Palm Springs Film Awards cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns

By ANI

WASHINGTON: The Palm Springs International Film Festival has cancelled its star-studded, in-person awards ceremony amid rising concerns around COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.

As per Variety, the organisation behind the Palm Springs International Film Festival announced the cancellation on Monday.

The annual awards were planned to be presented at a black-tie ceremony held at the Palm Springs Convention Center on January 6.

The organisation made the cancellation announcement in a statement that read, “We are taking this action due to the recent spike in COVID cases and out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of the honorees, patrons, and staff.”

“The Palm Springs Film Awards are one of the largest events in the film world with 2,500 guests and more than 1,000 staff in the room,” the statement continued.

“The Film Awards will partner with ‘Entertainment Tonight’ to celebrate this year’s honorees with details to follow. Those who purchased tickets for the Film Awards will be reimbursed. We hope to return to the Film Awards to an in-person event in 2023,” the statement concluded.

The film society also noted that the screening portion Palm Springs Film Festival, which runs January 7-17, will still take place and require proof of vaccination and masks in theatres.

Considered a precursor to the Academy Awards and one of the first major award shows of the new year, the festival’s 2022 awards honourees are Kristen Stewart (who earned the Spotlight Award, Actress for ‘Spencer’), Penelope Cruz (the International Star Award, Actress for ‘Parallel Mothers’), Jane Campion (Director of the Year, ‘The Power of the Dog’), Jessica Chastain (the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress for ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’), Jennifer Hudson (the Chairman’s Award, ‘Respect’), Andrew Garfield (the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor for ‘Tick, Tick … Boom!’), Lady Gaga (the Icon Award, ‘House of Gucci’) and Nicole Kidman (the Career Achievement Award,’ Being the Ricardos’).

The Vanguard Award goes to Sir Kenneth Branagh and the cast of ‘Belfast’ (Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hinds and Jude Hill), while the cast of ‘King Richard’ (Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal and Tony Goldwyn) nabbed the Ensemble Performance Award.

This marks the second consecutive year that the Palm Springs Film Awards gala has been cancelled.

For 2021, the film festival nominally acknowledged 11 honourees Riz Ahmed (‘Sound of Metal’), Viola Davis (‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’), Andra Day (‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’), Anthony Hopkins (‘The Father’), Daniel Kaluuya (‘Judas and the Black Messiah’), Carey Mulligan (‘Promising Young Woman’), Leslie Odom Jr. (‘One Night in Miami’), Gary Oldman (‘Mank’), Chloe Zhao (‘Nomadland’) and the film ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’.

All 11 awardees went on to receive Academy Award nominations, with Hopkins, Kaluuya and Zhao nabbing Oscar trophies.

Initially planned for January 7 at the Parker Palm Springs, honourees for that event include Javier Bardem (the Creative Impact in Acting award winner) and Asghar Farhadi (Creative Impact in Directing award).