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Letter from the Chairman
I take great pleasure in welcoming you to this year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival. Gathering with our audiences in front of the big screen to collectively share the best new films the world has to offer takes on a renewed significance this year. At a time when many of us are still limited in our ability to travel, the 130 films curated for this year’s program by artistic director Lili Rodriguez and her talented staff of programmers allow us to journey to 70 countries from every region of the world without ever leaving the Coachella Valley. Our festival offers something to suit every filmgoer’s taste — from escapist comedies and edge-of-your-seat thrillers to HAROLD MATZNER, CHAIRMAN deeply moving dramas and eye-opening documentaries. The festival is widely regarded throughout the industry as the festival that screens almost all of the submissions to the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards®. This year we’re bringing you nearly 40 of those films in our Awards Buzz program. No festival would be complete without a taste of glamour of Hollywood, so we invite you to don your finest attire and celebrate with us in person at this year’s Film Awards, which opens the festival on Thursday, January 6 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. We’ll kick off this year’s awards season by honoring some of the biggest A-list movie stars and filmmakers in the world. It’s the only event in the valley where you can celebrate among Hollywood’s best and brightest, see the glitz and glamour of the red carpet with stars like Will Smith, Penélope Cruz, Kristen Stewart, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Hudson and more Oscar® hopefuls, and enjoy a fabulous dinner in our elegantly decorated ballroom. And it’s all for a good cause, raising more than $2.5 million for the Palm Springs International Film Society’s year-round mission. I want to thank our presenting sponsor and proud partner, American Express; our title sponsor, City of Palm Springs; and our Film Awards host Mary Hart and Entertainment Tonight for helping to make this one of the most exciting events in Palm Springs. Mary will once again emcee the Film Awards ceremony and interview stars for Entertainment Tonight to provide immediate national news coverage that no other festival can get. Our major sponsors are assisted by our wonderful team of individual underwriters, including Helene Galen, JoAnn McGrath, Patti Grundhofer and Jordan Schnitzer, and myself. Our entire board of directors donates more than $1 million annually to this benefit for the Palm Springs International Film Society. It’s our pleasure to continue the legacy of our late friends and supporters such as our founder, Sonny Bono, our former chairman, Earl Greenburg, and our past major donors, James and Jackie Lee Houston. We hope you join us in ringing in a very happy new year at the festival!
