Palm Springs Film Festival 2026 Shines Spotlight on Dwayne Johnson, Teyana Taylor, and Timothée Chalamet

The 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival is shaping up as a major moment in awards-season momentum, with three standout performers—Dwayne Johnson, Teyana Taylor, and Timothée Chalamet—set to be honored on the same January weekend in the desert, each recognized for performances that have defined the past year in film.

The festival runs from January 2 through January 12, 2026, with its signature Film Awards Gala scheduled for January 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center, followed by Variety’s annual 10 Directors to Watch and Creative Impact Awards brunch on January 4. Together, the events place Palm Springs squarely at the center of Hollywood’s awards conversation.

Dwayne Johnson will receive Variety’s Creative Impact in Acting Award on January 4, marking a career milestone for the actor and producer. Johnson is being honored for his transformative performance as MMA legend Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, a role that earned him his first-ever Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. The film has already been widely acclaimed, with Safdie winning the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival and co-star Emily Blunt also earning a Golden Globe nomination. Variety co-president and co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh praised Johnson for abandoning vanity in favor of emotional honesty, calling the performance “haunting and committed.” Johnson’s recent successes include Moana 2, which surpassed $1 billion globally, and a slate of upcoming projects ranging from a live-action Moana in summer 2026 to a Martin Scorsese-directed Hawaii-set crime drama alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt.

That same Variety brunch will also honor Teyana Taylor with the Creative Impact in Breakthrough Performance Award. Taylor earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, the most-nominated film of the year with nine Golden Globe nods. The film has already been named Best Picture of the Year by the Gotham Awards, the National Board of Review, and multiple major critics’ groups. Setoodeh credited Taylor with standing out in one of the year’s strongest ensembles, noting her rapid rise following acclaimed work in A Thousand and One and The Book of Clarence. Taylor continues her momentum with Hulu’s All’s Fair, recently renewed for a second season, and the upcoming feature The Rip, releasing in January.

On January 3, the Palm Springs International Film Awards will honor Timothée Chalamet with the Spotlight Actor of the Year Award for Marty Supreme. Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi described the performance as a defining moment in Chalamet’s career, praising its emotional depth and ambition. Directed by Josh Safdie and released by A24, Marty Supreme landed on both AFI’s and the National Board of Review’s Top 10 Films of 2025 and earned Chalamet Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations. The film’s ensemble includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler Okonma, Fran Drescher, and Odessa A’zion.

With three distinct honors across two nights, Palm Springs once again underscores its role as a bellwether of awards-season recognition—celebrating established icons, breakout stars, and career-defining performances in one cinematic desert spotlight.