Two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain is adding another honor to her stacked CV. The Cinemacon Female Star of the Year has been named as the 2018 recipient of the Chairman’s Award at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), a press release has announced.
Past recipients of the Chairman’s Award include Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and Amy Adams. Clearly a favorite at the fest, Chastain received the PSIFF Spotlight Award in 2012.
Chastain-starrer “Molly’s Game” doesn’t hit theaters until December 25, but the biopic is already inspiring plenty of awards chatter. An adaptation of Molly Bloom’s memoir, the film centers on a former Olympic-class skier who transforms a gig as an assistant into running a multi-million dollar poker business involving Hollywood celebs and corporate titans. When she’s arrested in the middle of the night by over a dozen FBI agents, Molly has to decide whether to name names and strike a deal or face the consequences.
PSIFF’s other 2018 awardees include Saoirse Ronan (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress), Holly Hunter (Career Achievement Award), Allison Janney (Spotlight Award-Actress), and Gal Gadot (Rising Star Award). Prizes will be presented to recipients at the fest’s Film Awards Gala on January 2.
“Jessica Chastain is an incredible actress who has continuously challenged herself with complex roles throughout her career,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.
Chastain received Oscar nods for her performances in “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Help.” Her upcoming projects include “Seducing Ingrid Bergman,” a romance about the relationship between actress Ingrid Bergman and war photographer Robert Capa, and “Painkiller Jane,” an adaptation of a graphic novel series about a police officer turned vigilante. The wonderfully outspoken feminist has gone public with her goal to work with a woman director every year.
PSIFF runs from January 2–15.