The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), which runs from January 1-11, has become a respected event that highlights emerging filmmakers as well as Hollywood heavyweights, just before Oscar season. This year, its 27th, the PSIFF is showing 10 Canadian films.
“There’s this really amazing cross-over and cross-section between the official competition with first features and these emerging voices, and being in that same space and celebrating films along with the other Oscar-contending, larger films of the year,” homegrown filmmaker Andrew Cividino told CBC News. Stars like Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp along with director Ridley Scott are at this year’s event. “It really draws attention at a critical moment before people have that opportunity to dig in and really think about who they might want to vote for.”
“All over the world, other film festivals recognize the strength of film in Canada,” added the festival’s artistic director Helen du Toit in the same article. “For Canada’s size, it’s punching way above its weight.”
The Palm Springs International Film Festival has a well-established reputation as one of the most prestigious and well-attended film festivals in the country. The Festival has long secured its place on the world stage as the portal for the very best in world cinema, welcoming more than 136,000 enthusiastic filmgoers to Palm Springs every January.
