Editor

The 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Mariah Carey with the Breakthrough Performance Award for her performance in Lionsgate's Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" By Sapphire. Presented by Cartier, the Awards Gala will kick off the 2010 awards season on Tuesday, January 5 at the Palm Springs Convention Center and will be hosted by "Entertainment Tonight's" Mary Hart. The Festival runs January 5-18, 2010.

Festival chairman Harold Matzner commented, "We're delighted to be able to present the Breakthrough Performance Award to the extraordinary, very beautiful and versatile Mariah Carey, who, in a critically acclaimed role, completely transformed herself from a glamorous music icon to a forthright social worker for the role of Ms. Weiss in Precious."

Past recipients of the Breakthrough Performance Award include Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Hudson, Felicity Huffman and Freida Pinto. Mariah Carey will join previously announced honorees Morgan Freeman and Anna Kendrick at the event.

Singer, songwriter, actress and record producer, Mariah Carey has received five Grammy® Awards and thirty-three nominations. Carey began her acting career with a small role in the 1999 romantic comedy The Bachelor and followed with the lead in the semi-autobiographical Glitter, with Terrence Howard. She received rave reviews for her performance in the independent film Wisegirls, which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Carey previously teamed with producer/director Lee Daniels for the film Tennessee, which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Uniquely melding R&B, soul, gospel and hip hop influences, Carey has recorded the most U.S. number-one singles for a solo artist (18, surpassing Elvis Presley), and is in second place among artists with the most singles in the rock era. She has been recognized as Billboard's Artist of the Decade, and the Best-Selling Female Pop Artist of the Millennium at the 2000 World Music Awards.

About Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire
Lee Daniels' Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" By Sapphire is a vibrant, honest and resoundingly hopeful film about the human capacity to grow and overcome. Set in Harlem in 1987, it is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a sixteen-year-old African-American girl born into a life no one would want. Precious was in Official Selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard, and won three awards in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival: the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize in Acting, honoring Mo'Nique. The film was also the centerpiece of the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival Gala Presentation where it received the non-juried event's top honor, the 2009 Cadillac People's Choice Award. Precious is the only film ever to receive the Audience awards at both Sundance and Toronto.

Lionsgate, in association with Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, present A Lee Daniels Entertainment / Smokewood Entertainment Group Production of Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire, directed by Lee Daniels from a screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher based upon the book Push, a novel by Sapphire. The film stars Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz and introduces Gabourey Sidibe. Precious was produced by Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness. Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Lisa Cortés and Tom Heller are Executive Producers; Simone Sheffield serves as Co-Executive Producer; Mark G. Mathis is Co-Producer; and Andrew Sfrozini and Asger Hussain serve as Associate Producers. For more information please visit http://www.weareallprecious.com/