The 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Matthew McConaughey with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor at its annual Awards Gala. Each year the festival selects an actor and actress to receive this award. Presented by Cartier and hosted by Mary Hart, the Awards Gala will be held Saturday, January 4 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 3-14.
“Matthew McConaughey is the rare actor who effortlessly moves between cinematic genres. From drama to thrillers to romantic comedies, he captivates audiences with the depth and range of his performances,” says Harold Matzner, Chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. “In the acclaimed new movie Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey plays real-life cowboy Ron Woodroof, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1985 and given a month to live – but fought for dignity, acceptance, and living life to the fullest. We are privileged to present Matthew McConaughey with an award that honors his extraordinary and versatile talent, the 2014 Desert Palm Achievement Award for acting.”
Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sean Penn, and Brad Pitt. In the years they were honored, Bridges, Day-Lewis, and Penn went on to win the Academy Award® for Best Actor, while Cooper, Firth, Gyllenhaal, and Pitt received Oscar® nominations.
Inspired by true events, Dallas Buyers Club is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée from an original screenplay by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack, and also stars Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto. Focus Features is releasing the movie in select cities this month, with additional cities being added weekly.
Texas native Matthew McConaughey is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading men. His film credits include Mud, Dazed and Confused, Magic Mike, Bernie, The Paperboy, Killer Joe, Frailty, The Lincoln Lawyer, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Tropic Thunder, We Are Marshall, U-571, EDtv, The Newton Boys, Amistad, Contact, A Time to Kill, and Lone Star. He next stars opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, opening December 25, and with Woody Harrelson in the HBO dramatic series True Detective, which debuts January 12; and he is filming Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, for release in November 2014.
About The Palm Springs International Film Festival
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees annually 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, Danny Boyle, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Helen Mirren, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron and Kate Winslet.
The Awards Gala of the 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival is presented by Cartier and sponsored by Mercedes Benz and Entertainment Tonight. The City of Palm Springs is the Title Sponsor of the Film Festival. Presenting Sponsors are Wells Fargo, The Desert Sun and Spencer’s. Major sponsors are AARP, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Wessman Development, Bank of America, Wintec, Regal Entertainment Group, Windermere Real Estate, Eisenhower Medical Center, Guthy-Renker, Integrated Wealth Management, PalmSpringsOasis.com, Ocean Properties, Panavision, Chihuly and Telefilm Canada.