Best of Fest
Best of Fest screenings will be held at the Regal Palm Springs, Camelot Theatres (Palm Springs Cultural Center), and Mary Pickford is D'Place. Best of Fest features films top rated by the audience and Jury award winners.
The Guilty
In the year’s most heart-pounding 85 minutes in cinema, a sidelined Danish police officer desperately attempts to thwart an alleged kidnapping, and worse, all from the confines of his frustratingly limited emergency call center desk in this ingenious, nail-biting thriller.
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Hotel Mumbai
Anthony Maras’s gripping retelling of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that culminated in the siege of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel features a cross section of workers and guests scrambling to survive.
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Kaye Ballard - the Show Goes On!
This charming documentary showcases the career of musical-comedy sensation Kaye Ballard, whose ability to sing and tell jokes was ubiquitous in the late 20th century. Delightful moments are captured in rare archival footage and interviews with Ann-Margret, Michael Feinstein and Ballard herself.
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Light in the Water
The West Hollywood Aquatics Club was the first openly gay swim and water polo club. Formed in 1982, it went on to shatter both world records and homophobic stereotypes. This empowering chronicle is a deep, fresh dive into four decades of LGBTQ history.
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The Public
Librarians Stuart Goodson (Emilio Estevez) and Myra (Jena Malone) see their regular winter day shaken up when homeless patrons decide to take shelter in their library for the night. What starts as a peaceful sit-in quickly escalates into a face-off with the police and the media. Following the screening Mr. Estevez will answer audience questions. A ticketed reception will follow the screening at the Palm Springs Public Library catered by LuLu California Bistro and sponsored by Momentous, Vaso Bello Celebrations, and Diageo. Attendees will be able to speak with Mr. Estevez and other guests about the film.
In conversation with Writer/Director/Actor Emilio Estevez
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The Purity of Vengeance
A suspenseful Nordic noir, marking another standalone entry in the Department Q series, based on books by best-selling crime writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. Detective Carl Mørck and his assistants Assad and Rose unravel the mystery of some mummified remains found in a Copenhagen apartment building.
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Shoplifters
Winner of the Palme D’Or in Cannes and Japan’s submission to the Academy Award®, Shoplifters is far more than a heist story. This haunting exploration of love and compassion for marginalized people poses the question of what really defines a family.
In conversation with Writer/Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
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Sofia
In Morocco, having sex outside of marriage is punishable by a jail term. When young, single Sofia (Maha Alemi) and her family discover she’s about to give birth, director Meryem Benm'Barek-Aloïsi uses the subsequent family machinations to expose the hypocrisy intrinsic to Morocco’s patriarchal culture.
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The Upside
A heartfelt comedy that finds a wealthy yet pessimistic man (Bryan Cranston) with quadriplegia discovering a new zest for life when he hires a fast-talking parolee (Kevin Hart) to be his caretaker in this hysterical adaptation of the French international phenomenon, The Intouchables (PSIFF 2013).
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What Will People Say
A first-generation Norwegian teen clashes with the traditional values and expectations of her Pakistani immigrant parents in this compelling coming-of-age drama. Writer/director Iram Haq (I Am Yours, PSIFF 2014) smartly probes the problems of a character caught between cultures.
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Who Will Write Our History
As the nightmare of the Warsaw Ghetto unfolded, a team of Jews secretly compiled eyewitness accounts of the Nazi horror, then buried them before they could be destroyed. This powerful documentary uncovers the amazing story behind the creation of the Oyneg Shabes Archive.
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Yomeddine
A cured leper living in one of Egypt’s last remaining leper colonies decides to leave the only home he has ever known and takes off across the Egyptian desert to look for the family he once had. With wonderful performances by non-actors, this debut film is a beautiful, gentle and touching story about family, our search for belonging, and the wonderful connections we make along the way.
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Yuli
Deep into rehearsals for an autobiographical show, legendary dancer Carlos Acosta looks back on a troubled, transcendent life — from a tough working-class upbringing to the pinnacle of his artistry — in this heartfelt and rapturously alive new feature (with stunning dance sequences) from acclaimed director Icíar Bollaín (The Olive Tree).
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