Oscar noms straight from PSIFS

THE OSCAR NOMS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED

Three of the five nominated Best Foreign Language Films were honored this week at PSIFF 2009:
• Departures - Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
• Revanche - FIPRESCI Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
• Waltz with Bashir - Bridging the Borders Award
Nominees The Baader Meinhof Complex and The Class also played at the festival.

ShortFest 2008 honored a Best Documentary Short Subject nominee, "The Witness: The View from Room 306," with both the Best Documentary Short & Audience Favorite Documentary Short awards.

"This Way Up" is a Best Animated Short Film nominee and winner of the ShortFest Audience Favorite Animation Short. Nominee "Lavatory - Lovestory" was a ShortFest 2007 entry.

Best Live Action Short Film nominees "Manon on the Asphalt" and "New Boy" were ShortFest 2008 entries, as well as "Toyland" which won the ShortFest Audience Favorite Live Action Short.

Best Documentary nominees Encounters at the End of the World and The Garden were shown at PSIFF 2008 and 2009, respectively.

PSIFF 2009 Black Tie Awards Gala honorees are well represented:
• Career Achievement Award: Clint Eastwood, whose Changeling earned three nominations
• Life Achievement Award in Directing: Ron Howard, who earned a Best Director nom in addition to Frost/Nixon's 4 other noms including Best Picture and Awards Gala presenter Frank Langella for Best Actor
• Sonny Bono Visionary Award: Gus Van Sant, who earned a Best Director nomination for Milk, which earned 8 noms including Best Picture
• Desert Palm Achievement Award – Actor: Sean Penn, a Best Actor nominee for Milk along with Awards Gala presenter Josh Brolin, nominated for Best Supporting Actor
• Desert Palm Achievement Award - Actress: Anne Hathaway, a Best Actress nominee for Rachel Getting Married
• Spotlight Award: Amy Adams, who earned a Best Supporting Actress nom in addition to Doubt's 4 other nominations including Awards Gala presenter John Patrick Shanley for Best Adapted Screenplay
• Ensemble Performance Award: The cast of Revolutionary Road, which earned 3 nominations including Supporting Actor for Michael Shannon
• Breakthrough Performance Award: Freida Pinto in Slumdog Millionaire, which earned 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture
• Chairman's Award: Dustin Hoffman, who helped voice Best Animated Film nom Kung Fu Panda
• Frederick Loewe Award for Film Composing: Alexandre Desplat, who earned a Best Score nom in addition to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button's 12 other nominations including Best Picture, including Awards Gala presenter Taraji P. Henson for Best Supporting Actress

The following nominees were Advance Member Screenings:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Defiance, Doubt, The Duchess, Frost/Nixon, Happpy-Go-Lucky, Milk, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler.

Once again, PSIFS proves itself as the place for good film!

PSIFF 2009 Awards

The PSIFF 2009 Awards have been announced & the full Best of the Fest schedule is in.

What do you think?

The final countdown

Here it is -- already the last weekend of PSIFF 2009! Time to watch those films, submit your votes, and wait to see if your fellow filmgoers agree on the Audience Favorites for the Best of the Fest day on Monday.

What have been your favorite films? What's the buzz in line? Which do you think will make the cut?

Oscar shortlist...shorter

The Oscars have whittled down their list of 65 Best Foreign Film nominees to 9 (to be whittled to 5 on Jan.22), and SURPRISE! They're all playing at the Palm Springs International Film Festival!

The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
The Class, France
Departures, Japan
Everlasting Moments, Sweden
The Necessities of Life, Canada
Revanche, Austria
Tear This Heart Out, Mexico
Three Monkeys, Turkey
Waltz with Bashir, Israel

Have you seen any of these? Do you plan to?

See the full PSIFF Awards Buzz offerings.

Ready, set, go!

Here we go! Black Tie Awards Gala, Student Screening Day, Opening Night -- bam! bam! bam!

Now the fest kicks into full swing, and it's time to use your blogging power to tell your fellow festgoers what's hot amongst the 209 films offered.

Give and take advice RIGHT HERE, at your very own PSIFF blog. Dish it!

VH1 follows PSIFF's lead

Last night's VH1 Critics' Choice Awards seemed to be a recap of the fabulous Black Tie Awards Gala that kicked off the 20th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. Their banquet was filled with stars from the PSIFF Tuesday night gala.

• Slumdog Millionaire nabbed 5 awards -- PSIFF honored the film's star Freida Pinto with the Breakthrough Performance Award.

• Sean Penn won Best Actor for Milk -- PSIFF honored him for the second year in a row, this time with the Desert Palm Achievement Award

• Anne Hathaway won Best Actress for Rachel Getting Married -- PSIFF also honored her with the Desert Palm Achievement Award.

SEE THE PSIFF GALA PHOTOS HERE!