Palm Springs Film Festival Awards 2026: Complete winners list

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Palm Springs Film Festival Awards winners explored (Image via Getty)

The Palm Springs International Film Awards will be officially returning on Saturday, January 3, 2026. The festival will once again be set in the desert city of Palm Springs. Each year, the event gathers some of the most beloved performers, directors, writers, international filmmakers, and more.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival will be running from January 2 to 11, 2025. The awards night has been officially scheduled for January 3, 2025. Palm Springs International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals related to world cinema in the United States. It reportedly attracts around 135,000 visitors each year.

The Palm Springs International Film Society also oversees its ShortFest, which is one of the most significant short film festivals in North America. In 2025, Kering joined as a multiyear presenting partner.

Palm Springs Festival's latest official Instagram post reads:

"The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that Timothée Chalamet is the recipient of the Spotlight Award for his performance in Marty Supreme. The Film Awards will take place on January 3, 2026, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running January 2-12, 2026. The event will be presented by Kering and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight."

An official description of the Palm Springs Film Festival Awards on its official webpage is as follows:

"The Film Awards will take place on Saturday, January 3, 2026. Experience the Elegance and Excitement at the Palm Springs International Film Awards. Picture this: a radiant red carpet, shimmering gowns, sharp tuxedos, dazzling diamonds, the electrifying burst of flashbulbs, and the world's most illustrious stars. The quintessential glamour and enchantment of the movies come alive here at the Palm Springs International Film Awards."

It also adds:

"Presented by Kering, the most talked-about names on the awards trail come to experience the unrivaled Palm Springs hospitality. Hollywood's elite settle in to exchange war stories, rekindle old friendships, and forge new professional connections over gourmet cuisine and cocktails. The enduring allure of the Film Awards is evident as countless A-listers return year after year!"

Palm Springs Film Festival Awards: Complete Winners List

Spotlight Actor of the Year Award at the 2026 Palm Springs

  • Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme (Winner)

Career Achievement Award at the 2026 Palm Springs

  • Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon (Winner)

Icon Award Actor

  • Michael B. Jordan for Sinners (Winner)

Icon Award Actress

  • Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue (Winner)

Chairman's Award

  • Adam Sandler for Jay Kelly (Winner)

Desert Palm Achievement Award Actor

  • Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another (Winner)

Desert Palm Achievement Award Actress

  • Amanda Seyfried for The Testament of Ann Lee (Winner)

Breakthrough Performance Award

  • Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I Would Kick You (Winner)

International Star Award Ensemble

  • Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning for Sentimental Value (Winner)

Visionary Award

  • Guillermo del Toro, Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth for Frankenstein (Winner)

Vanguard Award

  • Hamnet
  • Honorees: Chloé Zhao, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal (Winner)

Jury Awards and International Categories

FIPRESCI Best International Feature Film

  • I’m Still Here, directed by Walter Salles (Winner)

FIPRESCI Best International Screenplay

  • Vermiglio, directed by Maura Delpero (Winner)

FIPRESCI Best Actress in an International Film

  • Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard (Winner)

FIPRESCI Best Actor in an International Film

  • Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Provái for Kneecap, directed by Rich Peppiatt (Winner)

Young Cineastes Award

  • Tatami, directed by Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv (Winner)
  • Special Mention: Superboys of Malegaon

Desert Views Award

  • Checkpoint Zoo, directed by Joshua Zeman (Winner)
  • Special Mention: Desert Angel

Bridging the Borders Award

  • Souleymane’s Story, directed by Boris Lojkine (Winner)
  • Special Mention: Happy Holidays

New Voices New Visions Award

  • The New Year That Never Came, directed by Bogdan Mureșanu (Winner)
  • Special Mention: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight

Best Documentary Award

  • No Other Land, directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor (Winner)
  • Special Mention: Blue Road – The Edna O'Brien Story

Ibero American Award

  • Sujo, directed by Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez (Winner)
  • Special Mention: Manas

Complete list of films to be screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival 2026

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM SUBMISSIONS

  • 100 Liters of Gold: Teemu Nikki (Finland)
  • 2000 Meters to Andriivka: Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine)
  • A Poet: Simón Mesa Soto (Colombia)
  • A Sad Beautiful World: Cyril Aris (Lebanon)
  • A Useful Ghost: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (Thailand)
  • All That’s Left of You: Cherien Dabis (Jordan)
  • Belén: Dolores Fonzi (Argentina)
  • Beloved Tropic: Ana Endara (Panama)
  • Eagles of the Republic: Tarik Saleh (Sweden)
  • Familia: Francesco Costabile (Italy)
  • Father: Tereza Nvotová (Slovakia)
  • Franz: Agnieszka Holland (Poland)
  • Happy Birthday: Sarah Goher (Egypt)
  • Hijra: Shahad Ameen (Saudi Arabia)
  • Homebound: Neeraj Ghaywan (India)
  • It Was Just an Accident: Jafar Panahi (France)
  • Kokuhô: Sang-il Lee (Japan)
  • Late Shift: Petra Volpe (Switzerland)
  • Left Handed Girl: Shih-Ching Tsou (Taiwan)
  • Little Trouble Girls: Urška Djukić (Slovenia)
  • Magellan: Lav Diaz (Philippines)
  • Mr. Nobody Against Putin: David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin (Denmark)
  • My Father’s Shadow: Akinola Davies (United Kingdom)
  • No Other Choice: Park Chan-wook (South Korea)
  • Orphan: László Nemes (Hungary)
  • Palestine 36: Annemarie Jacir (Palestine)
  • Reedland: Sven Bresser (Netherlands)
  • Sirât: Oliver Laxe (Spain)
  • Sound of Falling: Mascha Schilinski (Germany)
  • The Last Dance: Chan Mou Yin Anselm (Hong Kong)
  • The Love That Remains: Hlynur Pálmason (Iceland)
  • The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo: Diego Cespedes (Chile)
  • The President’s Cake: Hasan Hadi (Iraq)
  • The Sea: Shai Carmeli-Pollak (Israel)
  • The Secret Agent: Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil)
  • The Tale of Silyan: Tamara Kotevska (North Macedonia)
  • The Things You Kill: Alireza Khatami (Canada)
  • The Tower of Strength: Nikola Vukčević (Montenegro)
  • The Voice of Hind Rajab: Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia)
  • Traffic: Teodora Ana Mihai (Romania)
  • Under the Flags, the Sun: Juanjo Pereira (Paraguay)
  • Young Mothers: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne (Belgium)

TALKING PICTURES

  • King Hamlet: Elvira Lind (USA)
  • The Housemaid: Paul Feig (USA)
  • The Librarians: Kim A. Snyder (USA)

AFTER DARK

  • Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die: Gore Verbinski (USA)
  • Mārama: Taratoa Stappard (New Zealand)
  • The Book of Sijjin and Illiyyin: Hadrah Daeng Ratu (Indonesia)
  • The Plague: Charlie Polinger (Romania)

AMERICAN INDIES

  • Burt: Joe Burke (USA)
  • Fantasy Life: Matthew Shear (USA)
  • Honeyjoon: Lilian T. Mehrel (USA)
  • Idiotka: Nastasya Popov (USA)
  • She Dances: Rick Gomez (USA)
  • Tow: Stephanie Laing (USA)

CLOSE-UPS

  • Boorman and the Devil: David Kittredge (USA)
  • Coroner to the Stars: Ben Hethcoat and Keita Ideno (USA)
  • It’s Dorothy!: Jeffrey McHale (USA)
  • Kim Novak’s Vertigo: Alexandre O. Philippe (USA)
  • The Eyes of Ghana: Ben Proudfoot (USA)
  • Third Act: Tadashi Nakamura (USA)

GATEWAY FILMS

  • Fire: Deepa Mehta (India)
  • In the Mood for Love: Wong Kar-Wai (Hong Kong)
  • Medea: Lars Von Trier (Denmark)

GERMAN FOCUS

  • A Land Within: Michael Kofler (Germany)
  • Amrum: Fatih Akin (Germany)
  • Bad Painter: Albert Oehlen (Germany)
  • Islands: Jan-Ole Gerster (Germany)
  • Miroirs No. 3: Christian Petzold (Germany)
  • Silent Friend: Ildikó Enyedi (Germany)
  • Stars: Konrad Wolf (Germany)
  • The Last Spy: Katharina Otto-Bernstein (Germany)
  • What Marielle Knows: Frédéric Hambalek (Germany)

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

  • Italian Wannabe: Steve Dabal (USA)
  • Ramona and the Ballad of Juan Diego: Jason Sklaver (USA)

MODERN MASTERS

  • A Magnificent Life: Sylvain Chomet (France)
  • Below the Clouds: Gianfranco Rosi (Italy)
  • Cover-Up: Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus (USA)
  • Dreams: Michel Franco (Mexico)
  • Hen: György Pálfi (Greece)
  • Orwell: 2+2=5: Raoul Peck (USA)
  • The Captive: Alejandro Amenábar (Spain)
  • The Last Viking: Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark)
  • The Soundman: Frank Van Passel (Netherlands)
  • Two Prosecutors: Sergei Loznitsa (France)
  • Yes: Nadav Lapid (France)

NEW VOICES NEW VISIONS

  • Broken Voices: Ondřej Provazník (Czech Republic)
  • Deaf: Eva Libertad (Spain)
  • God Will Not Help: Hana Jušić (Croatia)
  • Lucky Lu: Lloyd Lee Choi (Canada)
  • Mad Bills to Pay: Joel Alfonso Vargas (USA)
  • On the Sea: Helen Walsh (United Kingdom)
  • Silent Rebellion: Marie-Elsa Sgualdo (Switzerland)
  • The Nature of Invisible Things: Rafaela Camelo (Brazil)
  • The Negotiator: Alessandro Tonda (Italy)

TRUE STORIES

  • Adaptation to Darkness: Shay Fogelman (Israel)
  • ASCO: Without Permission: Travis Gutiérrez Senger (USA)
  • Ask E. Jean: Ivy Meeropol (USA)
  • Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story: Alex Rotaru (USA)
  • La Salsa Vive: Juan Carvajal (Colombia)
  • Modern Whore: Nicole Bazuin (Canada)
  • Natchez: Suzannah Herbert (USA)
  • Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction: Brad Rothschild and Brian Mait (USA)
  • Remaining Native: Paige Bethmann (USA)
  • Runa Simi: Augusto Zegarra (Peru)
  • Speak.: Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman (USA)
  • Steal This Story, Please!: Tia Lessin and Carl Deal (USA)
  • Sweet Störy: Sarah Justine Kerruish and Matt Maude (United Kingdom)
  • The Gas Station Attendant: Karla Murthy (USA)
  • The Golden Spurtle: Constantine Costi (United Kingdom)
  • Trade Secret: Abraham Joffe (Australia)
  • Whistle: Christopher Nelius (Australia)
  • Yanuni: Richard Ladkani (Austria)

QUEER CINEMA TODAY & THE GAYLA

  • 3670: Joonho Park (South Korea)
  • Dope Queens: Grafton Doyle (USA)
  • Drunken Noodles: Lucio Castro (USA)
  • Jimpa: Sophie Hyde (Australia)
  • Manok: Lee Yu-jin (South Korea)
  • Maspalomas: Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi (Spain)
  • State of Firsts: Chase Joynt (USA)
  • The Little Sister: Hafsia Herzi (France)
  • We Are Pat: Ro Haber (USA)

WORLD CINEMA NOW

  • A Private Life: Rebecca Zlotowski (France)
  • Battle of Oslo: Daniel Fahre (Norway)
  • Beginnings: Jeanette Nordahl (Denmark)
  • Colours of Time: Cédric Klapisch (France)
  • Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t: Gianni Di Gregorio (Italy)
  • Frontier: Judith Colell (Spain)
  • Fuze: David Mackenzie (United Kingdom)
  • Gustaakh Ishq: Vibhu Puri (India)
  • H Is for Hawk: Philippa Lowthorpe (United Kingdom)
  • Hello Betty: Pierre Monnard (Switzerland)
  • It Would Be Night in Caracas: Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugás (Mexico)
  • Ky Nam Inn: Leon Le (Vietnam)
  • Lovely Day: Philippe Falardeau (Canada)
  • Made in EU: Stephan Komandarev (Bulgaria)
  • Meadowlarks: Tasha Hubbard (Canada)
  • Mr. Burton: Marc Evans (United Kingdom)
  • No Comment: Petter Næss (Norway)
  • Once Upon My Mother: Ken Scott (France)
  • Primavera: Damiano Michieletto (Italy)
  • Project Y: Lee Hwan (South Korea)
  • Promised Sky: Erige Sehiri (France)
  • Renoir: Chie Hayakawa (Japan)
  • Saipan: Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn (Ireland)
  • Spices and Lies: Amine Adjina (France)
  • Spit: Jonathan Teplitzky (Australia)
  • Sundays: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Spain)
  • The Altar Boys: Piotr Domalewski (Poland)
  • The Blue Trail: Gabriel Mascaro (Brazil)
  • The Choral: Nicholas Hytner (United Kingdom)
  • The Condor Daughter: Álvaro Olmos Torrico (Bolivia)
  • The Party's Over: Antony Cordier (France)
  • The Richest Woman in the World: Thierry Klifa (France)
  • The Sun Rises on Us All: Cai Shangjun (China)
  • To the Victory!: Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukraine)
  • Two Pianos: Arnaud Desplechin (France)
  • Youngblood: Hubert Davis (Canada)

FAMILY DAY

  • Arco: Ugo Bienvenu (France)
  • KPop Demon Hunters: Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang (USA)
  • Zootopia 2: Jared Bush and Byron Howard (USA)

For further updates, fans can keep an eye on the official Palm Springs pages.


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Edited by Gourab Kundu