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Behind the scenes at Palm Springs Film Festival: Photos and video

1/22
Ukrainians Oles Sanin, left, director, and his childhood friend Sergey Mikhalchuk, who shot his movie “The Guide.””He conceived this film 10 years ago here in Palm Springs, when he was showing his first film. It is like coming home for it.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
2/22
Sturla Gunnarsson (Iceland), Director “Monsoon.””I like when it rains at the desert. It’s a beautiful primordial landscape.”   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
3/22
Alana Waksman, Co-Director “Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha.” “I just got to Palm Springs about 5 minutes ago. Lol. I listen to a lot of ‘60s music like Janis Joplin, Jim Morisson.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
4/22
Austin Kolodney, Co-Director.”Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha.” “Palm Springs is great. I came here when I was 12-years-old. Fight on!!!”   (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
5/22
Michel Hazanavicius (France), Director “The Search.” “It’s my second time here. Last time I came they gave me an award so they invited me (again) and I’m very glad to be here.”   (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
6/22
Najwa Najjar. Palestine. Director “Eyes of a Thief.” “To go to Palestine I have to go through Jordan and it’s snowed in, and so I had to change, so I thought, brilliant!!! Here a nice sunny weather and there is completely snowed in.”   (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
7/22
Brandon Somerhalder, Co-Director of “Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha.”   (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
8/22
Gaylene Preston, New Zealand, Director “Hope and Wire.””I really like the banks. And I like Palm Springs because the festival is always nice to you.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
9/22
James Napier Robertson. New Zealand. Co-Director “The Dark Horse.” “I like it, I’m having a good time.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
10/22
Signe Baumane (Latvia), Director “Rocks in My Pockets.” “The landscape, I’ve never seen anything like this before, it’s so alien. I’ve never been to the desert before.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
11/22
Dave Dorsey. Co-Director “Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha.” “Beautiful. The mountain range ... It’s very nice.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
12/22
Jon Garano and Jose Mari Goenaga. Spain. Co-Directors “Flowers.” “It’s really strange for us because we come from winter and you are right here, I mean it’s you’re in the middle of nowhere but it’s very nice.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
13/22
Pamela Shaw. New York. Actress “Lucky Stiff.” “Well, I love this festival because it’s organized and you can see everything and everybody wants to see the films.... I met some wonderful people.... I got my driver’s license here, when I was so young.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
14/22
Kenyan Andy Siege. Director of “Beti and Amarte.” “I love the mountains and the desert, which are pretty awesome. The way it looks reminds me of the Ethiopian islands.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
15/22
Nicole Boxer. California. Director “How I Got Over.” “This is one of the best experience I’ve had in the festival circuit. The audiences are totally engaged. I’ve had packed sold-out screenings. The Q&A has been really thoughtful and people are extremely moved by my film.”   (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
16/22
Fabrizio Maltese. Italian living in France. Director “Twenty-Five Palms.” “I love this festival. It’s my fourth year.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
17/22
Dome Karukoski. Finland. Director “The Grump.” “Well, I think, first of all, because my film is about a 81-year-old man the audience is quite perfect.....”   (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
18/22
Americans Anthony Sullivan, Actor Thomas G Miller and Director “Limited Partnership.” “We really don’t know. We haven’t gotten in trouble, yet.” I said, oh you will. They responded in unison: “I hope so.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
19/22
Xu Zhang. Co-Director “Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha.” “Here is beautiful because there’s a lot of palm trees. It’s my first time here.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
20/22
Amin Dora. Director “Ghadi.” “The city was quite intriguing, cause I’m used to a city with buildings and stuff, so here the sky is always open and nice fires all around.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
21/22
Vuk Rsumovic. Serbia. Director. “No Ones Child.” “Well, It’s my first time in America so everything seems so familiar from films and everything, in a way it’s a little bit surreal.”   (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
22/22
Steve Bannos, Vera Cherny and Anthony Skordi, stars from the movie “Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha.”  (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)
By Times staff
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The Palm Springs International Film Festival takes the international part of its name seriously.

With an emphasis on foreign-language filmmaking, alongside a sprinkling of American movies, the festival brings the world to a little oasis in the desert.

“It’s my second time here,” said Michel Hazanavicius, the French director who in 2012 took home the Sonny Bono Visionary Award in Palm Springs and later that year won an Academy Award for directing “The Artist.” “Last time I came they gave me an award, so they invited me [again] and I’m very glad to be here.”

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Hazanavicius was in Palm Springs to screen his wartime drama “The Search” and is just one of the filmmakers who got his picture taken for the L.A. Times photo booth at the festival. You can see the images in the gallery above, as well as watch a video going behind the scenes of the photo shoot.

The film festival, which runs through Monday, is in the midst of playing 192 films from 65 countries, including 50 of the 83 submissions for the foreign-language Academy Award. Last year more than 135,000 people attended, making it one of the top film festivals for attendance in the country.

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