Holly Hunter will receive the Career Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Awards Gala, PSIFF organizers announced on Wednesday.
Hunter is a strong Best Supporting Actress candidate this year for her role in “The Big Sick.” The film is based on the real-life courtship of co-writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, with Hunter playing the mother of Emily (Zoe Kazan), a young woman who develops a mysterious illness that puts her in a coma. She is visited in the hospital by her ex-boyfriend, Kumail (Nanjiani, playing a version of himself), who arouses the suspicion of Hunter’s character.
Hunter joins previously announced PSIFF honorees Timothée Chalamet, Gal Gadot, Allison Janney, Gary Oldman and Sam Rockwell. Additional honorees will be announced in the coming weeks.
Hunter’s previous roles include her Oscar-winning performance in “The Piano,” as well as “Raising Arizona,” “Broadcast News,” “The Incredibles” and the TV series “Saving Grace.”
Past recipients of the Career Achievement Award include Annette Bening, Kevin Costner, Bruce Dern, Samuel L. Jackson and Clint Eastwood.
The Awards Gala will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center to kick off the 29th Palm Springs International Film Festival, which will run through Jan. 15 in the desert resort east of Los Angeles.