Jacques Audiard To Receive Creative Impact in Directing Award In 2025

PALM SPRINGS, CA — "Emilia Pérez" director Jacques Audiard will be given the Creative Impact in Directing Award at Variety's Creative Impact Awards during the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival, the entertainment publication announced Tuesday.

The announcement comes one week after PSIFF organizers announced the full festival lineup, which includes "Emilia Pérez" as one of two films in its featured "Talking Pictures" section. The musical debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, earning the Jury Prize and splitting the Best Actress Prize between four women in its ensemble.

"Emilia Perez" made its theatrical debut in limited release on Nov. 1 and started streaming on Netflix on Nov. 13.

Audiard will be honored on Jan. 4 alongside Jennifer Lopez, recipient of the Legend & Groundbreaker Award, as well as Variety's annual class of 10 Directors to Watch, which this year includes names such as Malcolm Washington ("The Piano Lesson") and Coralie Fargeat ("The Substance").

"From his Cesar Award-winning debut film, `See How They Fall,' 30 years ago, writer-director Jacques Audiard has been at the forefront of international cinema," Steven Gaydos, Variety's executive vice president of content, said in a statement. "With `Emilia Pérez,' Audiard is now at the center of the 2024 awards season, again exhibiting his trademark qualities of bravado filmmaking, powerful performances and riveting, provocative themes."

His award will be presented by "Emilia Pérez" cast members Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Edgar Ramírez. Variety's awards brunch is set to occur one day after the film festival's awards gala, during which Audiard and the actors will be jointly presented with the Vanguard Award.

In addition to his debut, Audiard's other work has garnered awards attention as well. Two of his films, "The Beat My Heart Skipped" and "A Prophet," took home the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, with the latter winning the Grand Prix at that year's Cannes Film Festival.

In 2012, his film "Rust and Bone" debuted in competition for Cannes' prestigious Palme d'Or, a prize he won three years later with "Dheepan." His first English-language movie, "The Sisters Brothers," garnered the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the 2018 Venice Film Festival.

After Variety's ceremony on PSIFF 2025's third day, the film festival will continue through Jan. 13.