Palm Springs Film Festival Lineup: ‘Better Man’, ‘The Penguin Lessons’, 35 International Oscar Contenders
Michael Gracey’s Robbie Williams biopic musical Better Man will open the 36th annual Palm Springs Film Festival on Thursday, January 2, while The Penguin Lessons, directed by Peter Cattaneo and starring Steve Coogan in the heartwarming story of a teacher who rescues and adopts an adorable penguin, closes it out January 13. Both films had premieres at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year, and Better Man first had its world premiere at Telluride.
As always a hallmark of PSIFF are screenings of numerous entries into the Oscar International Feature Film race, this year with 35 scheduled to screen in the desert.
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The festival has programmed 158 films from 71 countries including 68 premieres (three world, three international, 15 North American, 15 U.S., and 32 California). The lineup also includes sections like Talking Pictures, a focus on Spanish films with a spotlight on Pedro Almodóvar, New Voices New Visions, Modern Masters, Queer Cinema, Cine Latino, True Stories, World Cinema Now, and more.
Other highlights for this year, with filmmakers in person, include the local spotlight feature Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion with fashion designer Mackie; Drive Back Home with actor Alan Cumming; Group Therapy with comedian London Hughes; Lilly with actress Patricia Clarkson; another TIFF debut, Millers in Marriage with actor-writer-director Edward Burns; Reading Lolita in Tehran with actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi; and a Family Day screening of Flow with director Gints Zilbalodis.
The festival will also have three world premiere titles: Bun Tikki with director Faraz Arif Ansari, The Stamp Thief with director Dan Sturman, and You’re No Indian with director Ryan Flynn.
“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,” artistic director Lili Rodriguez said Tuesday. “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.”
The annual PSIFF Gala celebrating numerous previously announced Oscar contenders will take place on January 3.
Here is the full lineup:
AWARDS BUZZ – BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM SUBMISSIONS
Armand (Norway), Director Halfdan Ullmann T?ndel
Come Closer (Israel), Director Tom Nesher
Dahomey (Senegal), Director Mati Diop
Drowning Dry (Lithuania), Director Laurynas Barei?a (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 Tanovi? (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 Parvu (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 Ji?í Mádl
TALKING PICTURES
Emilia Pérez (France) with director Jacques Audiard and actors Zoe Salda?a, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Edgar Ramírez
Sing Sing (United States) with actor Colman Domingo
MODERN MASTERS
Hard Truths (United Kingdom/Spain), Director Mike Leigh
Never Alone (Estonia/Finland), Director Klaus H?r? (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 Fran?ois 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 Mure?anu (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
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 Gara?o (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)
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, J?rg 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)
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, BehtashSanaeeha
Odd Fish (Iceland/Finland/Czech Republic), Director Sn?var S?lvason (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 M?ller (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/SaudiArabia/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)
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