Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Timothée Chalamet and Gal Gadot will be honored at the upcoming 29th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart, on Tuesday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 4-15, 2018.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival will present Gary Oldman with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor for his performance in Darkest Hour.
“Gary Oldman brings to screen one of the most powerful performances of this year as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. Portraying Britain’s steadfast leader during the tumultuous era of World War II, he has already earned rave reviews from critics and is sure to garner awards attention this season” saidFestival Chairman Harold Matzner. “The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Gary Oldman with this year’s Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor.”
Oldman received the International Star Award at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film festival. Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Casey Affleck, Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne. In the years they were honored, Affleck, Bridges, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, Penn and Redmayne went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Cooper, Firth and Pitt received Oscar nominations.
From Focus Features, Darkest Hour is a thrilling account inspired by the true story of Winston Churchill’s first weeks in office during the early days of the Second World War. Anthony McCarten’s original screenplay takes a revelatory look at the man behind the icon. The film is directed by Joe Wright and stars Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, Ronald Pickup, and Ben Mendelsohn.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival will present Sam Rockwell with the Spotlight Award – Actor for his performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
“Sam Rockwell is one of the most dynamic actors of his generation known for creating memorable and diverse characters. Once again he takes on another challenging role as the immature and explosive Officer Dixon in his critically acclaimed performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” saidFestival Chairman Harold Matzner. ” For this outstanding awards-worthy performance, it is an honor to present Sam Rockwell with the Spotlight Award.”
Past recipients of the Spotlight Award include Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Andrew Garfield, Helen Hunt, Rooney Mara, Julia Roberts and J.K. Simmons. All recipients received Academy Award nominations in the year they were honored, with Simmons receiving the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Fox Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a darkly comedic drama from Academy Award winner Martin McDonagh. After months without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message for Ebbing’s revered Chief of Police, William Willoughby. With the involvement of Officer Dixon (Rockwell), his short-tempered second-in- command, the battle between Mildred and the town’s law enforcement is only exacerbated. The film is written and directed by McDonagh, starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Željko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones, Clarke Peters and Samara Weaving, with John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage. Rockwell won the Hollywood Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in the film.
Timothée Chalamet will be presented with the Rising Star Award – Actor for his performance in Call Me By Your Name.
“Timothée Chalamet gives a stirring performance as Elio, a 17-year- old on the brink of passion and self-discovery. It’s an intimate and erotic performance that transports the audience to another time and place and stays with us long after we’ve left the theater,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Timothée Chalamet with this year’s RisingStar Award – Actor.”
Past recipients of the Rising Star Award include Ruth Negga, Alicia Vikander, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Anna Kendrick, Dakota Fanning, Terrence Howard and Adam Beach.
Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, Call Me By Your Name, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is asensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman. The film stars Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg.
Timothée Chalamet first attracted attention during the second season of Showtime’s “Homeland” as the Vice President’s son, Finn Walden. He received a Drama League nomination, Clive Barnes Award nomination and received the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actor for his performance in the lead role of Jim Quinn in the play “Prodigal Son”.
Chalamet can currently be see in Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird opposite Saoirse Ronan. Upcoming films for Chalamet include Scott Cooper’s Hostiles and Elijah Bynum’s coming of age drama Hot Summer Nights. Next fall, he will be seen as the co-lead opposite Steve Carell in Felix VanGroeningen’s Beautiful Boy and the male lead in Woody Allen’s film A Rainy Day in New York opposite Selena Gomez and Elle Fanning. Other film credits include Julia Hart’s Miss Stevens, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, and Jason Reitman’s Men Women & Children.
The festival will present Gal Gadot with the Rising Star Award – Actress for her performance in Wonder Woman.
“Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman showed us a strong, capable, poised, curious and compassionate character, and her performance has been universally praised, resonating with audiences everywhere. Gal plays the immortal warrior so well, and the film’s themes are especially apt for today, empowering all types of people-women and men, young and old-the world over,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “The Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present Gal Gadot with this year’s Rising Star Award – Actress.”
Past recipients of the Rising Star Award include Ruth Negga, Alicia Vikander, Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Anna Kendrick and Dakota Fanning.