Brie Larson getting honored at the Palm Springs International Film Festival
The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Brie Larson with the Breakthrough Performance Award at its annual Awards Gala. The Gala will also present an award to previously announced honorees Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp and Saoirse Ronan. The Awards Gala will be hosted by Mary Hart with presenting sponsor Entertainment Tonight on Saturday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 1-11.
“Brie Larson breathes vibrant life into the character of Ma from Emma Donoghue’s best-selling novel Room. Larson delivers a performance of great warmth, deep reserves of courage and strong empathy as a committed parent determined to make sure her son is taken care of under unimaginable circumstances,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “For this stand-out performance, it is an honor to present her with the 2016 Breakthrough Performance Award.”
Past recipients of the Breakthrough Performance Award include Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Hudson, Felicity Huffman, Lupita Nyong’o, David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike and Jeremy Renner. In the years they were honored, Cotillard, Hudson and Nyong’o went on to receive Academy Awards®, while Huffman, Pike and Renner received nominations.
Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, Room is a unique and touching exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world. As he experiences all the joy, excitement, and fear that this new adventure brings, he holds tight to the one thing that matters most of all-his special bond with his loving and devoted Ma. Based on the award-winning bestseller by Emma Donoghue, the film is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and stars Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen and William H. Macy.
Larson garnered numerous 2014 Best Actress award wins and nominations for her performance in Short Term 12 including Best Actress wins at the Locarno Film Festival and Gotham Awards and a nomination at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Her other film credits include Trainwreck, The Gambler, The Spectacular Now, Don Jon, 21 Jump Street, Rampart, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and Greenberg. Her next film is Free Fire and she’s currently filming Kong: Skull Island.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon.
