Palm Springs Film Festival Sets 2022 Lineup; Roger Michell’s Final Film ‘The Duke’ To Close Fest

The 33rd annual Palm Springs Film Festival will open January 7 with the documentary Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over and close January 16 with Roger Michell’s final film The Duke, organizers said Tuesday.

Overall, the desert festival, which has become an annual stop on the awards-season tour thanks in part to its Gala Awards kickoff dinner on the eve of the fest, will screen 129 films including four world premieres as part of a planned in-person program. It also as usual boasts a strong lineup of International Feature Oscar entries, with 36 film submitted by their countries for the 2022 race this year including Cannes Palme d’Or winner Titane from France, Berlin Golden Bear winner Bad Luck Banging from Romania and buzzy pics including Flee (Denmark), Drive My Car (Japan) and Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God (Italy).

Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over directors Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner and Warwick herself will be in attendance on opening night; the film world premiered at Toronto earlier this year.

The Duke, from Sony Pictures Classics, stars Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead, Matthew Goode and Anna Maxwell Martin and centers on taxi driver and working-class hero Kempton Bunton (Broadbent), who robbed the National Gallery in London in 1961 in an effort to advocate for elderly care.

Michell, the South African whose directing credits including Notting Hill and My Cousin Rachel, died in September at age 65, about three weeks after he attended the premiere of The Duke at Telluride.

In all, Palm Springs will feature films in lineups including Talking Pictures, New Voices New Visions, Modern Masters, Queer Cinema, Cine Latino, True Stories, World Cinema Now and more.

“We are thrilled to be back in-theatres with an amazing lineup of films this year,” artistic director Lili Rodriguez said. “It’s an especially crucial moment to celebrate international cinema and the shared experience of watching films together. We have such an incredible lineup this year from major studio films, brilliant international titles and local favorites. We hope the films this year will make you laugh, cry and rejoice for the return of the festival.”

Here’s the lineup:

Award Buzz – Best International Feature Film Submissions

A special jury will present the FIPRESCI Award for Best International Feature Film Film of the Year, as well as Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay in this category.

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Romania), Director Radu Jude

Brighton 4th (Georgia), Director Levan Koguashvili

Casablanca Beats (Morocco), Director Nabil Ayouch

Clara Sola (Costa Rica), Director Nathalie Alvárez Mesén

Compartment No. 6 (Finland), Director Juho Kuosmanen

Costa Brava, Lebanon (Lebanon), Director Mounia Akl

Drive My Car (Japan), Director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Drunken Birds (Canada), Director Ivan Grbovic

Escape from Mogadishu (South Korea), Director Ryoo Seung-wan

The Falls (Taiwan), Director Chung Mong-hong (U.S. Premiere)

Fear (Bulgaria), Director Ivaylo Hristov

Flee (Denmark), Director Jonas Poher Rasmussen

The Good Boss (Spain), Director Fernando León de Aranoa

The Gravedigger’s Wife (Somalia), Director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed

Great Freedom (Austria), Director Sebastian Meise

The Hand of God (Italy), Director Paolo Sorrentino

A Hero (Iran), Director Asghar Farhadi

Hive (Kosovo), Director Blerta Basholli

I’m Your Man (Germany), Director Maria Schrader

Lamb (Iceland) Director Valdimar Jóhannsson

Leave No Traces (Poland), Director Jan P. Matuszyński

Let It Be Morning (Israel), Director Eran Kolirin

Lingui, the Sacred Bonds (Chad), Director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

Memoria (Colombia), Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Olga (Switzerland), Director Elie Grappe

On the Water (Estonia), Director Peeter Simm (International Premiere)

Playground (Belgium), Director Laura Wandel (U.S. Premiere)

Prayers for the Stolen (Mexico), Director Tatiana Huezo

Rehana Maryam Noor (Bangladesh), Director Abdullah Mohammad Saad (U.S. Premiere)

Shambala (Kyrgyzstan), Director Artykpai Suyundukov

Tigers (Sweden), Director Ronnie Sandahl (North American Premiere)

Titane (France), Director Julia Ducournau

Unclenching the Fists (Russia), Director Kira Kovalenko

The Worst Person in the World (Norway), Director Joachim Trier

Yuni (Indonesia), Director Kamila Andini

Zátopek (Czech Republic), Director David Ondříček (North American Premiere)

Talking Pictures & Book To Screen

In-depth discussions with directors, writers and actors from the year’s top titles.

Jockey (USA) with actor Clifton Collins, Jr.

The Power of the Dog (Australia/New Zealand/UK/USA/Canada) with director Jane Campion

Respect (USA) with actress Jennifer Hudson

Spencer (UK/Germany) with actress Kristen Stewart

The Tender Bar (USA) with screenwriter William Monahan

Tick, Tick…Boom! (USA) with actor Andrew Garfield

Modern Masters

New films, classic auteurs.

Benediction (UK/USA), Director Terence Davies (U.S. Premiere)

One Second (China), Director Zhang Yimou

The Pact (Denmark), Director Bille August

Parallel Mothers (Spain), Director Pedro Almodóvar

Petite Maman (France), Director Céline Sciamma

The Story of My Wife (Hungary/Germany/Italy/France), Director Ildikó Enyedi (U.S. Premiere)

The Survivor (USA/Canada/Hungary), Director Barry Levinson (U.S. Premiere)

New Voices New Visions

Unique viewpoints from first- and second-time directors.

The Fallout (USA), Director Megan Park

Farha (Jordan/Sweden, Saudi Arabia), Director Darin J. Sallam (U.S. Premiere)

Happening (France), Director Audrey Diwan

Out of Sync (Spain/Lithuania/France), Director Juanjo Giménez (U.S. Premiere)

Paka (River of Blood) (India), Director Nithin Lukose (U.S. Premiere)

Queen of Glory (USA), Director Nana Mensah

Small Body (Italy/France/Slovenia), Director Laura Samani (U.S. Premiere)

Tug of War (Tanzania/South Africa/Germany/Qatar), Director Amil Shivji (U.S. Premiere)

Wildhood (Canada/Germany), Director Bretten Hannam

True Stories

Non-fiction filmmaking at its most urgent and illuminating.

7 Lives, 7 Lakes (Spain), Director Víctor Escribano (U.S. Premiere)

The Automat (USA), Director Lisa Hurwitz

Blind Ambition (Australia/Zimbabwe), Director Robert Coe, Warwick Ross

The Caviar Connection (France), Director Benoît Bringer

Daughter of a Lost Bird (USA), Director Brooke Pepion Swaney

The First 54 Years (Israel/France/Finland/Germany), Director Avi Mograbi

Gemmel & Tim (USA), Director Michiel Thomas

Hold Your Fire (USA), Director Stefan Forbes

The Jump (Lithuania/Latvia/France/Germany/USA), Director Giedrė Žickytė

Messwood (USA), Director Emily Kuester, Brad Lichtenstein

Mission: Joy – Finding Happiness in Troubled Times (USA), Director Louie Psihoyos, Peggy Callahan

Radiograph of a Family (Iran/Switzerland/Norway), Director Firouzeh Khosrovani

Three Minutes – A Lengthening (Netherlands/UK), Director Bianca Stigter

Utica: The Last Refuge (USA), Director Loch Phillipps (World Premiere)

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America (USA), Director Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler

Cine Latino

Latin American/Latinx Stories

The Best Families (Peru/Colombia), Director Javier Fuentes-León

The Box (USA/Mexico), Director Lorenzo Vigas (U.S. Premiere/unconfirmed)

Medusa (Brazil/USA), Director Anita Rocha da Silveria

My Brothers Dream Awake (Chile), Director Claudia Huaiquimilla

The Other Tom (Mexico/USA), Director Rodrigo Plá, Laura Santullo

Sundown (Mexico/France/Sweden), Director Michel Franco

Queer Cinema Today & The Gayla

Poignant, heartfelt and insightful stories from the LGBTQ community.

Gayla! screening: Boulevard! A Hollywood Story (USA), Director Jeffrey Schwarz

Love, Spells and All That (Turkey/Germany), Director Ümit Ünal

Moneyboys (Austria/Taiwan/France/Belgium), Director C.B. Yi

No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics (USA), Director Vivian Kleiman

The Swimmer (Israel), Director Adam Kalderon (U.S. Premiere)

Gayla! screening: Sweetheart (UK), Director Marley Morrison

Valentina (Brazil), Director Cássio Pereira dos Santos

Soundtrack – Music On Film

Bernstein’s Wall (USA), Director Douglas Tirola

Born in Chicago (USA), Director Bob Sarles, John Anderson

Invisible: Gay Women in Southern Music (USA), Director T.J. Parsell

Jazz Fest (USA), Director Frank Marshall, Ryan Suffern (World Premiere)

Oscar Peterson: Black + White (Canada), Director Barry Avrich (U.S. Premiere)

The Big Screen – Movies Celebrating Movies

Alien on Stage (UK), Director Danielle Kummer, Lucy Harvey

Claydream (USA), Director Marq Evans

Exposing Muybridge (USA/UK), Director Marc Shaffer

Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen (USA), Director Daniel Raim (World Premiere)

Last Film Show (India/France/USA), Director Pan Nalin

The Story of Film: A New Generation (UK), Director Mark Cousins

World Cinema Now

Travel the world without leaving your seat.

Anaïs In Love (France), Director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet (North American Premiere)

Any Day Now (Finland), Director Hamy Ramezan

Back Then (Poland), Director Kinga Debska

Ballad of a White Cow (Iran/France), Director Behtash Sanaeeha, Maryam Moghaddam

Brother’s Keeper (Turkey/Romania), Director Ferit Karahan

The Crossing (France/Czech Republic/Germany), Director Florence Miailhe

The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson (Australia)

The Great Indian Kitchen (India), Director Jeo Baby (U.S. Premiere)

Greener Pastures (Israel), Director Matan Guggenheim, Assaf Abiri (International Premiere)

Haute Couture (France), Director Sylvie Ohayon

Hinterland (Austria/Luxembourg), Director Stefan Ruzowitzky (North American Premiere)

Juniper (New Zealand), Director Matthew J. Saville (U.S. Premiere)

The Judgement (Netherlands), Director Sander Burger

Mothering Sunday (UK), Director Eva Husson

My Sunny Maad (Czech Republic/France/Slovakia), Director Michaela Pavlátová (North American Premiere)

Neighbours (Switzerland/France), Director Mano Khalil

Nowhere Special (UK/Italy/Romania), Director Uberto Pasolini (U.S. Premiere)

The Phantom of the Open (UK), Director Craig Roberts (U.S. Premiere)

The Rapist (India), Director Aparna Sen (North American Premiere)

Redemption of a Rogue (Ireland), Director Philip Doherty

Run Woman Run (Canada), Director Zoe Leigh Hopkins (The festival will host a free community screening.)

Scarecrow (Russia/UK), Director Dmitrii Davydov (North American Premiere)

Secret Name (France), Director Aurélia Georges

Shankar’s Fairies (India/Hong Kong), Director Irfana Majumdar

True Things (UK), Director Harry Wootliff (U.S. Premiere)

Local Spotlight

Highlighting films from the Coachella Valley.

Desert X 2021 – The Film (USA/Ghana/Germany/Mexico/Saudi Arabia/Colombia/UK/Guatemala), Director Dylan Robertson

Invisible Valley (USA), Director Aaron Maurer

Miracle in the Desert: The Rise and Fall of the Salton Sea (USA), Director Greg Bassenian

My Name Is Lopez (USA), Director P. David Ebersole, Todd Hughes

Pepe Serna: Life is Art (USA), Director Luis Reyes (World Premiere)