entire year crisscrossing the world for unique films that would appeal to attendees: “We look for a broad representation of film from many countries because we have a very sophisticated film-going audience who are very discriminating,” said Helen du Toit, director of programming to the LA Times. “It’s kind of a way to travel around the world. You get a sense of what’s happening and you’re culturally inspired by all of these different stories.”
