Ahead of the Oscars 2025 ceremony, the Palm Springs International Film Festival will kick off its 36th edition with Better Man, in which a CG chimp narrates the life story of British pop star Robbie Williams.&nbsp;
On the film festival&rsquo;s opening film, Palm Springs artistic director Liliana Rodriguez says of the unconventional biopic, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s touching and has a unique and personal perspective on fame and resilience.&rdquo;
He added, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fun ride to set the tone for the festival.&rdquo;
The film is directed by Michael Gracey.&nbsp;
<h2>What to expect at the Palm Springs Festival&nbsp;</h2>
Palm Springs International Film Festival will feature 164 films from 71 countries. It will close on January 13 with Peter Cattaneo&rsquo;s The Penguin Lessons, starring Steve Coogan.
The festival will fete breakouts Mikey Madison, Timoth&eacute;e Chalamet, Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman, Kieran Culkin, Angelina Jolie, Ariana Grande, director Denis Villeneuve, and the casts of&nbsp;Conclave and Emilia P&eacute;rez on January 3.
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On January 4, Variety&rsquo;s 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards brunch will honour&nbsp;Emilia P&eacute;rez director Jacques Audiard, Grande&rsquo;s Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo and Unstoppable actor Jennifer Lopez.
Actor Colman Domingo will receive the festival&rsquo;s Spotlight Award. He will be picking the award for Greg Kwedar&rsquo;s Sing Sing as John &ldquo;Divine G&rdquo; Whitfield, an incarcerated man who finds purpose in the theatre while fighting for exoneration.
On the film, Colman said, &ldquo;&lsquo;Sing Sing&rsquo; is so very special to me because, at this time, it is even more impactful to tell stories that help heal us all. I feel like all roads of my 34-year career have led to the work that I have been able to lead and support in this film.&rdquo;
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The Palm Spring Festival is being held in Palm Springs and Cathedral City. It will also screen films at venues like the Coachella Valley, the La Quinta venue among other places.&nbsp;
Among the films we can expect to be screened, there will be an array of 35 international Oscar submissions including Walter Salles&rsquo; I&rsquo;m Still Here (Brazil), Mohammad Rasoulof&rsquo;s The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany) and Mati Diop&rsquo;s Dahomey (Senegal).&nbsp;

The 36th edition of the Palm Springs International Film Festival will start on January 3. The festival will open with the film Better Man.

Ahead of the Oscars 2025 ceremony, the Palm Springs International Film Festival will kick off its 36th edition with Better Man, in which a CG chimp narrates the life story of British pop star Robbie Williams. On the film festival’s opening film, Palm Springs artistic director Liliana Rodriguez says of the unconventional biopic, “It’s touching and has a unique and personal perspective on fame and resilience.” He added, “It’s a fun ride to set the tone for the festival.” The film is directed by Michael Gracey. What to expect at the Palm Springs Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival will feature 164 films from 71 countries. It will close on January 13 with Peter Cattaneo’s The Penguin Lessons, starring Steve Coogan. The festival will fete breakouts Mikey Madison, Timothée Chalamet, Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman, Kieran Culkin, Angelina Jolie, Ariana Grande, director Denis Villeneuve, and the casts of Conclave and Emilia Pérez on January 3. Also read: Diddy documentary: Bodyguard, intern reveal no one wanted to be around him 'unless there were cameras' On January 4, Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards brunch will honour Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard, Grande’s Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo and Unstoppable actor Jennifer Lopez. Actor Colman Domingo will receive the festival’s Spotlight Award. He will be picking the award for Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing as John “Divine G” Whitfield, an incarcerated man who finds purpose in the theatre while fighting for exoneration. On the film, Colman said, “‘Sing Sing’ is so very special to me because, at this time, it is even more impactful to tell stories that help heal us all. I feel like all roads of my 34-year career have led to the work that I have been able to lead and support in this film.” Also read: Golden Globes 2025 presenters: Andrew Garfield, Anya Taylor-Joy, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel among others The Palm Spring Festival is being held in Palm Springs and Cathedral City. It will also screen films at venues like the Coachella Valley, the La Quinta venue among other places. Among the films we can expect to be screened, there will be an array of 35 international Oscar submissions including Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here (Brazil), Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany) and Mati Diop’s Dahomey (Senegal).

Palm Springs Festival: Colman Domingo, Timothée Chalamet, Angelina Jolie among honorees

COVID situation around the world has forced Palm Springs Film Awards to take a backseat as organisers announce that the entire film festival stands cancelled for 2022. This comes after the cancellation was first announced for Palm Springs Film Awards last week.

The festival announced in a statement: “Based on the current rise of COVID cases, the Palm Springs International Film Society has announced that the Film Festival will not take place this year from January 7-17. This follows the cancellation of the January 6 Film Awards. After thoughtful consideration, the Film Society feels this is the most responsible decision to ensure the safety of our patrons, filmmakers, and staff. Those who have purchased festival tickets and passes will receive a refund. &nbsp;For most, the refund will be returned to their original method of payment.

At this time Palm Springs ShortFest is scheduled to return June 21-27, 2022. The Film Festival and Film Awards will return to an in-person event in January 2023. The Film Awards will partner with Entertainment Tonight to celebrate this year’s honorees with details to follow. The festival will announce juried award winners from the official selection on January 15 via press release and social media.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/feeling-like-march-2020-heres-how-covid-omicron-is-affecting-entertainment-again-438366">Feeling like March 2020? Here's how Covid Omicron is affecting entertainment again</a>

The Palm Springs Film Festival is held annually and is known to screen film entry submissions for the foreign language. For 2022, the opening night was scheduled to screen “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over.”

Meanwhile, honorees for the 2022 edition included Kristen Stewart, Penelope Cruz, Jane Campion, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Hudson, Andrew Garfield, “Belfast,” “King Richard,” Lady Gaga and Nicole Kidman.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/yearender-2021-karnan-the-disciple-sherni-the-best-films-of-the-year-441017" hreflang="en">Yearender 2021: 'Karnan', 'The Disciple', 'Sherni' ; The best films of the year</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/yearender-2021-spider-man-no-way-home-to-hi-mom-10-highest-grossing-movies-of-the-year-439854">Yearender 2021: 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' to 'Hi Mom': 10 highest grossing movies of the year</a>

COVID situation around the world has forced Palm Springs Film Awards to take a backseat as organisers announce that the entire film festival stands cancelled for 2022.

COVID situation around the world has forced Palm Springs Film Awards to take a backseat as organisers announce that the entire film festival stands cancelled for 2022. This comes after the cancellation was first announced for Palm Springs Film Awards last week. The festival announced in a statement: “Based on the current rise of COVID cases, the Palm Springs International Film Society has announced that the Film Festival will not take place this year from January 7-17. This follows the cancellation of the January 6 Film Awards. After thoughtful consideration, the Film Society feels this is the most responsible decision to ensure the safety of our patrons, filmmakers, and staff. Those who have purchased festival tickets and passes will receive a refund. For most, the refund will be returned to their original method of payment. At this time Palm Springs ShortFest is scheduled to return June 21-27, 2022. The Film Festival and Film Awards will return to an in-person event in January 2023. The Film Awards will partner with Entertainment Tonight to celebrate this year’s honorees with details to follow. The festival will announce juried award winners from the official selection on January 15 via press release and social media.” Feeling like March 2020? Here's how Covid Omicron is affecting entertainment again The Palm Springs Film Festival is held annually and is known to screen film entry submissions for the foreign language. For 2022, the opening night was scheduled to screen “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over.” Meanwhile, honorees for the 2022 edition included Kristen Stewart, Penelope Cruz, Jane Campion, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Hudson, Andrew Garfield, “Belfast,” “King Richard,” Lady Gaga and Nicole Kidman. Yearender 2021: 'Karnan', 'The Disciple', 'Sherni' ; The best films of the year Yearender 2021: 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' to 'Hi Mom': 10 highest grossing movies of the year

Palm Springs film festival cancelled for 2022

Serena Williams&#39;s husband surprised her when he put up&nbsp;four billboards on a road near Palm Springs, California, declaring the tennis champion to be the greatest mom of all time, or &quot;G.M.O.A.T,&quot; as one of the billboards read, reports said.

The four billboards, which also carry images of her five-month-old daughter Alexis Olympia, were put up by Williams&#39; husband, Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder, ahead of his wife&#39;s participation in the BNP Paris Open in Indian Wells.

Williams, who has won an Open-era record 23 grand slam singles titles, returned to competition earlier this month when she represented the United States in a Fed Cup doubles match.

The four billboards, which also carry images of her five-month-old daughter Alexis Olympia, were put up by Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder

Serena Williams's husband surprised her when he put up four billboards on a road near Palm Springs, California, declaring the tennis champion to be the greatest mom of all time, or "G.M.O.A.T," as one of the billboards read, reports said. The four billboards, which also carry images of her five-month-old daughter Alexis Olympia, were put up by Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder, ahead of his wife's participation in the BNP Paris Open in Indian Wells. Williams, who has won an Open-era record 23 grand slam singles titles, returned to competition earlier this month when she represented the United States in a Fed Cup doubles match.

Husband surprises Serena Williams with four billboards

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Palm Springs Festival: Colman Domingo, Timothée Chalamet, Angelina Jolie among honorees

Palm Springs film festival cancelled for 2022

Husband surprises Serena Williams with four billboards