Palm Springs International Film Festival 2026 reveals event dates
Update 4/24/25
The Palm Springs International Film Awards will is moving dates, going from Friday, January 2 to Saturday, January 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
Film screenings for the 37th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival will begin on Friday, January 2 including the Opening Night presentation that evening.
Variety’s Creative Impact Awards and Directors to Watch brunch will move to Sunday, January 4. On January 12, there will be Best of Fest and special programming.
In all, the 37th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival will return Friday, January 2 through Monday, January 12, 2026.
The change comes after the Golden Globes announced its 2026 date, Sunday, January 11.
One of the first stops on the road to Oscars, nearly all honorees at the 2025 Film Awards went on to receive Academy Award nominations, and four went on to win Oscars including Adrien Brody (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor), Kieran Culkin (Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor), Mikey Madison (Breakthrough Performance Award, Actress) and Zoe Saldana (Vanguard Award).
The Festival screened “I’m Still Here” (Best International Feature), “Flow” (Best Animated Feature Film), and “No Other Land” (Best Documentary Feature). Best Live Action Short winner “I’m Not a Robot” screened at Palm Springs ShortFest.
Original Report 3/28/25
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - The Palm Springs International Film Society today confirmed the dates for the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
The 37th annual iteration of the event will begin Saturday, Jan. 3 with a film awards presentation, with the festival running through Jan. 12, organizers said.
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The Opening Night will take place Jan. 3, with the Best of Fest and special programming scheduled for Jan. 12-13.
This past January, three feature-length films screened at the festival that went on to win at least one Academy Award, as well as one short. All four Oscar-winning actors at last year's Academy Awards -- Adrien Brody (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor), Kieran Culkin (Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor), Mikey Madison (Breakthrough Performance Award, Actress) and Zoe Saldana (Vanguard Award) -- were also recognized at the festival.
