Palm Springs Film Festival to Spotlight Canadian Cinema

The Palm Springs Film Festival, which runs from Jan. 1 to 11, will offer a special program focusing on Canadian cinema.

In what’s become a tradition, the festival will screen 10 Canadian films in all, including the U.S. premiere of Andrew Cividino’s Sleeping Giant, in the New Voices, New Visions program. Cividino’s coming-of-age drama debuted in Cannes and was named best Canadian first feature in Toronto.

The Canadian spotlight was unveiled after Brie Larson, the star of Lenny Abrahamson’s kidnap drama Room, a Canada-Ireland co-production, was tapped by Palm Springs organizers for this year’s Breakthrough Performance Award.

Also booked into Palm Springs is Stephen Dunn’s drama Closet Monster, Don’t Blink, a U.S.-Canada collaboration by Robert Frank and Laura Israel, Maxime Giroux’s Felix and Meira, Canada’s entry into the Oscar’s best foreign language film category, and The Girl King, a Finland-Canada co-production by Mika Kaurismaki.

And Palm Springs will screen Andre Turpin’s Endorphine, Adam Garnet Jones’ Fire Song, Philippe Falardeau’s My Internship in Canada, Dominic Goyer’s On My Mother’s Side, and Ryan McKenna’s Sabali.

“This year’s selection of Canadian films at [Palm Springs] illustrates the vitality of the Canadian film culture and the strength of its emerging talent,” Helen Du Toit, Palm Spring’s artistic director, said in a statement.

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