18th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival

18^th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival

The 18^th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival was held January 4^th through 15th. Kicking off with the film “Outsourced”, the event previewed over 200 films from around the world. The festival also included the annual awards gala on January 6^th. Mary Hart returned as host of the night’s festivities. Who were some of the actors and actresses honored at the gala and some of the highlights of the festival?

Honorees at the awards gala included:

Breakthrough Performance Award

This year’s Breakthrough Performance Honor was awarded to Jennifer Hudson. The multi-talented Hudson is a recent Golden Globe winner (with plenty of Oscar buzz) for her role as Effie in the drama/musical “Dreamgirls”.

Career Achievement Award

Cate Blachett was honored with this year’s Career Achievement Award. Blanchett has starred in a number of critically acclaimed movies including “Elizabeth” (1998), as Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and as Katharine Hepburn in 2004’s “The Aviator”, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio’s Howard Hughes, for which she won a best supporting actress Oscar. She recently appeared in the critically acclaimed movies “Babel” (2006) with Brad Pitt, “The Good German” (2006) with George Clooney and “Notes on a Scandal” (2006) with Judi Dench.

Desert Palm Achievement Award

Kate Winslet received the Desert Palm Achievement Award for her critically acclaimed work in “Little Children” (2006). Winslet recently appeared in the romantic comedy “The Holiday” (2006) with Cameron Diaz. She has also received four Oscar nominations for her work in “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), Titanic, “Iris” (2001) and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004).

Ensemble Performance Award

The cast of “Babel” received the festival’s Ensemble Performance Award. Starring Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel” tells three different stories in different countries and how they ultimately are intertwined.

Patron Of The Arts Award

The first recipient of the Patron of the Arts Award was Sydney Pollack. Pollack received an Academy Award for best director for his work on “Out of Africa” (1985) starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, which also won best picture. He has also directed “The Way We Were” (1973) with Barbra Streisand, “Tootsie” (1982) with Dustin Hoffman and “The Interpreter” (2005) with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.

Rising Star Award

Actor Adam Beach and Jessica Biel were both honored with Rising Star Awards. Beach recently appeared in Clint Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers” (2006). He has also co-starred opposite Nicolas Cage in “Windtalkers” (2002) and appeared in “Joe Dirt” (2001) and “Mystery, Alaska” (1999). Biel stars opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the film “Home of the Brave” (2006). She starred in the critically acclaimed film “The Illusionist” (2006) with Edward Norton, “Elizabethtown” (2005) with Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst and in the action/thriller “Blade: Trinity” (2004) with Wesley Snipes.

Sonny Bono Visionary Award

This year’s Sonny Bono Visionary Award went to Todd Field. Field, who directed “Little Children” (2006) has spent time behind and in front of the camera. He has appeared in such films as “Twister” (1996), “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) and The Haunting. Field directed the Oscar nominated drama “In the Bedroom” (2001) starring Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson.

Vanguard Award

“Little Miss Sunshine” was the recipient of the Vanguard Award for its creative and innovative techniques in film making. Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Toni Colette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano and Greg Kinnear star in the film which tells the story of one family’s determined journey to enter young Olive Hoover (Breslin) into a beauty pageant.

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