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's black comedy film Ex-Husbands.
Background and special awards 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. 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. 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.
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.
Juries The juries consists of the following members:
FIPRESCI International Film Jury Marriska Fernandes, Canadian film critic. , Danish film critic. Wilfred Okiche, Nigerian film critic.
Ibero-American Jury 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 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 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 The films selected for each section are as follows:
Awards Buzz – Best International Feature Film Submissions The following section consists of submissions for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards: English title Original title Director(s) Production countrie(s) 20 Days in Mariupol 20 днів у Маріуполі Mstyslav Chernov Ukraine About Dry Grasses Kuru Otlar Üstüne Nuri Bilge Ceylan Turkey Behind the Haystacks Πίσω από τις θημωνιές Asimina Proedrou Greece Blaga's Lessons Уроците на Блага Stephan Komandarev Bulgaria Brothers Bratři Czech Republic The Burdened المرهقون Amr Gamal Yemen Bye Bye Tiberias باي باي طبريا Lina Soualem Palestine City of Wind Сэр сэр салхи Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir Mongolia Concrete Utopia 콘크리트 유토피아 Um Tae-hwa South Korea The Delinquents Los delincuentes Rodrigo Moreno Argentina Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World Nu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumii Radu Jude Romania Fallen Leaves Kuolleet lehdet Aki Kaurismäki Finland Four Daughters بنات ألفة Kaouther Ben Hania Tunisia Godland Volaða land / Vanskabte Land Hlynur Pálmason Iceland Goodbye Julia وداعا جوليا Mohamed Kordofani Sudan Housekeeping for Beginners Домаќинство за почетници Goran Stolevski North MacedoniaIn Flames ان فلیمز Zarrar Kahn Pakistan Inshallah a Boy إن شاء الله ولد Amjad Al-Rasheed Jordan Io Capitano Matteo Garrone Italy The Missing Iti Mapukpukaw Carl Joseph Papa Philippines The Monk and the Gun Pawo Choyning Dorji Bhutan The Mother of All Lies كذب أبيض Asmae El Moudir Morocco Opponent Motståndaren Milad Alami Sweden The Peasants Chłopi DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman Poland Perfect Days Wim Wenders Japan The Promised Land Bastarden Nikolaj Arcel Denmark The Settlers Los colonos Felipe Gálvez Haberle Chile Seven Blessings שבע ברכות Ayelet Menahemi Israel Shayda Noora Niasari AustraliaSira Apolline Traoré Burkina Faso Smoke Sauna Sisterhood Savvusanna sõsarad Anna Hints Estonia Society of the Snow La sociedad de la nieve J.A. Bayona Spain Songs of Earth Fedrelandet Margreth Olin Norway Sweet Dreams Ena Sendijarević Netherlands The Taste of Things La Passion de Dodin Bouffant Trần Anh Hùng France The Teachers' Lounge Das Lehrerzimmer İlker Çatak Germany Tiger Stripes Amanda Nell Eu MalaysiaTótem Lila Avilés MexicoVera Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel Austria The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer United Kingdom Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
Talking Pictures 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 Cord Jefferson United States Barbie Greta Gerwig Killers of the Flower Moon Martin Scorsese
Modern Masters 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 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 Einvera Ninna Pálmadóttir Iceland, Slovakia, France Stolen Karan Tejpal India The Sweet East Sean Price Williams United States We Have Never Been Modern Úsvit Czech Republic, Slovakia Highlighted title indicates the section winner.
American Indies 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
True Stories The following films were selected to be screened as part of the True Stories section: 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 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 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 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 (2023) Stephen Soucy United States Quartet (1981) James Ivory France, United Kingdom Shakespeare Wallah (1965) United States, India
Family Day 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 The following films were selected to be screened as part of the World Cinema Now section: