The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that “Frankenstein” is the recipient of the Visionary Award. Expected to attend the award presentation are director Guillermo del Toro and actors Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth. The Visionary Award honors a film that breaks boundaries in the art of cinema, and this year marks the first time the accolade will be presented jointly to a director and his cast — recognizing their remarkable collaboration in bringing this cinematic vision to life. The Film Awards will take place on January 3rd, 2026, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running January 2nd–12th, 2026. The event will be presented by Kering and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight.
“Guillermo del Toro delivers a bold reimagining of a timeless classic, infusing the story with a profound emotional resonance that urges us to consider what it truly means to be human,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “Oscar Isaac’s haunting portrayal of Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi’s deeply affecting performance as The Creature, and Mia Goth’s mesmerizing turn as both Elizabeth Harlander and Claire Frankenstein, illuminate the film’s central themes with extraordinary power. For the first time, we are proud to present the Visionary Award to ‘Frankenstein’ in recognition of both the director and his remarkable cast, resulting in one of the year’s most daring and unforgettable achievements.”
From Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes the definitive retelling of Mary Shelley’s genre-defining novel of life and death — an epic drama about what it means to be human, to crave love, and to seek understanding. Golden Globe-winner Oscar Isaac plays the brilliant but tortured scientist Victor Frankenstein, who embarks on an ego-driven quest to bring new life into this world, resulting in the Creature (BAFTA nominee Jacob Elordi), whose very existence provokes questions about what it means to be a human and what it really means to be a monster.
This sprawling epic takes audiences from the remote reaches of the Arctic to the bloody battlefields of 19th-century Europe, as Frankenstein and his Creature go on their own search for meaning in a world that can seem quite mad. Also starring Mia Goth as the luminous Elizabeth and two-time Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz, Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” is a reminder of how, at heart, we are all creatures, lost and found.
“Frankenstein” joins this year’s previously announced honorees Michael B. Jordan (Icon Award); Leonardo DiCaprio (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor); Ethan Hawke (Career Achievement Award); Adam Sandler (Chairman’s Award); Amanda Seyfried (Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress); “Hamnet” director Chloé Zhao as well as actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal (Vanguard Award); and “Sentimental Value” cast members Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning (International Star Award).
Past recipients of the Visionary Award include last year’s Denis Villeneuve (“Dune: Part Two”); Alfonso Cuarón (“Roma”) and Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), who both received the Academy Award for Best Director during their respective year; Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”), Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”), Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), and Quentin Tarantino (“Inglourious Basterds”), who went on to receive Academy Award nominations for Best Director. All of these directors’ films received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, with “The Artist” and “Spotlight” winning the Award.
What do you think of this news for the Palm Springs International Film Festival? Have you seen “Frankenstein“ yet? If so, what did you think of the film? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account.
