Palm Springs, CA – The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Cate Blanchett with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress at its annual Awards Gala for her performances in both Carol and Truth. This is the first award announced for the festival. Each year the festival selects an actor and actress to receive this award. The Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart and presenting sponsor Entertainment Tonight, will be held Saturday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 1-11.

“Cate Blanchett is one of the most award-winning and outstanding actresses of her generation, delivering extraordinary performances throughout her career including her Academy Award-winning roles as Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator and the title role in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “In her latest films Carol and Truth, Blanchett yet again brings to life two vibrant characters, both worthy of awards recognition. It is our honor to present the 2016 Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress, to Cate Blanchett.”

Past actress recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress, include Julianne Moore, Sandra Bullock, Natalie Portman, Halle Berry, Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts and Michelle Williams. Last year’s honoree Julianne Moore went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Actress. Blanchett was previously honored at the festival with the Career Achievement Award and Ensemble Performance Award for Babel.

Carol, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt, follows two women from very different backgrounds, unhappily married Carol (Cate Blanchett) and department store clerk Therese (Rooney Mara), who find themselves in an unexpected love affair in 1950s New York. As conventional norms challenge their undeniable attraction, an honest story emerges to reveal the resilience of the heart in the face of change. Directed by Todd Haynes from a script by Phyllis Nagy, Carol stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy and Cory Michael Smith. The film is distributed by the Weinstein Company.

Truth examines the facts and the fallout surrounding a CBS investigative report on the military service record of then-President George W. Bush, aired on September 8, 2004 just prior to the Bush/Kerry presidential election. As the subsequent story turned from the facts themselves to the reporting, however, CBS News producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) and CBS News anchor Dan Rather (Robert Redford) would both soon lose their jobs and reputations. Written and directed by James Venderbilt based on the memoir Truth and Duty by Mary Mapes, Truth stars Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Elizabeth Moss and Dennis Quaid. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Winner of two Academy Awards (Best Lead Actress for Blue Jasmine, Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator) and three Golden Globe Awards (Blue Jasmine, I’m Not There., Elizabeth), Cate Blanchett’s other film credits include Cinderella, The Hobbit (I, II, III), Hanna, Robin Hood, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Notes on a Scandal, Babel, The Lord of the Rings (I, II, III), The Gift and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Along with television credits including “Bordertown,” “Heartland” and “Family Guy,” her stage work includes Top Girls, Kafka Dances and Oleanna, earning the Rosemont Best Actress Award for her role in the David Mamet drama.

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon.

For more information, call 760-322-2930 or 800-898-7256 or visit http://www.psfilmfest.org.

-Official PSIFF Press Release-

-Edited by Vanessa McMahon-