The Circuit

by Pat Saperstein
The second weekend of the Palm Springs film fest saw much sunnier skies than the first few rainy days, when gala guests got soaked. No matter what the weather, screenings were steadily packed throughout, and organizers said box office topped one million dollars for the first time.

Festgoers, including many retirees and members of a large Elderhostel group, lined up well in advance of screenings for even the most obscure foreign films, poring over their color-coded film checklists as avidly as Sundance regulars. Jockeying for available seats was tense at times, and local police were called Saturday when one gentleman became agitated about claiming his reserved seat for a 9 a.m. screening of Guillaume Canet's "Tell No One."

At Friday night's showing of Deny Arcand's "Days of Darkness," pic's Macha Grenon (pictured with fest director Darryl Macdonald) joined reps from the Canadian and Quebec governments for a pre-screening reception. Later that evening, filmmakers hit Palm Springs' sleek new Tropicale lounge for a reception for Indian pic "Before the Rains."

Saturday evening's benefit dinner at the lavish estate of fest benefactors Jim and Jackie Houston featured a perf by "America's Got Talent" prizewinning ventriloquist Terry Fator, whose corn-pone act proved a bit too middle-America for some festgoers. Later in the evening, filmmakers gathered at the Viceroy hotel for a relaxed party hosted by the Palm Springs chapter of Women in Film and Television.  

At the awards brunch on Sunday, filmmakers and press gathered at Spencer's Restaurant for seared ahi tuna and trophies to pics including Helen Hunt's directing debut "Then She Found Me," which took the audience award for narrative feature and "Autism: The Musical," which won the docu audience prize.