presented with the Breakthrough Performance Award for her critically acclaimed turn in"Precious." All three will be feted at the Film Festival's Awards Gala on Jan. 5.
What's significant about these awards is that it places the PSIFF in theinteresting position of a solid award show predictor. All three performershave considerable Oscar buzz surrounding their work in their respectivefilms, and the acknowledgement by the PSIFF could tip the hands of Oscarologists (and voters) in the weeks and months to come. It's worthnoting that among the recipients of the 2009 Awards Gala was Sean Penn,who received the Desert Palm Achievement Award for acting along with AnneHathaway, director Gus Van Sant, who won the Sonny Bono Visionary Award,and composer Alexandre Desplat, who was presented with the FrederickLowe Award for Film Composing. All four were Oscar nominees for "Milk,"Rachel Getting Married," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,"respectively, with Penn taking home the Best Actor trophy at the 81stAcademy Awards.Earning the reputation as a divining rod for the award season would be asignificant feather in the cap of the Palm Springs fest, which has shownenormous determination to find a place on the international festival circuitsince its humble beginnings two decades ago. At that time, some of thefest's events were held at the home of then-Mayor Sonny Bono. The fest endured some lean years in the mid-'90s, but has since reboundedwith vigor and become an impressive source for new and independentfeatures, as well as a reliable destination for films on the festival trail. The 2010 Palm Springs Film Festival takes place from Jan. 5-18.-- Paul Gaita
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