Palm Springs

The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that Danielle Brooks is the recipient of the Spotlight Award, Actress for her performance in The Color Purple. The Film Awards will take place on January 4, 2024, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running through January 15, 2024. The event will be sponsored by Entertainment Tonight and IHG Hotels & Resorts.

“In The Color Purple, Danielle Brooks revisits her Tony-nominated portrayal of Sofia, a force to be reckoned with who challenges traditional female roles and stands for what she believes in,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “For her exceptional work and a scene-stealing performance, it is our honor to present the Spotlight Award, Actress to Danielle Brooks.”

Brooks joins this year’s previously announced honorees, Carey Mulligan (International Star Award, Actress), Cillian Murphy (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor), Colman Domingo (Spotlight Award, Actor), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Breakthrough Performance Award), Emma Stone (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress), Greta Gerwig (Director of the Year), Jeffrey Wright (Career Achievement Award), and Killers of the Flower Moon (Vanguard Award). Past recipients of the Spotlight Award, Actress include Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Helen Hunt, Allison Janney, Rooney Mara, Julia Roberts, Kristen Stewart and Yuh-Jung Youn, all seven of which received Academy Award^® nominations in the year they were honored, with Janney (I, Tonya) and Youn (Minari) winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Danielle Brooks is an Award-winning actress and singer. She most recently starred in August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play The Piano Lesson opposite Samuel L. Jackson and directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson. With Blitz Bazawule’s big screen adaptation of The Color Purple, Brooks reprises her iconic performance as “Sofia” on Broadway, which earned her a Tony Award nomination, a Grammy Award, Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award. The film will be released on December 25. Brooks, who starred in the critically acclaimed Orange Is The New Black, is a graduate of Juilliard and the co-founder of Black Women on Broadway, which honors the legacy of Black Women’s contributions to theatre.

A bold new take on the classic story of love and resilience, Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Color Purple was adapted from the beloved novel and the Broadway musical. Produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, The Color Purple is an inspiring portrayal of the bonds of sisterhood and the triumph of the human spirit. With soul-stirring performances from a powerhouse cast, the inspiring cinematic experience, in theaters only Christmas Day, takes Celie, Shug, Sofia and more on a hope-filled journey to discover one’s voice, to find one’s joy, and to be true to one’s own heart and mind. Directed by Blitz Bazawule from a screenplay by Marcus Gardley and starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino.

About the Palm Springs International Film Society

The Palm Springs International Film Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness. The Film Society produces the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) and Film Awards every January and Palm Springs ShortFest in June. In addition to curating the best in international cinema, PSIFF’s Film Awards has come to be known as the first stop on the campaign trail for the Academy Awards®, and our Oscar®-qualifying ShortFest is the largest short film festival and market in North America. Our festivals, year-round member screenings and educational programs manifest our organization’s mission by nurturing and encouraging new filmmaking talent, honoring the great masters of world cinema, and expanding audience horizons.