35th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces Festival Lineup

The 35th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced that the festival’s opening night will be the U.S. Premiere of Wicked Little Letters directed by Thea Sharock, on Friday, January 5. The festival will close with Ex-Husbands, directed by Noah Pritzker on Saturday, January 13. The festival will screen 179 films from 74 countries, including 47 premieres (8 World, 3 International, 12 North American, and 24 U.S.) from January 4-15, 2024. The line-up includes 40 of the International Feature Film Oscar® Submissions along with Talking Pictures, New Voices New Visions, Modern Masters, Queer Cinema, Cine Latino, True Stories, World Cinema Now, and more.

OPENING AND CLOSING SCREENINGS
PSIFF will open with Wicked Little Letters on Friday, January 5 at the Richards Center for the Arts. Director Thea Sharrock is expected to attend. Based on a true scandal that stunned 1920s England, the film centers around the story of neighbors Edith Swan and Rose Gooding in the seaside town of Littlehampton. One day, a series of obscene letters begin to target Edith and others, with suspicion falling upon Rose. As the outrageous letters continue to escalate, Rose risks losing both her freedom and custody of her daughter. The film stars Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Malachi Kirby, Eileen Atkins, and Timothy Spall.

The Festival will close with Ex-Husbands on Saturday, January 13. Director and writer Noah Pritzker is expected to attend along with actors Griffin Dunne and Miles Heizer. The comedy is about a man overwhelmed with his divorce from his wife and his father dying, takes off to Tulum, where his two sons happen to be for a bachelor party. The film also stars James Norton, Rosanna Arquette, John Ventimiglia, Natalie Gold and Lou Taylor Pucci.

Highlights for this year include the World Premiere of A Look Through His Lens about Oscar-winning cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, executive produced by Kim Basinger and Lynne Littman and produced by Oren Segal and co-directed by Matthew Berkowitz and Gregory Hoblit; along with the World Premieres of All About the Lefkoviches with director Adam Breier; All Illusions Must Be Broken with directors Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell; All We Carry with director Cady Voge; Bad Faith with director Christopher Jones; Born Hungry with director Barry Avrich and subject Sash Simpson; and two local spotlight films – Amongst the Trees with directors Trent Ubben and Jack Jensen and The Green Desert with director Leo Zahn. Additional titles include Blackberry with actor Glenn Howerton; Fresh Kills with director Jennifer Esposito; The Performance with actor Jeremy Piven and director Shira Piven; The Taste of Things with director Trân Anh Hùng; and Dinner and a Movie screening of Susan Feniger. FORKED with chef Susan Feniger and director Liz Lachman.

On Thursday, January 4 and Friday, January 5, the Festival will present the Talking Pictures program with several of the Palm Springs International Film Awards honorees. These will include screenings of American Fiction with actor Jeffrey Wright; Barbie with director Greta Gerwig; and Killers of the Flower Moon with screenwriter Eric Roth.

The Festival will feature a focus on South Korean cinema including films from the festival circuit and a selection of revered classics, such as Cobweb, The Handmaiden, Memories of Murder, Train to Busan, and more. In celebration of the Festival’s 35th anniversary, they’ll present a Flashback series of films released in 1990, including Goodfellas, Paris Is Burning, and Wild at Heart with each film introduced by TCM’s Dave Karger. A spotlight selection of celebrated filmmaker, James Ivory, will also take place featuring films such as Howards End, Maurice, Shakespeare Wallah and more. On Saturday, January 13, there will be Family Day screenings including films Flamin’ Hot with Director Eva Longoria, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Dancing Queen.

“Sprawling in scope, this year’s lineup spotlights programming from both international and domestic communities, including first-time filmmaking from American stars, impactful documentaries from abroad, and the very best in contemporary cinema for our Coachella Valley audience,” said Artistic Director Lili Rodriguez. “The Palm Springs International Film Festival programming team committed the past year to searching and scavenging the world for the films which compose this Festival’s lineup. The varied screenings at the 2024 edition will unite family entertainment, critical commentary, dramatic excellence and, most importantly, the community for cinematic conversation which meets every year in beautiful, sophisticated Palm Springs.”

AWARDS BUZZ – BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM SUBMISSIONS
This section is selected by Festival programmers as the strongest entries in this year’s Academy Awards® race and will screen 40 official submissions from the Best International Feature Film category. A special jury of international film critics will review these films to present the FIPRESCI Award for Best International Feature Film of the Year, as well as Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay in this category. On Monday, January 8, The Hollywood Reporter will also host in-depth panel discussion with some of the directors that have made the Best International Feature Film short-list.

● 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) Director Mstyslav Chernov
● About Dry Grasses (Turkey) Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan
● Behind the Haystacks (Greece) Director Asimina Proedrou (North American Premiere)
● Blaga’s Lessons (Bulgaria) Director Stephan Komandarev
● Brothers (Czech Republic) Director Tomáš Mašín (International Premiere)
● The Burdened (Yemen) Director Amr Gamal
● Bye Bye Tiberias (Palestine) Director Lina Soualem
● City of Wind (Mongolia) Director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
● Concrete Utopia (South Korea) Director Um Tae-Hwa
● The Delinquents (Argentina) Director Rodrigo Moreno
● Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Romania) Director Radu Jude
● Fallen Leaves (Finland) Director Aki Kaurismäki
● Four Daughters (Tunisia) Director Kaouther Ben Hania
● Godland (Iceland) Director Hlynur Pálmason
● Goodbye Julia (Sudan) Director Mohamed Kordofani
● Housekeeping for Beginners (North Macedonia) Director Goran Stolevski
● In Flames (Pakistan) Director Zarrar Kahn (U.S. Premiere)
● Inshallah A Boy (Jordan) Director Amjad Al Rasheed
● Io Capitano (Italy) Director Matteo Garrone
● The Missing (Philippines) Director Carl Joseph E. Papa (International Premiere)
● The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan) Director Pawo Choyning Dorji
● The Mother of All Lies (Morocco) Director Asmae El Moudir
● Opponent (Sweden) Director Milad Alami
● The Peasants (Poland) Director DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman
● Perfect Days (Japan) Director Wim Wenders
● The Promised Land (Denmark) Director Nikolaj Arcel
● The Settlers (Chile) Director Felipe Gálvez
● Seven Blessings (Israel) Director Ayelet Menahemi (U.S. Premiere)
● Shayda (Australia) Director Noora Niasari
● Sira (Burkina Faso ) Director Apolline Traoré
● Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Estonia) Director Anna Hints
● Society of the Snow (Spain) Director J.A. Bayona
● Songs of Earth (Norway) Director Margreth Olin
● Sweet Dreams (Netherlands) Director Ena Sendijarević
● The Taste of Things (France) Director Tr N Anh Hùng
● The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany) Director İlker Çatak
● Tiger Stripes (Malaysia) Director Amanda Nell Eu
● Tótem (Mexico) Director Lila Avilés
● Vera (Austria) Director Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
● The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) Director Jonathan Glazer

TALKING PICTURES
The Talking Pictures program includes in-depth discussions with directors, writers and actors from the year’s top titles. The following film selected for this year’s program with guests attending are:
● American Fiction (United States) with Actor Jeffrey Wright
● Barbie (United States) with Director Greta Gerwig
● Killers of the Flower Moon (United States) with Screenwriter Eric Roth

MODERN MASTERS
New films, classic auteurs.
● Anselm (Germany) Director Wim Wenders
● Close Your Eyes (Spain/Argentina) Director Victor Erice
● The Convert (New Zealand/Australia) Director Lee Tamahori (U.S. Premiere)
● Green Border (Poland/France/Czech Republic/Belgium) Director Agnieszka Holland
● Kidnapped (Italy/France/Germany) Director Marco Bellocchio
● La Chimera (Italy/France/Switzerland) Director Alice Rohrwacher
● Monster (Japan) Director Hirokazu Kore-Eda
● The Old Oak (United Kingdom/France/Belgium) Director Ken Loach
● Shoshana (United Kingdom/Italy) Director Michael Winterbottom (U.S. Premiere)

NEW VOICES NEW VISIONS
Unique viewpoints from first- and second-time directors.
● Animalia (Morocco/Qatar/France) Director Sofia Alaoui
● The Animal Kingdom (France) Director Thomas Cailley
● Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Canada) Director Ariane Louis-Seize (U.S. Premiere)
● The Kitchen (United Kingdom) Director Kibwe Tavares, Daniel Kaluuya (North American Premiere)
● Solitude (Iceland/Slovakia/France) Director Ninna Pálmadóttir
● Stolen (India) Director Karan Tejpal (North American Premiere)
● The Sweet East (United States) Director Sean Price Williams
● We Have Never Been Modern (Czech Republic/Slovakia) Director Matěj Chlupáček (U.S. Premiere)

AMERICAN INDIES
Independent films from rising American filmmakers.
● Fairyland (United States/France) Director Andrew Durham
● Fancy Dance (United States) Director Erica Tremblay
● Fresh Kills (United States) Director Jennifer Esposito
● LaRoy (United States/France) Director Shane Atkinson
● Late Bloomers (United States) Director Lisa Steen

TRUE STORIES
Non-fiction filmmaking at its most urgent and illuminating.
● A Look Through His Lens (United States/France/Ireland/United Kingdom) Director Matthew Berkowitz, Gregory Hoblit (World Premiere)
● All Illusions Must Be Broken (United States) Director Laura Dunn, Jef Sewell (World Premiere)
● All We Carry (United States/Mexico) Director Cady Voge (World Premiere)
● Art for Everybody (United States) Director Miranda Yousef
● Bad Faith (United States) Director Stephen Ujlaki, Chris Jones (World Premiere)
● Born Hungry (Canada/India) Director Barry Avrich (World Premiere)
● Call Me Dancer (India/United States/Israel) Director Leslie Shampaine, Pip Gilmour
● Common Ground (United States) Director Josh Tickell, Rebecca Tickell
● Copa 71 (United Kingdom) Director Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine
● The Echo (Mexico/Germany) Director Tatiana Huezo
● First We Bombed New Mexico (United States) Director Lois Lipman
● Flipside (United States) Director Chris Wilcha
● Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive (United States/Spain) Director Betsy Schechter
● Going Varsity in Mariachi (United States) Director Alejandra Vasquez, Sam Osborn
● The Gullspång Miracle (Sweden/Norway/Denmark) Director Maria Fredriksson
● Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes (United States) Director Sam Shahid
● In the Rearview (Poland/France/Ukraine) Director Maciek Hamela
● Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Traveled (Norway/United Kingdom) Director Dheeraj Akolkar
● Mad About the Boy: The Noel Coward Story (United Kingdom/United States) Director Barnaby Thompson (U.S. Premiere)
● Maestra (United States) Director Maggie Contreras
● Música! (United States) Director Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
● Obsessed With Light (United States/France/Netherlands/Spain/Iceland) Director Sabine Krayenbühl, Zeva Oelbaum
● Queendom (France/United States) Director Agniia Galdanova
● Sloane: A Jazz Singer (United States) Director Michael Lippert
● The Space Race (United States) Director Diego Hurtado De Mendoza, Lisa Cortés
● Susan Feniger. FORKED (United States/Vietnam/China) Director Liz Lachman
● Swan Song (Canada) Director Chelsea Mcmullan (U.S. Premiere)
● This World is Not My Own (United States/Sweden) Director Petter Ringbom, Marquise Stillwell
● Truth Be Told (United States) Director Nneka Onuorah

SOUTH KOREAN FOCUS
Stories from South Korean filmmakers.
● A Normal Family (South Korea) Director Hur Jin-ho
● Cobweb (South Korea) Director Kim Jee-woon
● The Handmaiden (South Korea) Director Park Chan-wook
● The Housemaid (South Korea) Director Kim Ki-young
● In Our Day (South Korea) Director Hong Sang-soo
● Memories of Murder (South Korea) Director Bong Joon-ho
● Oasis (South Korea) Director Lee Chang-dong
● Sleep (South Korea) Director Jason Yu
● Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (South Korea/Germany) Director Kim Ki-duk
● Sunny (South Korea) Director Kang Hyeong-cheol
● Train to Busan (South Korea) Director Yeon Sang-ho

QUEER CINEMA TODAY & THE GAYLA
Poignant, heartfelt and insightful stories from the LGBTQ community.
● Big Boys (United States) Director Corey Sherman
● Bonus Track (United Kingdom) Director Julia Jackman (North American Premiere)
● Chasing Chasing Amy (United States) Director Sav Rodgers
● Chuck Chuck Baby (United Kingdom) Director Janis Pugh (Gayla Film)
● Egoist (Japan) Director Daishi Matsunaga
● Studio One Forever (United States) Director Marc Saltarelli (Gayla Film)
● Summer Qamp (Canada) Director Jen Markowitz

SPOTLIGHT: JAMES IVORY
A spotlight selection featuring films from celebrated filmmaker, James Ivory.
● The Bostonians (United States) Director James Ivory
● Howards End (United Kingdom) Director James Ivory
● Maurice (United States) Director James Ivory
● Merchant Ivory (United States) Director Stephen Soucy
● Quartet (United Kingdom/France) Director James Ivory
● Shakespeare Wallah (United States/India) Director James Ivory

FAMILY DAY
Movies to enjoy with the whole family.
● Dancing Queen (Norway) Director Aurora Gossé
● Flamin’ Hot (United States) Director Eva Longoria
● Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (United States) Director Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
● Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (United States) Director Jeff Rowe

WORLD CINEMA NOW
Travel the world without leaving your seat.
● 100 Yards (China) Director Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng
● 20,000 Species of Bees (Spain) Director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
● All About the Lefkoviches (Hungary) Director Ádám Breier (World Premiere)
● Amal (Belgium/France) Director Jawad Rhalib (U.S. Premiere)
● Blackberry (Canada) Director Matt Johnson
● Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (Switzerland/Georgia) Director Elene Naveriani
● Bonjour Switzerland (Switzerland/Italy) Director Peter Luisi (U.S. Premiere)
● Chicken for Linda! (France) Director Sébastien Laudenbach, Chiara Malta
● Day Off (Taiwan) Director Tien-Yu Fu
● Empire (Denmark) Director Frederikke Aspöck (North American Premiere)
● The Extortion (Argentina/United States) Director Martino Zaidelis
● Ezra (United States) Director Tony Goldwyn
● The Fishbowl (Puerto Rico/Spain) Director Glorimar Marrero Sánchez
● Freud’s Last Session (United States) Director Matthew Brown
● The Goldman Case (France) Director Cédric Kahn
● Guardians of the Formula (Serbia/Slovenia/Montenegro/Macedonia/France) Director Dragan Bjelogrlic (North American Premiere)
● Hajjan (Saudi Arabia/Egypt/Jordan) Director Abu Bakr Shawky (U.S. Premiere)
● Hesitation Wound (Turkey/Spain/Romania/France) Director Selman Nacar (U.S. Premiere)
● Holly (Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg/France) Director Fien Troch
● Joika (New Zealand/Poland) Director James Napier Robertson (North American Premiere)
● Les Indésirables (France/Belgium) Director Ladj Ly (U.S. Premiere)
● Let the Dance Begin (Argentina/Spain) Director Marina Seresesky
● Lies We Tell (Ireland) Director Lisa Mulcahy (North American Premiere)
● Listen Up! (Norway) Director Kaveh Tehrani (North American Premiere)
● Memory (United States/Mexico) Director Michel Franco
● Mr. Blake At Your Service! (France) Director Gilles Legardinier
● Mrs (India) Director Arati Kadav (North American Premiere)
● Night Courier (Saudi Arabia) Director Ali Kalthami (U.S. Premiere)
● One Life (United Kingdom/United States) Director James Hawes (U.S. Premiere)
● The Performance (United States) Director Shira Piven (U.S. Premiere)
● Power Alley (Brazil/France/Uruguay) Director Lillah Halla (U.S. Premiere)
● Puan (Argentina/Brazil/Germany/Italy/France) Director Maria Alché, Benjamín Naishtat (U.S. Premiere)
● Red Rooms (Canada) Director Pascal Plante
● Richelieu (Canada/France) Director Pier-Philippe Chevigny
● Robot Dreams (Spain/France) Director Pablo Berger
● Running on Sand (Israel) Director Adar Shafran (International Premiere)
● Shame on Dry Land (Sweden/Malta) Director Axel Petersén (U.S. Premiere)
● Sumo Didi (India) Director Jayant Rohatgi (North American Premiere)
● Terrestrial Verses (Iran) Director Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami
● They Shot the Piano Player (Spain/France/Netherlands/Portugal/Peru) Director Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal
● Together 99 (Sweden/Denmark) Director Lukas Moodysson (U.S. Premiere)
● The Trouble With Jessica (United Kingdom) Director Matt Winn (U.S. Premiere)
● Unicorns (United Kingdom/United States/Sweden) Director Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd (U.S. Premiere)
● The Vanishing Soldier (Israel) Director Dani Rosenberg (North American Premiere)
● Without Air (Hungary/Romania) Director Katalin Moldovai (U.S. Premiere)
● Wonderland (Singapore/Malaysia/United States) Director Chai Yee-Wei

FLASHBACK
Taking a trip back in time to celebrate films released the same year that the Palm Springs International Film Festival started.
● Goodfellas (United States) Director Martin Scorsese
● Paris Is Burning (United States) Director Jennie Livingston
● Wild at Heart (United States) Director David Lynch

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
These films have been selected as part of the Local Spotlight program highlighting films from the Coachella Valley.
● Amongst the Trees (United States) Director Trent Ubben, Jack Jensen (World Premiere)
● The Green Desert (United States) Director Leo Zahn (World Premiere)

Juried awards for films in-competition will be announced Sunday, January 15 for seven categories, including the FIPRESCI Prize for films in the International Feature Film Oscar® Submissions program; New Voices New Visions Award for unique viewpoints from first- and second-time directors; Best Documentary Award for compelling non-fiction filmmaking; Ibero-American Award for the best film from Latin America, Spain or Portugal; Local Jury Award for a film that promotes understanding and acceptance between people; Young Cineastes Award for a film chosen by our Youth Jury; and the Mozaik Bridging the Borders Award for a film that is successful in bringing the people of our world closer together.

The complete line-up will be available online on December 5 at www.psfilmfest.org. Attached is a complete list of films selected for the festival. Passes are currently on sale. Tickets for Film Society members are available on December 6, and general tickets will go on sale December 11.

About the Palm Springs International Film Society
The Palm Springs International Film Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness. The Film Society produces the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) and Film Awards every January and Palm Springs ShortFest in June. In addition to curating the best in international cinema, PSIFF’s Film Awards has come to be known as the first stop on the campaign trail for the Academy Awards®, and our Oscar®-qualifying ShortFest is the largest short film festival and market in North America. Our festivals, year-round member screenings and educational programs manifest our organization’s mission by nurturing and encouraging new filmmaking talent, honoring the great masters of world cinema, and expanding audience horizons.