Despite intense economic challenges and a precipitous cut in cultural funding, the Palm Beach International Film Festival, one of the best regional festival on the circuit, is persevering with an exciting program planned for later this month. Longtime Festival honcho Randi Emerman continues to push on for quality and diversity for local audiences in Palm Beach County, an area on Florida southeast coast that perhaps has the greatest disparity between wealth and poverty in the nation. Cultural budgets and support from sponsors has been a challenge for all arts events, but it is especially true in Florida, where high unemployment and descending property values have created a crisis of epic proportions.
The Festival will resume its gala, now titled Silver Screen Splash on Friday evenin March 25 at the swanky Boca Raton Resort, where “actor’s actor” Richard Jenkins will receive the Golden Palm Award. Jenkins, who received an Academy Award nomination for his highly-praised performance in director Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor, is one of the most in-demand character actors in Hollywood, having made over sixty feature films. In addition to having received critical acclaim for his role in The Visitor, Jenkins was most recently seen starring alongside Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem in Eat, Pray, Love, directed by Ryan Murphy, as well as in the cult teen vampire film Let Me In, written and directed by Matt Reeves. Next, he will be seen in Jonathan Segal’s Norman, Drew Goddard’s highly-anticipated thriller Cabin In The Woods, the Farrelly Brothers’ comedy Hall Pass, Friends with Benefits for Screen Gems and Lawrence Kasdan’s new film Darling Companion, opposite Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline and Dianne Wiest.
“We are thrilled about this year’s line-up,” PBIFF Director Randi Emerman said in a prepared statement. “It’s rich with diversity, with themes ranging from romance, comedy, teen peer pressure and anger issues to gay themes, films with Jewish themes and tolerance…there’s even an Oscar winner – Strangers No More (for Documentary Short). We have something for everyone and encourage people to take this opportunity to look through the unique lens of independent film, take a walk in someone else’s shoes and experience other parts of the world!”