.png){kind=logo}
1 day ago
1
The 37th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced this year’s juried award winners today, with prizes going to Oscar contenders “Sirât,” “Left-Handed Girl,” and “Sentimental Value,” as well as new films from Egypt, Slovakia, Austria, South Korea, and Peru. In keeping with the festival’s tradition of showcasing the best in international cinema, 44 of this year’s International Feature Film Oscar submissions screened as part of a lineup that included 178 films from 72 countries and territories.
The 44 Oscar contenders competed for the FIPRESCI Prize, which went to Oliver Laxe’s propulsive drama “Sirât,” a film that played particularly well in Palm Springs given its desert setting. As the jury said in a statement, “Since Palm Springs is the ultimate film buff’s party in the desert where the mountains meet the sky, we feel it’s only appropriate to award the FIPRESCI Prize to ‘Sirāt.'”
Egyptian director Sarah Goher took home the FIPRESCI Prize for Best International First Feature Film for her gentle but somber debut feature “Happy Birthday,” a film that examines Egyptian class hierarchies through the eyes of a child (an impressive Doha Ramadan). The FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actor in an International Feature Film went to Milan Ondrík for his poignant portrayal of a grief-stricken parent in Tereza Nvotová’s Slovakian film “Father.”
Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt’s exquisitely calibrated script for “Sentimental Value” was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Screenplay, while the FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actress in an International Feature Film was given to an ensemble: “Left-Handed Girl” stars Nina-Ye, Shih-Yuan Ma, and Janel Tsai, who were justly lauded for their performances as three generations of Taiwanese women.
The Best Documentary Award went to an American film, Suzannah Herbert’s “Natchez.” A study of the bustling industry of Antebellum tourism on the Mississippi River, “Natchez” was one of several documentaries in this year’s competition wrestling with history as something constantly evolving and contentious. A turbulent political context was also on display in a documentary that received a Special Mention from the jury: Richard Ladkani’s “Yanuni,” a portrait of Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia.
The festival’s New Voices New Visions Award, created to recognize emerging filmmakers’ first or second feature, was given to South Korean director Joonho Park for “3670,” a story about a gay North Korean defector navigating the complexities of coming out. A New Voices New Visions Special Mention went to Spanish director Eva Libertad for her powerful drama “Deaf,” about a deaf woman and her hearing partner preparing for the birth of their child.
For the Ibero-American Award, which is presented to the best film from Latin America, Spain, or Portugal, the jury selected Augusto Zegarra’s Peruvian film “Runa Simi,” a tale about a father and son on a quest to dub Disney’s “The Lion King” into their native language as a political act. The timely thriller “It Would Be Night in Caracas” from Mexico and Venezuela, which sparked heated discussion and debate among festival audiences given its relationship to current events, was recognized with a Special Mention.
The two remaining awards were given by committees separate from the main competition jury. The Desert Views Award, intended for films that promote understanding and acceptance, was voted on by a jury of Palm Springs locals who gave the prize to “Beloved Tropic.” A film from Panama by director Ana Endara, it’s a moving drama about the relationship between a pregnant immigrant and the woman she takes a job caring for — a high society woman with dementia.
The Young Cineastes Award was selected by a jury composed of high school students with a passion for cinema. Their award went to American director Paige Bethmann’s “Remaining Native,” a drama about a teenage cross-country runner who retraces his grandfather’s 50-mile escape route from the Indian boarding school that held him captive.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival ends tomorrow with encore screenings of the award winners, but save the date: Palm Springs ShortFest is scheduled to return June 23-29.
English (US) ·