Variety will honor “Silver Linings Playbook” helmer David O. Russell with the Indie Impact Award as part of its 10 Directors to Watch celebration at the 2013 Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival.
Kudo, presented by Mercedes-Benz, spotlights the filmmaker for his contributions to the art and business of cinema. Event will take place Sunday, Jan. 6, on the Palm Court at the Parker Palm Springs hotel.
“Since he emerged as a wildly funny and extremely independent voice in American film nearly 20 years ago, writer-director David O. Russell has continued to delight and surprise fans of his unique cinematic vision,” said Steve Gaydos, executive editor at Variety. “Along the way his comic touch has been reaffirmed in films like ‘Flirting With Disaster’ and his current Oscar contender, ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’ but as is clear in ‘Playbook,’ there is always a deep truth beneath the laughs.”
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Previous recipients of the Indie Impact Award include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlize Theron and Mark Wahlberg.
“Silver Linings Playbook” will also be honored the evening before at the fest’s awards gala, where star Bradley Cooper will be presented with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor.
The first of Variety’s “10 to Watch” series, 10 Directors to Watch debuted in 1996 and the annual event moved to the Palm Springs Festival in 2011. This year’s honorees include Haifaa Al-Mansour (“Wadjda”); Wayne Blair (‘The Sapphires”); John Krokidas (“Kill Your Darlings”); Tobias Lindholm (“A Hijacking”); David Lowery (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”); Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (“21 and Over”); Andres Muscietti (“Mama”); David Ondricek (“In the Shadow”); Joachim Ronning & Espen Sandberg (“Kon-Tiki”); and Rebecca Thomas (“Electrick Children”).
Five of the films, “Electrick Children,” “A Hijacking,” “In the Shadow,” “Kon-Tiki” and “The Sapphires,” will screen at the fest.
Past 10 Directors to Watch honorees include Ben Affleck, Wes Anderson, Marc Webb, Christopher Nolan and Benh Zeitlin.