Palm Springs International Film Awards: ‘Women Talking’s Sarah Polley to Receive Director of the Year Award
And the award goes to…
On Friday, the Palm Springs International Film Awards announced that filmmaker Sarah Polley will receive this year’s Director of the Year Award for her latest movie, Women Talking. The film — starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, and Sheila McCarthy — is about the women of an isolated religious community who grapple with reconciling a brutal reality with their faith.
Past recipients of the Director of the Year Award include Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Babel, Birdman), Steve Mc Queen (12 Years a Slave), Alexander Payne (Sideways), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air), David O. Russell (The Fighter), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) who all went on to receive Best Director Academy Award nominations.
Earlier this week, it was also announced that Colin Farrell will receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award for his acting in The Banshees of Inisherin. In the film, Farrell stars as Pádraic, who lives on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland and is lifelong friends with Colm (played by Brendan Gleeson).
The two men “find themselves at an impasse when Colm unexpectedly puts an end to their friendship,” the press release reads. “A stunned Pádraic, aided by his sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon) and troubled young islander Dominic (Barry Keoghan), endeavors to repair the relationship, refusing to take no for an answer. But Pádraic’s repeated efforts only strengthen his former friend’s resolve and when Colm delivers a desperate ultimatum, events swiftly escalate, with shocking consequences.”
“Colin Farrell reunites with Brendan Gleeson and director Martin McDonagh in the masterful comedy The Banshees of Inisherin,” says Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “Farrell gives a memorable performance as Pádraic a sweet-souled Irish farmer trying to save his lifelong friendship.”
Farrell’s Desert Palm Achievement will add to a growing list of accolades from his 20-year career. In 2009, he won a Golden Globe for his performance in In Bruges, also directed by McDonagh. Farrell was also nominated at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and European Film Awards for his role in 2015’s The Lobster.
Previous actors to receive the Desert Palm Achievement include Riz Ahmed, Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Adam Driver, Colin Firth, Andrew Garfield, Matthew McConaughey, Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne. In the years they were honored, Bridges, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, Oldman, Penn and Redmayne went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Ahmed, Cooper, Driver, Garfield, Firth and Pitt received Best Actor Oscar nominations.
The Palm Springs International Film Awards — run in conjunction with the Palm Springs International Film Festival — will be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Jan. 5, 2023. The event will be presented by American Express and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight and IHG.