Palm Springs Int’l Film Festival Partners with The Film Collaborative
for Foreign Language Oscar® Initiative
Palm Springs, CA (November 6, 2010) — Recognizing the challenge of getting U.S. distribution for Oscar®-worthy foreign films, the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) has partnered with The Film Collaborative (TFC) to launch a Best Foreign Language Oscar® Submission Distribution Initiative at the 2011 Festival. This newly created program is designed to assist international films screening in the Festival that are eligible for a foreign language Oscar® nomination and still seeking distribution in the U.S. marketplace. The Festival runs from January 6-17, 2011.
The goal of the initiative is to help educate filmmakers on their options in the shifting landscape of distribution and have their film reach as wide an audience as possible. PSIFF will work in tandem with TFC to help filmmakers strategize for festival distribution, theatrical/public exhibition, home video release and all digital platforms.
Commenting on the initiative, Festival Director Darryl Macdonald said, “It’s a natural extension of our mission to move beyond the promotion of quality international cinema in the U.S. and into being more of an active participant in helping films receive wider distribution in the marketplace. This is particularly important now, after a period in which theatrical opportunities for foreign language films in the U.S. have been shrinking precipitously.”
“For years we been fortunate enough to show the largest selection of foreign language Oscar® submissions. Sadly, many of these films are unable to secure U.S. distribution deals,” explained Helen du Toit, PSIFF director of programming. “We are excited to be partnering with The Film Collaborative to provide more opportunities for international filmmakers to have their films seen in the American market.”
Orly Ravid, founder of The Film Collaborative, said, “In the changing distribution landscape, The Film Collaborative strongly believes in the elevated potential role of film festival brands to contextualize films and enable them to find their respective audiences in all media and across all platforms. We’re thrilled to be working with PSIFF and helping its community of filmmakers get what they all yearn for: to have their films seen as broadly as possible. ”
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 130,000 attendees each year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents which includes this year Javier Bardem, Jennifer Lawrence, Carey Mulligan and additional names to be announced.
The Festival’s 22nd Annual Awards Gala is presented by Cartier and sponsored by Mercedes Benz and Entertainment Tonight. Renewing sponsors of this year’s Festival are Title Sponsor The City of Palm Springs and Presenting Sponsors The Desert Sun, the City of Indian Wells, Spencer’s Restaurant and KPSP Local 2. Major Sponsors include Bank of America, Penfolds, Regal Entertainment, Diageo, Desert Regional Medical Center, Integrated Wealth Management, Wessman Development, Guthy-Renker, Wells Fargo, Chihuly Art Glass, and Ocean Properties Development.
For more information, call 760-322-2930 or 800-898-7256 or visit www.psfilmfest.org.
Contacts:
Steven Wilson / Emily Davis
B|W|R Public Relations
310.550.7776
swilson@bwr-la.com / edavis@bwr-la.com
David Lee
Palm Springs International Film Festival
760.322.2930
david@psfilmfest.org