Palm Springs International Film Festival to salute Marion Cotillard

The 19th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will honor Marion Cotillard with the Breakthrough Performance Award for her performance in La Vie en Rose. This is the first honoree announcement made for the 2008 Festival. The Awards Gala will kick-off the 2008 Awards Season on Saturday, January 5, 2008 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival is scheduled to be held January 3-14, 2008.

Festival chairman Earl Greenburg said, “Marion Cotillard delivers a tour de force performance as legendary singer Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose which is sure to be recognized throughout this year’s awards season. This is truly one of the year’s breakthrough performances and we’re delighted to recognize her for this outstanding role.” Past recipients of the Festival’s Breakthrough Performance Award include Jennifer Hudson and Felicity Huffman.

Marion Cotillard stars as Edith Piaf in Picturehouse’s La Vie En Rose written and directed by Olivier Dahan. The film follows Piaf’s rise from the slums of Paris to the limelight of New York all the while struggling with her passionate romances and relationships with some of the greatest names of that time. The film also stars Gerard Depardieu. La Vie en Rose was released in theatres across the county by Picturehouse on June 8, 2007.

Born in Paris, Cotillard most recently appeared opposite Russell Crowe in director Ridley Scott’s A Good Year, based on a bestselling novel by Peter Mayle. In 2004, Cotillard was honored with the Cesar Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in A Very Long Engagement, which followed two Cesar nominations for Most Promising Actress for Gérard Pires’s Taxi. Cotillard appeared in two sequels of the action comedy Taxi, both directed by Gérard Krawczyk. On this side of the Atlantic, Cotillard made lasting impressions in director Tim Burton’s Big Fish (2004) with Ewan McGregor and Abel Ferrara’s Mary (2005) with Forest Whitaker.

Cotillard will next be seen in L’Ennemi public n° 1 (Public Enemy No. 1), director Jean-François Richet’s take on the story of Jacques Mesrine, one of France’s master criminals during the 1970’s, starring Vincent Cassel and Alain Delon. Filming concurrently, the sequel, Death Instinct, will co-star Cassel and Casino Royale’s Eva Green. Cotillard will soon begin production on Rob Marshall’s Nine, co-starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Founded in 1990 by then Mayor Sonny Bono, the PSIFF is one of the largest film festivals in North America. The Festival has an attractive film sales and distribution record and is seen by American distributors as one of the best Academy Award campaign marketing tools. The Festival also features cultural events, filmmaker tributes, industry seminars and an annual black-tie gala award presentation.

Renewing their support of this year’s Festival is Title Sponsor, The City of Palm Springs and Presenting Sponsors, Spencer’s Restaurant, The Desert Sun, the City of Indian Wells, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and Wessman Development. Major sponsors include Integrated Wealth Management, Entertainment Tonight, Regal Entertainment and Wells Fargo.

The 19th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, scheduled from January 3-14, 2008, will feature a line up of more than 230 films from 65 countries, seminars, special events and Gala receptions. For additional information call 760-322-2930 or 800-898-7256 or www.psfilmfest.org.