Join the Palm Springs International Film Society!
The Palm Springs International Film Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership-driven organization dedicated to enriching the cultural landscape of the Coachella Valley and beyond.
With a year-round program of screenings and special events, the PSIFS hosts two major annual festivals, and presents monthly screenings of contemporary international films, many with special guests attending for post-screening Q&A's. Among our offerings:
Invitations to SPECIAL MEMBER SCREENINGS and select SPECIAL EVENTS are a year-round specialty of the Palm Springs Film Society, with a minimum of 8 free screenings a year extended to members at the Associate level, additional invitations guaranteed at higher membership levels. Among previous advance member screenings: Moonrise Kingdom, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Sessions, Argo, Lincoln, Anna Karenina, The Impossible, and Les Misérables. Members are also granted free access to community series such as the popular Behind the Scenes filmmaker series.
Members enjoy free parking at the Palm Springs Art Museum for the popular summer Classic Comedy Series, discounts on such one-time events as the 15-part The Story of Film: An Odyssey screening and discussion series and the Film Review and Criticism Workshop with Variety critic Boyd van Hoeij offered during the 2013 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
The PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. Held in January each year, this celebrated annual event is one of the largest festivals in North America, presenting more than 200 films from over 70 countries, and hosting over 200 filmmaking guests for its program of screenings, seminars, tributes and special events. The Festival presents the best of the official submissions for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards®, along with a large number of new international films, American independent and major studio features, many of them award winners at home and abroad, including some 60 world or U.S. premieres. Our Talking Pictures programs feature artists like Naomi Watts, Alan Cumming, and Tom Hooper in intimate conversations covering their careers, their approach to their craft and their current hit films. A dazzling centerpiece of the Festival is the annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring such stellar talent as George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Colin Firth, Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, Helen Hunt, Brad Pit, Danny Boyle, Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hooper, Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn and Kate Winslet. Film Society Members receive advance first access to Festival information, advance purchase opportunities unavailable to the general public and Festival benefits and discounts commensurate with their membership level.
The PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL SHORTFEST is the largest short film festival in North America, featuring screenings of more than 300 international short films with filmmakers attending to engage audiences in post-screening discussions and special programs. An annual our annual Filmmakers Forum, featuring three days of seminars, master classes and in-person tributes to filmmakers like Gus Van Sant, James Franco and Bill Pullman. Each year's program is a voyage of discovery, introducing audiences to the major filmmakers of tomorrow in its celebration of new voices and new visions. Over the course of its first 16 years, PSISF has premiered 87 films which went on to win Oscar® nominations or awards in the short film categories. Film Society Members have access to Member discounts on ShortFest advance ticket sales.
The Film Society supports students in the community through the Screenings in the schools program. Past programs have included casting director Margery Simkin discussing Freedom Writers, and the program coupled 12 Angry Men with a conversation with law professor Katherine Darmer after students observed the Supreme Court of California. This relationship between PSIFS and area schools culminates in Student Screening Day at the PSIFF, where hundreds of students have the opportunity to view films and meet the filmmakers behind them.
The film community of the Coachella Valley is alive and well all year long, and the Palm Springs International Film Society is thrilled to be at the center of the area's best cinematic events! (And because of the Film Society's charitable status, part of your membership fee is tax deductible!)