The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that Academy Award®-winning writer and director Martin McDonagh is the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award for Searchlight Pictures’ “Wild Horse Nine.” The Film Awards will take place on January 7th, 2027, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running January 7th-18th, 2027. The event will be presented by Kering and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight and Soho House with Cadillac as the official vehicle.
“Martin McDonagh remains one of our most distinctive and original voices in cinema today,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “Over the course of his celebrated career, he has built a body of work that is humorous, timely, and morally complex. ‘Wild Horse Nine’ is another testament to his singular vision, and we are honored to recognize him and his extraordinary film with the Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award.”
“Wild Horse Nine” follows CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell), shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, as they set out to Easter Island from Santiago, where they are stationed alongside their boss and bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). Amongst the Island’s iconic statues, as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris’s newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.
McDonagh joins this year’s previously announced honorees “The Invite”’s Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton (Vanguard Award) and Inde Navarette (Rising Star Award). Past director honorees include Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“Babel”, “Birdman”), Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”), Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”), David O. Russell (“The Fighter”), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”).
Martin McDonagh is an award-winning, London-born filmmaker and playwright of Irish descent. McDonagh first gained attention when he was awarded the Oscar for his short film “Six Shooter” then wrote and directed the acclaimed features “In Bruges”, “Seven Psychopaths”, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”, and “The Banshees of Inisherin”. He has received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture (“Three Billboards” and “Banshees”), Best Director (“Banshees”), and Best Original Screenplay (“In Bruges”, “Three Billboards”, and “Banshees”), and has won six BAFTAs and three Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Drama for “Three Billboards”. He is also an accomplished playwright whose works, including The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Pillowman, and Hangmen, have been staged in the West End and on Broadway and performed in more than 40 countries. His honors include three Olivier Awards: Best New Comedy for The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Best New Play for both The Pillowman and Hangmen.
What do you think of this news for the Palm Springs International Film Festival? Have you seen “Wild Horse Nine” yet? If so, what did you think of Navarrette’s performance? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account.
