Palm Springs Film Festival

1:57 AM PST 1/5/2011 by Kevin Cassidy

How life begins at the desert event for obscure international releases hoping to build that all-important Oscar buzz.

Some movies take their filmmakers on a journey of discovery, some on treks around the globe. The latter has been especially true for U.S.-born, Berlin-based helmer Davey Frankel, co-director of The Athlete, the first Ethiopian film ever to vie for consideration in the Oscar foreign-language race.