Festival Theaters Palm Springs

Festival Theaters Palm Springs Festival Theaters is Palm Springs' independent, first-run home for new cinema.

🚗🎶 Opening today: American GraffitiBefore Star Wars, George Lucas made this nostalgic, funny, bittersweet love letter to...
05/29/2026

🚗🎶 Opening today: American Graffiti

Before Star Wars, George Lucas made this nostalgic, funny, bittersweet love letter to youth, cruising, and rock & roll. Set over the course of one unforgettable night in 1962, American Graffiti follows a group of friends as they navigate first loves, big dreams, and the uncertainty of what comes next.

And because it’s part of our Needle Drops series, we have to talk about the soundtrack. Packed wall-to-wall with classic hits from the golden age of rock & roll, the music doesn’t just accompany the story—it is the story. 🎵✨

Featuring early performances from Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, and Harrison Ford, American Graffiti remains one of the greatest coming-of-age films ever made.

See it the way it was meant to be seen: on the big screen. 🍿

30 days.5 wildly different events.A whole lot of unforgettable nights. 🎬✨From welcoming Paul Thomas Anderson for a scree...
05/26/2026

30 days.
5 wildly different events.
A whole lot of unforgettable nights. 🎬✨

From welcoming Paul Thomas Anderson for a screening of Hard Eight and live Q&A… to celebrating bold new voices through our Q***r Premieres series with Idiotka and F*cktoys… to cheering, gasping and laughing our way through the wildly unhinged HUMP! Film Festival.

We hosted the Palm Springs premiere of Stolen Kingdom with director Joshua Bailey live in person.

And you turned out to make it happen. YOU made this month possible.



05/22/2026

🎬🌹 “It’s a strange world.”

Our final film in this month’s Needle Drops series is here: Blue Velvet, opening today at Festival Theaters.

Directed by the one and only David Lynch and starring Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern, Blue Velvet remains one of the most hypnotic, disturbing, funny, beautiful, and deeply influential American films ever made.

And like every great Needle Drops film, the music is inseparable from the atmosphere—from Bobby Vinton’s dreamy title song to the film’s haunting use of Roy Orbison. 🎶

See the movie that changed cinema forever back on the big screen where it belongs. 🍿

🍸 Next up in Our Month with the Programmer with David Ansen: the timeless screwball classic The Lady Eve — opening May 2...
05/21/2026

🍸 Next up in Our Month with the Programmer with David Ansen: the timeless screwball classic The Lady Eve — opening May 22 at Festival Theaters.

Directed by Preston Sturges and starring the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda, The Lady Eve is sharp, romantic, hilarious, and still somehow feels modern more than 80 years later.

Come see the original romantic scam comedy on the big screen and join David Ansen for a special live introduction and discussion on opening night. ✨🍿

🎬🌿 Opening May 21: Silent FriendSpanning more than a century and anchored by a majestic ginkgo tree at the center of a G...
05/20/2026

🎬🌿 Opening May 21: Silent Friend

Spanning more than a century and anchored by a majestic ginkgo tree at the center of a German university, Silent Friend is a visually stunning meditation on memory, nature, time, and the invisible connections between people.

Directed by Academy Award nominee IldikĂł Enyedi (On Body and Soul), the film follows three generations of students and scientists whose lives are quietly transformed by the mysteries of the natural world.

Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Léa Seydoux, and Luna Wedler, Silent Friend is the kind of immersive cinematic experience that truly deserves the big screen. 🍿✨

🌳 Opens May 21 at Festival Theaters

05/19/2026

2 FREE tickets to see Stolen Kingdom on May 23rd at 7pm!

On Saturday, May 23 at 7PM, Festival Theaters presents a special premiere of Stolen Kingdom — the unbelievable true story of the underground Disney urban exploration scene and the infamous theft of Buzzy, an animatronic character stolen from Walt Disney World.

After the film, stick around for a live Q&A with director Joshua Bailey and special guests. đź‘€

AND because we felt inspired… we’ve hidden two free tickets somewhere in the business park surrounding the theater.

⚠️ IMPORTANT:
The tickets are not hidden inside the theater, behind curtains, inside restricted areas, or anywhere unsafe. Please do not climb, wander backstage, or explore places you shouldn’t be.

But somewhere out there… they’re waiting!

🎬✨ Introducing A Month with the Programmer — a new series at Festival Theaters celebrating the voices, taste, and vision...
05/16/2026

🎬✨ Introducing A Month with the Programmer — a new series at Festival Theaters celebrating the voices, taste, and vision of legendary film programmers.

Our inaugural guest is David Ansen — a beloved figure in the Palm Springs film community and one of the most influential film programmers and critics of the last several decades.

David’s incredible career includes:
- Senior Film Critic for Newsweek (1977–2008)
- Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Film Festival (2010–2014)
- Senior Film Programmer for the Palm Springs International Film Festival (2015–2025)

The series begins with Hard Eight — introduced by David alongside Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson at our sold out opening night event. The film continues playing through May 20.

The lineup continues with:

🎬 The Lady Eve
May 22–28

🎬 The Stunt Man
May 29 – June 4

🎬 California Split
June 5–11

Each film will feature one night live introductions and discussion with David Ansen.

Come experience an incredible lineup of films that helped shape modern cinema—through the eyes of someone who’s spent a lifetime championing great movies. 🍿

🎬✨ Tonight, Festival Theaters welcomes Paul Thomas Anderson for a special sold out event celebrating one of the most inf...
05/14/2026

🎬✨ Tonight, Festival Theaters welcomes Paul Thomas Anderson for a special sold out event celebrating one of the most influential filmmakers of the modern era— as we watch his first film, Hard Eight, followed by a live Q&A by the artist himself.

From Boogie Nights and Magnolia to There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, and beyond, PTA’s films have shaped modern American cinema with unforgettable characters, ambitious storytelling, and an unmatched relationship between music and image.

Tonight’s event may be sold out, but we still wanted to celebrate the films, performances, music, and moments that made him one of the defining directors of his generation.

🎥 What’s your favorite Paul Thomas Anderson film?

🎬✨ One night only — May 23 at 7PMJoin us for a special premiere screening of Stolen Kingdom, followed by a live Q&A with...
05/13/2026

🎬✨ One night only — May 23 at 7PM

Join us for a special premiere screening of Stolen Kingdom, followed by a live Q&A with director Joshua Bailey.

A fascinating look at obsession, nostalgia, and the strange stories hiding beneath pop culture history, Stolen Kingdom uncovers a world that’s as surreal as it is deeply human. And most importantly… WHO STOLE BUZZY?

🎤 Stay after the screening for a conversation with the filmmaker and hear the story behind the story.

🍿 May 23 • 7PM • Festival Theaters



🎬🎵 Next up in Needle Drops: Something Wild (1986)Starting May 15, experience Something Wild on the big screen—a movie th...
05/13/2026

🎬🎵 Next up in Needle Drops: Something Wild (1986)

Starting May 15, experience Something Wild on the big screen—a movie that starts as a carefree romantic adventure and slowly spirals into something much stranger, darker, and unforgettable.

Directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Melanie Griffith, Jeff Daniels, and an absolutely electric Ray Liotta, Something Wild is one of the defining cult films of the 1980s.

And the soundtrack? Pure Needle Drops perfection—packed with new wave, punk, reggae, and deep-cut energy that gives the movie its heartbeat.

🍿 Starts May 15 at Festival Theaters

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