Andrew Garfield to Receive Palm Springs Spotlight Award in January

Andrew Garfield will receive the 2027 Spotlight Award, Actor, at the Palm Springs International Film Awards, according to a list published by Deadline on 13 November 2026.

The honour is set for 7 January. The Palm Springs International Film Festival runs from 7 to 18 January, so the award will be handed over at the start of the event.

Garfield is currently known to audiences for his role as Sam Altman, the technology entrepreneur, in the film Artificial. The award recognises his acting, not that one role alone.

The same list names several other winners. Martin McDonagh will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award for Wild Horse Nine. Inde Navarrette has been named the recipient of the Rising Star Award for Obsession. La Bola Negra has been set to receive the International Star Award.

Each of these prizes goes to a different part of the film business: an established actor, a director, an emerging performer and an international star. Together they give the festival's January programme its shape before the first screening begins.

For film fans, the list is a preview of who will be in Palm Springs when the doors open. For anyone following the awards calendar, the January dates place the festival early in the season, ahead of the main Oscar race.

The festival and its honourees have not yet announced ceremony details beyond the dates above.