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Palm Springs International Film Festival announces 2026 dates

Oscar-contending festival will return Jan. 2-12 with its annual film awards ceremony kicking off the 11-day celebration of cinema.

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A banner erected over Palm Canyon Drive advertises the 2021 International Film Fest.

The Palm Springs International Film Society has set dates for its 37th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, which will run from Jan. 2 through Jan. 12, 2026.

The festival will kick off with the Film Awards ceremony on Jan. 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

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Film screenings will begin on Jan. 3, including the Opening Night presentation, and will conclude with the Best of Fest and special programming on Jan. 12 and 13.

The Palm Springs ShortFest remains scheduled for June 24-30 of this year.

The Palm Springs festival has established itself as an early indicator of Oscar success, with nearly all honorees at the 2025 Film Awards going on to receive Academy Award nominations.

Four of those honorees 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).

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The 2025 festival also screened several films that went on to win major Academy Awards, including “I’m Still Here” (Best International Feature), “Flow” (Best Animated Feature Film), and “No Other Land” (Best Documentary Feature).

The Best Live Action Short winner “I’m Not a Robot” had previously screened at Palm Springs ShortFest.

More information about the festival can be found at www.psfilmfest.org.

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Stories with a staff byline are written or edited by a member of the Palm Springs Post staff and are generally shorter or less complex than our more thorough stories.

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