Palm Springs, CA– The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Rooney Mara with the Spotlight Award for her much-lauded performance in the film Carol at its annual Awards Gala. The Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Michael Fassbender, Brie Larson, Tom McCarthy, Saoirse Ronan and Alicia Vikander. The Awards Gala will be hosted by Mary Hart with presenting sponsor Entertainment Tonight on Saturday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 1-11.

“Rooney Mara’s nuanced portrayal of Manhattan shopgirl Therese Belivet opposite Cate Blanchett’s Carol Aird, brings integrity and depth to this story of forbidden love set against the sexual mores of the early 1950s,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “For this brilliant performance, which adds yet another laurel to her diverse career, it is an honor to present Rooney Mara with the 2016 Spotlight Award.”

Past recipients of the Spotlight Award include J.K. Simmons, Julia Roberts, Jessica Chastain, Amy Adams and Helen Hunt. All recipients received Academy Award® nominations in the year they were honored, with Simmons receiving the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Carol, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt, follows two women from very different backgrounds - unhappily married Carol (Cate Blanchett) and department store clerk Therese (Rooney Mara), who find themselves in an unexpected love affair in 1950s New York. As conventional norms challenge their undeniable attraction, an honest story emerges to reveal the resilience of the heart in the face of change. Directed by Todd Haynes from a script by Phyllis Nagy, Carol stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy and Cory Michael Smith. The film is distributed by the Weinstein Company.

Mara’s film credits includes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Side Effects, Her, Pan, Tanner Hall, The Social Network, Trash, Youth in Revolt and The Winning Season. She will next be seen in the Untitled Terrence Malick film, Jim Sheridan’s The Secret Scripture along with Vanessa Redgrave and Jeremy Irons, and A House in the Sky.

About The Palm Springs International Film Festival The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries. The Festival is also known for its annual Black Tie Awards Gala, honoring the best achievements of the filmic year by a celebrated list of talents who, in recent years, have included Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, David O. Russell, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon.

For more information, call 760-322-2930 or 800-898-7256 or visit http://www.psfilmfest.org.

-Official PSIFF Press Release-