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The Palm Springs International Film Festival is set to kick off on Jan. 2 with “Better Man,” directed by Michael Gracey, while the closing film on Jan. 12 will be “The Penguin Lessons,” directed by Peter Cattaneo.
The lineup will feature 35 of the international feature film Oscar submissions. Over 11 days, the festival will screen 158 films from 71 countries, including 68 premieres.
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Also set are a focus on Spanish films including a spotlight on Pedro Almodóvar, and the return of sections such as New Voices New Visions, Modern Masters, Queer Cinema, Cine Latino, True Stories and World Cinema Now.
“Better Man” is based on the true story of the rise, fall and return of British musician Robbie Williams. Cattaneo will be in attendance for “The Penguin Lessons,” a dramedy about a schoolteacher in militaristic Argentina who rescues a penguin.
Several of the honorees from the Palm Springs International Film Awards are set to participate in the Talking Pictures screenings, including Colman Domingo for “Sing Sing” and Jacques Audiard, Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Edgar Ramírez for “Emilia Pérez.”
“Our lineup this year is truly something special. In true PSIFF fashion, it spans genres and crosses borders to bring an exciting mix of films to the Coachella Valley,” said Artistic Director Lili Rodriguez. “Over the past year, our Palm Springs International Film Festival team has carefully crafted a program that celebrates the art of storytelling, and promises an array of films– from family-friendly films, to thought-provoking and urgent works. It’s all about fostering that dynamic community of film lovers who gather here in Palm Springs each year to experience transformative stories and forge meaningful connections.”
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Also featured at this year’s festival is local spotlight feature “Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion” with fashion designer Bob Mackie, “Drive Back Home” with Alan Cumming, “Group Therapy” with London Hughes, “Lilly” with Patricia Clarkson, “Millers in Marriage” with Edward Burns, “Reading Lolita in Tehran” with Zar Amir Ebrahimi and “Flow” with director Gints Zilbalodis.
The Dinner and a Movie series will pair features with special menus, including “Trifole,” “Shelf Life” and “Rioja, the Land of a Thousand Wines.”
General ticket sales start Dec. 2 at psfilmfest.org.
The full selection is below:
AWARDS BUZZ – BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM SUBMISSIONS
● Armand (Norway), Director Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
● Come Closer (Israel), Director Tom Nesher
● Dahomey (Senegal), Director Mati Diop
● Drowning Dry (Lithuania), Director Laurynas Bareiša (North American Premiere)
● Emilia Pérez (France), Director Jacques Audiard
● Everybody Loves Touda (Morocco), Director Nabil Ayouch
● Flow (Latvia), Director Gints Zibalodis
● From Ground Zero (Palestine), Anthology featuring 22 contributing directors, see
website for full list (California Premiere)
● The Girl with The Needle (Denmark), Director Magnus von Horn
● Grand Tour (Portugal), Director Miguel Gomes
● How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (Thailand), Director Pat Boonnitipat
● The Hungarian Dressmaker (Slovakia), Director Iveta Grófová
● I’m Still Here (Brazil), Director Walter Salles
● Julie Keeps Quiet (Belgium), Director Leonardo Van Dijl (California Premiere)
● Kill the Jockey (Argentina), Director Luis Ortega (U.S. Premiere)
● Kneecap (Ireland), Director Rich Peppiatt
● La Suprema (Colombia), Director Felipe Holguín Caro
● The Last Journey (Sweden), Director Filip Hammar & Fredrik Wikingsson
● Life (Turkey), Director Zeki Demirkubuz
● Lost Ladies (India), Director Kiran Rao
● Meeting With Pol Pot (Cambodia), Director Rithy Panh (North American Premiere)
● Memories of a Burning Body (Costa Rica), Director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss
(California Premiere)
● My Late Summer (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Director Danis Tanović (U.S. Premiere)
● Old Fox (Taiwan), Director Hsiao Ya-Chuan
● Santosh (United Kingdom), Director Sandhya Suri
● Saturn Return (Spain), Director Isaki Lacuesta, Pol Rodríguez
● The Seed of The Sacred Fig (Germany), Director Mohammad Rasoulof
● Shambhala (Nepal), Director Min Bahadur Bham (U.S. Premiere)
● Sujo (Mexico), Director Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez
● Three Kilometers to The End of The World (Romania), Director Emanuel Pârvu
(California Premiere)
● Touch (Iceland), Director Baltasar Kormákur
● Twilight Of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong), Director Soi Cheang
● Universal Language (Canada), Director Matthew Rankin
● Vermiglio (Italy), Director Maura Delpero
● Waves (Czech Republic), Director Jiří Mádl
TALKING PICTURES
● Emilia Pérez (France) with director Jacques Audiard and actors Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Edgar Ramírez
● Sing Sing (United States) with actor Colman Domingo
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MODERN MASTERS
● Hard Truths (United Kingdom/Spain), Director Mike Leigh
● Never Alone (Estonia/Finland), Director Klaus Härö (North American Premiere)
● Parthenope (Italy), Director Paolo Sorrentino
● Presence (United States), Director Steven Soderbergh
● A Traveler’s Needs (South Korea), Director Hong Sangsoo
● When Fall Is Coming (France), Director François Ozon (U.S. Premiere)
NEW VOICES NEW VISIONS
● Bob Trevino Likes It (United States), Director Tracie Laymon
● Bonjour Tristesse (Canada/Germany), Director Durga Chew-Bose
● Color Book (United States), Director David Fortune
● Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (South Africa), Director Embeth Davidtz (California Premiere)
● Hanami (Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde), Director Denise Fernandes
● The New Year That Never Came (Romania), Director Bogdan Mureșanu (California
Premiere)
● To A Land Unknown (United
Kingdom/Palestine/France/Greece/Netherlands/Germany/Qatar/Saudi Arabia), Director Mahdi Fleifel
AMERICAN INDIES
● Bad Shabbos (United States), Director Daniel Robbins
● The Friend (United States), Directors Scott Mcgehee, David Siegel (California
Premiere)
● I Don’t Understand You (United States/Italy), Directors Brian Crano, David Craig
● Lilly (United States), Director Rachel Feldman (California Premiere)
● Love Me (United States), Director Sam Zuchero & Andy Zuchero
● Millers In Marriage (United States), Director Edward Burns (U.S. Premiere)
● Paper Flowers (United States), Director Mahesh Pailoor
● Sacramento (United States), Director Michael Angarano
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TRUE STORIES
● Adrianne & The Castle (Canada), Director Shannon Walsh
● Agent of Happiness (Bhutan/Hungary), Director Arun Bhattarai & Dorottya Zurbó
● Apocalypse in the Tropics (Brazil), Director Petra Costa (California Premiere)
● Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It (United States), Director Paris Barclay
● Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story (Ireland/United Kingdom), Director Sinéad O’shea
(California Premiere)
● Bring Them Home (United States), Directors Ivan Macdonald, Ivy Macdonald, Daniel
Glick
● Checkpoint Zoo (United States/Ukraine), Director Joshua Zeman
● Counted Out (United States), Director Vicki Abeles
● Desert Angel (United States), Director Vincent Deluca (California Premiere)
● The Diamond King (United States), Director Marq Evans (California Premiere)
● Diane Warren: Relentless (United States), Director Bess Kargman
● Driver (United States), Director Nesa Azimi (California Premiere)
● Every Little Thing (Australia), Director Sally Aitken (California Premiere)
● Good Men (United States), Director Bobby Roth
● Group Therapy (United States), Director Neil Berkeley
● Headhunting To Beatboxing (India), Director Rohit Gupta (North American Premiere)
● His Own Way – The Cinema of Avi Nesher (Israel), Director Yair Raveh
● Homegrown (United States), Director Michael Premo
● Igualada (Colombia/Mexico/United States), Director Juan Mejía
● Janis Ian: Breaking Silence (United States), Director Varda Bar-Kar
● Jean Cocteau (United States), Director Lisa Immordino Vreeland (California Premiere)
● Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (United States), Director Bruce David Klein
(California Premiere)
● Mistress Dispeller (China/United States), Director Elizabeth Lo
● My Sweet Land (Jordan/United States/France/Ireland), Director Sareen Hairabedian
● Nasty (Romania), Directors Tudor Giurgiu, Tudor D. Popescu, Cristian Pascariu (North
American Premiere)
● No Other Land (Palestine), Directors Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal,
Rachel Szor
● Paul Anka: His Way (United States), Director John Maggio (California Premiere)
● Sabbath Queen (United States), Director Sandi DuBowski
● Schindler Space Architect (United States), Director Valentina Ganeva
● Shelf Life (United States/Japan/Switzerland/Georgia/England/Egypt/Spain/Wales),
Director Ian Cheney (California Premiere)
● Space Cowboy (United States), Directors Marah Strauch, Bryce Leavitt
● The Stamp Thief (United States/Poland/Germany), Director Dan Sturman (World
Premiere)
● A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things (United Kingdom), Director Mark Cousins
(California Premiere)
● Tokito: The 540-Day Journey of A Culinary Maverick (Japan), Director Aki Mizutani
(North American Premiere)
● Transfers (Argentina/Uruguay), Director Nicolás Gil Lavedra (North American
Premiere)
● Walk With Me (United States), Director Heidi Levitt
● Whatever It Takes (United Kingdom/United States), Director Jenny Carchman
● You’re No Indian (United States), Director Ryan Flynn (World Premiere)
● Zurawski V. Texas (United States), Directors Maisie Crow, Abbie Perrault
SPANISH FOCUS
● Afternoons of Solitude (Spain/France/Portugal), Director Albert Serra
● The Exiles (Spain/Chile), Director Belén Funes (U.S. Premiere)
● Holy Mother (Spain/Belgium), Director Antonio Chavarrías (California Premiere)
● I Am Nevenka (Spain/Italy), Director Icíar Bollaín (California Premiere)
● Marco, The Invented Truth (Spain), Directors Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño (California
Premiere)
● Rioja, The Land of a Thousand Wines (Spain), Director José Luis López-Linares
● The Wailing (Spain/France/Argentina), Director Pedro Martín-Calero (U.S. Premiere)
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SPOTLIGHT: PEDRO ALMODÓVAR
● All About My Mother (1999)
● Matador (1986)
● The Room Next Door (2024)
● Talk To Her (2002)
QUEER CINEMA TODAY & THE GAYLA
● Bun Tikki (India), Director Faraz Arif Ansari (World Premiere)
● Desire Lines (United States), Director Jules Rosskam
● Drive Back Home (Canada), Director Michael Clowater
● Four Mothers (Ireland/United Kingdom), Director Darren Thornton
● A House Is Not a Disco (United States), Director Brian J. Smith
● I’m Your Venus (United States), Director Kimberly Reed (California Premiere)
● Misericordia (France/Spain/Portugal), Director Alain Guiraudie
● A Nice Indian Boy (United States/Canada), Director Roshan Sethi (California
Premiere, Gayla Spotlight)
● Sally! (United States), Director Deborah Craig, Jörg Fockele, Ondine Rarey (Gay!la Spotlight)
FAMILY DAY
● The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (United States), Director Pete
Browngardt
● Flow (Latvia/France/Belgium), Director Gints Zibalodis
● The Mountain (New Zealand), Director Rachel House (U.S. Premiere)
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WORLD CINEMA NOW
● Arcadia (Greece/Bulgaria/United States), Director Yorgos Zois (North American
Premiere)
● Auction (France), Director Pascal Bonitzer
● Audrey (Australia), Director Natalie Bailey (California Premiere)
● Black Dog (China), Director Guan Hu
● Bushido (Japan), Director Kazuya Shiraishi
● The Correspondent (Australia), Kriv Stenders (International Premiere)
● From Hilde, With Love (Germany), Director Andreas Dresen (U.S. Premiere)
● Ghost Trail (France/Germany/Belgium), Director Jonathan Millet (California
Premiere)
● Happy Holidays (Palestine/Germany/France/Italy/Qatar), Director Scandar Copti
(California Premiere)
● John Cranko (Germany), Director Joachim Lang (North American Premiere)
● Maldoror (Belgium/France), Director Fabrice du Welz
● Manas (Brazil/Portugal), Director Marianna Brennand (North American Premiere)
● My Favourite Cake (Iran/France/Sweden/Germany), Directors Maryam Moghaddam,
Behtash Sanaeeha
● Odd Fish (Iceland/Finland/Czech Republic), Director Snævar Sölvason (International
Premiere)
● On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Zambia/United Kingdom/Ireland), Director Rungano
Nyoni
● Pink Lady (Israel/Italy), Director Nir Bergman (California Premiere)
● The Quiet Ones (Denmark/United States), Director Frederik Louis Hviid (California Premiere)
● Quisling – The Final Days (Norway), Director Erik Poppe (U.S. Premiere)
● Sex (Norway/United States), Director Dag Johan Haugerud (California Premiere)
● The Shameless (Switzerland/France/Bulgaria/Taiwan/India), Director Konstantin
Bojanov (North American Premiere)
● Sons (Denmark/Sweden), Director Gustav Möller (North American Premiere)
● Souleymane’s Story (France), Director Boris Lojkine
● Sunshine (Philippines), Director Antoinette Jadaone (U.S. Premiere)
● Superboys Of Malegaon (India/United States), Director Reema Kagti
● Tatami (Georgia/Israel/Iran), Directors Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Guy Nattiv (U.S. Premiere)
● There’s Still Tomorrow (Italy/United States), Director Paola Cortellesi
● Through Rocks and Clouds (Peru/Chile), Director Franco García Becerra (California
Premiere)
● Tinā (Mother) (New Zealand), Director Miki Magasiva (California Premiere)
● To Kill a Mongolian Horse (Malaysia/Hong Kong/South Korea/Japan/Saudi
Arabia/Thailand/United States), Director Xiaoxuan Jiang (North American Premiere)
● Trifole (Italy/South Africa/United States), Director Gabriele Fabbro (International
Premiere)
● Waltzing With Brando (United States/French Polynesia), Director Bill Fishman
● The Way, My Way (Australia), Director Bill Bennett (North American Premiere)
● William Tell (United Kingdom), Director Nick Hamm (U.S. Premiere)
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
Highlighting films from the Coachella Valley.
● Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion (United States), Director Matthew Miele
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