For the first time since 2020, the Palm Springs Film Festival returned to anin-person event this year, with events including Thursday evening’s starryawards gala and Variety’s annual 10 Directors to Watch and Creative ImpactAwards brunch.
The Friday brunch at the Parker Palm Springs honored “Black Panther: WakandaForever” actor Angela Bassett with the Creative Impact in Acting award; “GlassOnion: A Knives Out Mystery” writer-director Rian Johnson with the CreativeImpact in Screenwriting award; “Elvis” director Baz Luhrmann with the CreativeImpact in Directing award and “Causeway” actor Brian Tyree Henry with theBreakthrough Performance honor.
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Luhrmann’s award was presented by Austin Butler, who introduced Luhrmann as “afilmmaker who knows how to create a spectacle like no other.”
Accepting his award, Luhrmann said that like children, he loves all his filmsequally but differently. But “Elvis,” he said, was different because “Wealmost lost that child.”
“During the pandemic, Tom got some cold thing,” Luhrmann recalled. “And thefilm fell apart – I couldn’t keep the cast together.”
“I went to Austin and said the film’s over,” Luhrmann said. But Butler had anincredible connection to the movie, and he said “I’m not going,” Luhrmannremembered. “He inspired me to go back to Tom and say, ‘You’ve got to dothis.’
“We held this child like a precious, precious thing because its mission was toget born and bring audiences back into theaters, and the fact that it actuallyhappened is why I’m standing here now,” Luhrmann said.
Costume designer Ruth E. Carter introduced Angela Bassett, quipping, “I canthink of two numbers that haven’t changed in over 25 years – my mom’s phonenumber, and Angela Bassett’s measurements.”
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She went on to laud Bassett for being “Angela is “effortless in her passionfor telling stories about strong Black women.”
Bassett explained, “This work is my destiny — a gift, especially for a littleBrown girl who grew up in the era when everything came to a halt when you paidattention to Black people on TV.”
Thanking her “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” team, Bassett said, “We feltChadwick’s presence every day on set, and to see how that beautiful energyradiated throughout the film, is something I will always be proud of. Onceagain we were able to demonstrate what Black unity, joy and love on film lookslike both in front of the camera and behind.”
Henry, who introduced Danielle Deadwyler as “the top tier member of the three-name club,” recalled how during his early years, his family had a camcorderbut somehow no footage of him exists.
“But now I come here and you do see me,” he said. “When people see you, youhave to believe them. Thank you for seeing me!”
“Glass Onion” star Kate Hudson introduced Johnson, saying, “He does not treadwater, he does not stay in place.”
“Telling a story is one thing, telling a story with something on its mind isanother,” Hudson said of Johnson’s films.
Thanking his cast and crew, Johnson said, “The movie is all these peoplecoming together. Now it feels like we’re all emerging out into the sunlight.”
each year, variety editors and critics select 10 film directors likely tomake an impact in the coming years. This year’s 10 Directors to Watch wereMaggie Betts (“The Burial”); Elegance Bratton (“The Inspection”); Elijah Bynum(“Magazine Dreams”); Alice Diop (“Saint Omer”); Eva Longoria (“Flamin’ Hot”);Nida Manzoor (“Polite Society”); Laurel Parmet (“The Starling Girl”); SaimSadiq (“Joyland”); Jingyi Shao (“Chang Can Dunk”) and Charlotte Wells(“Aftersun”).
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