The Palm Springs International Film Festival continues into its fifth day Monday, featuring special screenings and preparation for juried awards.
A new crop of filmmakers were honored Saturday during Variety’s Creative Impact Awards ceremony as part of the entertainment publication’s “10 Directors to Watch” series, including Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”), Malcolm Washington (“The Piano Lesson”) and Halina Reijn (“Babygirl”).
The other names in the class of 2025 are Durga Chew-Bose (“Bonjour Tristesse”), David Fortune (“Color Book”), Drew Hancock (“Companion”), Zoe Kravitz (“Blink Twice”), Tom Nesher (“Come Closer”), James Sweeney (“Twinless”) and Magnus von Horn (“The Girl With the Needle”).
Honorees from past lists include Academy Award winners Wes Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón, Christopher Nolan, Chloé Zhao and Taika Waititi. Cord Jefferson, an alumnus from the most recent group of 10, won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar at the 2024 ceremony for “American Fiction.”
Variety’s event also recognized more established artists, including “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo (Creative Impact in Acting) and “Emilia Pérez” auteur Jacques Audiard (Creative Impact in Directing) — both of whom are representing musicals.
Both of those award recipients also attended special screenings of their films as part of the festival’s “Talking Pictures” series.
Erivo introduced “Wicked” with co-star Ariana Grande and director Jon M. Chu prior to a 1 p.m. screening of the Broadway adaptation at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Grande was given the Rising Star Award at Friday’s ceremony.
Two other movie screenings also included visits from filmmakers as part of the “Books to Screen” series. “Conclave” director Edward Berger, whose film was previously recognized with the Ensemble Performance Award, made an appearance for a showing of the papal election thriller. “Reading Lolita in Tehran” director Eran Riklis, author Azar Naifisi and screenwriter Marjorie David were on hand for their movie’s North American premiere.
After the day’s events, the festival will continue through next week, including the announcement of juried awards on Jan. 12. The complete lineup of films can be found at psfilmfest.org.