The 19^th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, running from January 3-14, 2008, closed Monday, having been a stunning success. On the night of the Awards Gala, Barry Manilow was overheard to say that in the beginning (19 years ago), “It was just me, Paul Lynde and seven other people, and now look”. Yes, now look!  The Awards Gala boasted 1800 attendees and sponsors, grossing $1 million on that night alone. The Gala featured appearances by dozens of luminaries and talents such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn, Halle Berry, John Travolta, and Marion Cotillard (on the merit of her break-through performance as Edith Piaf in the French film, La Vie en Rose) – among those here to receive awards, and others, such as Drew Barrymore and Stockard Channing, to present them.  

The Festival continues to become increasingly popular each year, with this year’s estimated attendance at 120,000 viewers over the 11-day and 12-night run. The listings of countries whose cinematographers submitted films sounded like a roll call of nations, with films from 66 countries. In total, 212 films were screened, including 65 premieres and 55 of the 63 foreign entries for this year’s Academy Awards.  Founded by Sonny Bono, primarily in an effort to promote Palm Springs and restore its former glamour, the Festival has gone on to become one of the major film festivals internationally.

This year the film showings were often sold out early, and those in rush lines,  including me, were sometimes disappointed. Next year, I’ll absolutely purchase one of the passes before the Festival begins!