03/12/2025 - The Californian gathering, running from 2-12 January, will open with Maryam Touzani’s Calle Málaga and close with Brian Cox’s Glenrothan

Yesterday, the Palm Springs International Film Festival (2-12 January) revealed the full programme for its 37th edition, confirming a distinctly European flavour across its high-profile selections, which include a slew of Oscar contenders. On this occasion, Maryam Touzani’s Calle Málaga [+see also:
film review
interview: Maryam Touzani
film profile] will open proceedings, whilst Brian Cox's Scottish drama Glenrothan will close the event.

This year, the desert gathering will showcase 168 films from 72 countries, including 53 premieres and 44 titles vying for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, many of them from Europe – plus a raft of European Film Awards contenders. The Californian event remains one of the key North American showcases for European cinema, strategically positioned in early January, when awards season is in full swing.

Touzani’s Calle Málaga – fresh from its European festival run and widely tipped in the awards race – stars Carmen Maura as an ageing Spanish woman living in Tangier, whose daughter plans to sell the family home. The closing film, Glenrothan, sees Cox and Alan Cumming portray estranged Scottish brothers forced back together by the legacy of their family’s whisky distillery. The cast also boasts Shirley Henderson, Alexandra Shipp, Joanne Thompson and Nicole Ansari-Cox.

Beyond the opening and closing selections, several European productions and co-productions will receive significant exposure. Among the most notable are Elvira Lind’s King Hamlet (USA/Denmark), Teemu Nikki's 100 Liters of Gold [+see also:
film review
interview: Teemu Nikki
film profile] (Finland), Mstyslav Chernov's 2000 Meters to Andriivka [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Ukraine/USA), Ugo Bienvenu's Arco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ugo Bienvenu
film profile] (France/USA), Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] (Norway), Gianfranco Rosi's Below the Clouds [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile] (Italy), Francesco Costabile's Familia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Italy), Gabriel Mascaro's The Blue Trail [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] (Brazil/Mexico/Chile/Netherlands), Alejandro Amenábar's The Captive [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alejandro Amenábar
film profile] (Spain/Italy), Agnieszka Holland's Franz [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Holland
film profile] (Czech Republic/Germany/Poland/France), Tereza Nvotová's Father [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Tereza Nvotová
film profile] (Slovakia), Hana Jušić's God Will Not Help [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Hana Jušić
film profile] (Croatia/Italy/Romania/Greece/France/Slovenia), György Pálfi's Hen [+see also:
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trailer
interview: György Pálfi
film profile] (Greece/Germany/Hungary), Jafar Panahi's Palme d'Or winner It Was Just an Accident [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jafar Panahi
film profile] (France/Luxembourg/Iran), Petra Volpe's Late Shift [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Petra Volpe
film profile] (Switzerland), Urška Djukić's Little Trouble Girls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Urška Djukić
film profile] (Slovenia), Anders Thomas Jensen's The Last Viking [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anders Thomas Jensen
film profile] (Denmark), Oliver Laxe's Sirāt [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile] (Spain), Tarik Saleh's Eagles of the Republic [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Tarik Saleh
film profile] (Sweden), László Nemes' Orphan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Nemes
film profile] (Hungary), Sergei Loznitsa's Two Prosecutors [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile] (France/Germany/Romania/Latvia/Netherlands/Lithuania) and Rebecca Zlotowski's A Private Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France).

Meanwhile, the festival will also introduce a new retrospective strand, called Gateway Films and curated by actress Diane Kruger, critic Leonard Maltin, Paul Feig, programmer Therese Hayes and the late Udo Kier – the latter a legendary European figure whose legacy the festival continues to honour.

“We can’t wait for audiences to feel that spark that only cinema brings,” said Lili Rodriguez, artistic director of the Palm Springs International Film Society. “From family fun to bold new voices, from international masters to exciting first-time filmmakers, this year’s selections reflect the range and energy of world cinema today.”

Alongside the screenings, the festival will host its high-profile film awards gala on 3 January, with honourees including Ethan Hawke, Michael B Jordan, Adam Sandler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chloé Zhao and Hamnet [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] leads Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, as well as the ensemble cast of Sentimental Value.

The full programme is available to peruse here.