Kate Hudson, Michael B. Jordan and More Stars Expected as Palm Springs Award Gala Lights Up Awards Season

The Palm Springs International Film Festival returns Jan. 2 – Jan. 12, promising its most extensive slate to date, featuring a showcase of international and independent cinema with a full lineup that include 168 films from 72 countries, including 53 premieres and 44 of the International Feature Film Oscar ​​submissions. “At the core of it, it’s really to celebrate global cinema, but also create a space for audiences to connect with these films. I think that the festival and the city itself has this kind of magical ability to combine intimacy with glamor,” artistic director Lili Rodriguez tells Variety.

The festival kicks off on Jan. 2 with “Calle Malaga,” director Maryam Touzani’s poignant Spanish-language debut starring Carmen Maura as an aging woman in Tangier, fiercely fighting to save her home and her sense of self, while the closing film on Jan. 12 will be “Glenrothan,” the directorial debut of Brian Cox. He teams up with Alan Cumming…