A bevy of stars will be in the desert next week for the red carpet opening of the 29th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Actors and filmmakers will be recognized for achievements over the past year at the festival’s awards gala, set for Tuesday at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
Film festival honorees include Willem Dafoe, Holly Hunter, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, Gal Gadot, Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Mary J. Blige and the cast and crew of “The Shape of Water.”
The festival’s opening night celebration next Thursday will include a screening at Palm Springs High School of Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” and an opening night reception at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Other events include a half-dozen separate 21-and-older parties at venues across Palm Springs and two “Dinner and a Movie” screenings, which showcase films celebrating cuisine, with dinner to follow.
More than 180 films will be screened throughout the festival at venues in Palm Springs and Cathedral City. Festival organizers say they expect more than 135,000 attendees to take in the sights and sounds — both on and off the screen.
Tickets for individual films and passes for screenings throughout the festival, which runs from Tuesday through Jan. 5, remain available. Silver passes at $375 allow entry to either the first or second week of screenings, along with special screenings and Talking Pictures discussions.
Platinum passes at $500 allow entry to all screenings, special screenings, Talking Pictures discussions and Best of the Fest screenings.
Benefactor passes at $3,000 allow guests entry to the Opening Night, Closing Night and Film Awards Gala, in addition to reserved seating at all festival screenings.
Passes and tickets can be purchased online at www.psfilmfest.org or at the Ticket & Information Center at 777 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Unit 113. Tickets may also be purchased at any of the box offices for participating theaters or by calling (800) 898-7256 or (760) 778-8979.
–City News Service