Variety to Honor Steve McQueen with Creative Impact in Directing Award

Variety to Honor Steve M^cQueen with Creative Impact in Directing Award at 10 Directors To Watch Virtual Event

Palm Springs, CA (January 28, 2021) – Variety will host a virtual 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards event with the Palm Springs International Film Society on February 26 at 10:00 AM PT.

The event will consist of a virtual panel with the 10 Directors to Watch plus honor director Steve McQueen with its annual Creative Impact in Directing Award for his work on Amazon Studios’ collection of films Small Axe. McQueen directed all five films in the anthology that includes Mangrove, Lovers Rock, and Red, White and Blue.

Steve M^cQueen will participate in an awards presentation as part of the 10 Directors to Watch brunch as well as a Q&A about his work creating and directing the project.

"After the creative and commercial triumph of 12 Years a Slave filmmaker Steve McQueen took his place in the international pantheon of great directors," said Variety Executive Vice President of Global Content, Steven Gaydos. "With the arrival of his new Small Axe series, McQueen is again at the center of the conversations about both film as art and the path to a better world."

To register for the event please click here. 

Variety’s 10 Directors To Watch: 

• Prano Bailey-Bond (Censor)
• Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. (Wild Indian)
• Nia DaCosta (Candyman)
• Sian Heder (Coda)
• Regina King (One Night in Miami)
• Philippe Lacôte (Night of the Kings)
• Roseanne Liang (Shadow in the Cloud)
• Pascual Sisto (John and the Hole)
• Ricky Staub (Concrete Cowboy)
• Robin Wright (Land)

“We are excited to continue our long-standing partnership with Variety on their 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact virtual event,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “We look forward to hosting the event again in person for the 2022 Palm Springs International Film Festival.”

The Palm Springs International Film Festival and Film Awards Gala will not take place as an in-person event this year, but honoree selections will be announced to recognize this year’s great performances and Entertainment Tonight will air a tribute to the honorees scheduled on February 11th and February 25th. The Film Awards has announced Riz Ahmed (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor), Carey Mulligan (International Star Award), Gary Oldman (Chairman’s Award) and Chloé Zhao (Director of the Year Award) to date.

About Variety

Now in its 116th year, Variety is the seminal voice of the entertainment industry. Featuring award-winning breaking news reporting, insightful award-season coverage, must-read feature spotlights and intelligent analysis of the industry’s most prominent players, Variety is the trusted source for the business of global entertainment. Read by a highly engaged audience of industry insiders, Variety’s multi-platform content coverage expands across digital, mobile, social, print and branded content, events and summits.

In May 2019, Variety’s “Actors on Actors” on PBS took home a Daytime Creative Arts Emmy award  and has been awarded the Emmy for best entertainment programming at the 67th and 68th Emmy Awards. “Actors on Actors,” an interview special that features pairings of prominent actors discussing their craft, was produced by PBS SoCal in partnership with Variety Media, LLC. Follow Variety on Facebook facebook.com/variety; Twitter, @variety; Instagram, @Variety The Variety Group – Variety, Variety.com, Variety Insight, Indiewire,– is owned by Variety Media, LLC, a division of Penske Media Corporation.

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival

The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 136,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Film Awards Gala, a glamorous, black-tie event attended by 2,500, which is presented by American Express and sponsored by AT&T and Entertainment Tonight. The Film Awards Gala honors the year’s best achievements in cinema in front of and behind the camera. The celebrated list of talents who have been honored in recent years includes Cate Blanchett, Mary J. Blige, Sandra Bullock, Mariah Carey, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Cynthia Erivo, Jamie Foxx, Gal Gadot, Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicole Kidman, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, Rami Malek, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron, Reese Witherspoon and more. Awards are provided by Chihuly and John Kennedy Studios. Both events are produced by the Palm Springs International Film Society, whose mission is to nurture and encourage new filmmaking talent, honoring the great masters of world cinema, and expanding audience horizons.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival and Film Awards Gala will return in 2022.  Palm Springs ShortFest is still scheduled for June 22-28, 2021. The Film Society has continued to host year-round member screenings and events virtually until theatres are able to open. For additional information visit www.psfilmfest.org or call 760-778-8979 or 800-898-7256.

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