Eddie Redmayne to Receive Desert Palm Achievement Award at 26th Annual Film Festival

The 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Eddie Redmayne with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor at its annual Awards Gala. Each year the festival selects an actor and actress to receive this award. Presented by Cartier, and hosted by Mary Hart, the Awards Gala will be held Saturday, January 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 2-12.

"From The Good Shepherd to LES MISERABLES, Eddie Redmayne has proven himself an actor poised for greatness," says Harold Matzner, Chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. "In The Theory of Everything, as ALS-stricken scientist Stephen Hawking, Redmayne captivates his audience as he goes through a powerful physical transformation, from a healthy college student to a dependent wheelchair-bound middle-aged man, in what is truly a stunning performance. We are honored to recognize Eddie Redmayne with the 2015 Desert Palm Achievement Award for acting."

Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Sean Penn, Matthew McConaughey, and Brad Pitt. In the years they were honored, Bridges, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, and Penn went on to win the Academy Award® for Best Actor, while Cooper, Firth and Pitt received Oscar® nominations.

The Theory of Everything is the extraordinary and uplifting story of one of the world's greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, and of two people defying the steepest of odds through love. The Focus Features release, based on the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, by Jane Hawking, is directed by Academy Award winner James Marsh (Man on Wire). The film stars Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, and David Thewlis.

Eddie Redmayne's film credits include LES MISERABLES, My Week with Marilyn, Savage Grace, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Like Minds, The Yellow Handkerchief, The Other Boleyn Girl, and The Good Shepherd. His stage work includes Red - for which he won a Tony Award - Richard II, Now or Later, and The Goat or Who is Sylvia. His notable television credits include starring in the miniseries Birdsong, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, The Pillars of the Earth, and Elizabeth I. Redmayne was nominated for BAFTA's Rising Star Award and he shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination with his fellow actors from LES MISERABLES for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

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, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Kate Winslet.

The Awards Gala of the 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival is presented by Cartier and sponsored by Mercedes Benz and Entertainment Tonight. The City of Palm Springs is the Title Sponsor of the Film Festival. Presenting Sponsors are Wells Fargo, The Desert Sun and Spencer's. Major sponsors are Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Wessman Development, Bank of America, Wintec, Regal Entertainment Group, Ignition Creative, Desert Regional Medical Center, Windermere Real Estate, Eisenhower Medical Center, Guthy-Renker, Integrated Wealth Management, VisitGreaterPalmSprings.com, Ocean Properties, Chihuly and Telefilm Canada.

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

Source: psfilmfest.org

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