Brian Grazer and Ron Howard to receive Palm Springs Honors Award

LOS ANGELES, CA (KESQ)- Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer and filmmaker Ron Howard will receive the Harold Matzner Distinguished Achievement Award at the Palm Springs Honors on October 19 in West Hollywood, the Palm Springs International Film Society announced.

The longtime creative partners, who founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986, have collaborated for more than four decades on films and television projects including Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights and Arrested Development. Both will also be recognized at the Palm Springs International Film Awards on January 7, 2027.

The Palm Springs International Film Society will also present its Harold Matzner Impact Award to Mexican-American filmmaker Karina Lomelin Ripper for her 13-minute short Silver Blankets. The award includes a $25,000 finishing grant funded by the Ebbets Field Foundation, along with priority programming consideration at Palm Springs International ShortFest.

Silver Blankets follows two Mexican sisters, ages 13 and 8, as they are transported to an immigrant child detention center. The award recognizes the film's potential to spark conversations about child immigration and mixed-status families. Lomelin Ripper and her team plan community screenings and discussions with advocates, educators, legal experts and community leaders.

The honors continue the legacy of Harold Matzner, whose philanthropy emphasized creating opportunities for emerging filmmakers while celebrating the lasting cultural impact of cinema.