After announcing the cancellation of the Palm Springs Film Awards last week, the Palm Springs International Film Society announced Wednesday that the entire film festival would not take place in 2022.
Here is the statement from the festival:
“Based on the current rise of COVID cases, the Palm Springs International Film Society has announced that the Film Festival will not take place this year from January 7-17. This follows the cancellation of the January 6 Film Awards. After thoughtful consideration, the Film Society feels this is the most responsible decision to ensure the safety of our patrons, filmmakers, and staff. Those who have purchased festival tickets and passes will receive a refund. For most, the refund will be returned to their original method of payment.
At this time Palm Springs ShortFest is scheduled to return June 21-27, 2022. The Film Festival and Film Awards will return to an in-person event in January 2023. The Film Awards will partner with Entertainment Tonight to celebrate this year’s honorees with details to follow. The festival will announce juried award winners from the official selection on January 15 via press release and social media.”
The Palm Springs Film Festival annually screens dozens of submissions for the foreign language Oscar, in addition to a slate of documentaries, awards contenders and independent films. The opening night film was scheduled to be “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over.”
Variety‘s 10 Directors to Watch brunch, which traditionally takes place the day after the awards, was also canceled. The festival and awards ceremony were also canceled due to COVID in 2020.
Honorees for the 2022 edition included Kristen Stewart, Penelope Cruz, Jane Campion, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Hudson, Andrew Garfield, “Belfast,” “King Richard,” Lady Gaga and Nicole Kidman.