Palm Springs Kicks Off Honoree Run With ‘The Invite’ Receiving Its Vanguard Award

The Vanguard Award is set to be bestowed upon "The Invite" at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 7, 2027. The Vanguard Award is bestowed upon a cast and director for an "exceptional film project," according to the Palm Springs Film Society. The festival will run from January 7 to January 18. Olivia Wilde, who directed and stars in the film alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton, is described by festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi as having created a film that is both "comedic and deeply human."

The four stars are confirmed to attend the ceremony. "The Invite" is a biting comedy that takes place in the San Francisco apartment of Wilde and Rogen, who invite Cruz and Norton, a sexually adventurous couple, for dinner. The film, written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was acquired by A24 soon after.

It earned $60 million worldwide on a $6 million budget. "The Invite" has been nominated for four Gotham Awards, including Best Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, Outstanding Supporting Performance for Cruz, and the Gotham Audience Award. Previous recipients of the Vanguard Award that went on to earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture include "Hamnet" and "Emilia Pérez."

Other notable past recipients that became Best Picture nominees include "Belfast," "Killers of the Flower Moon," "La La Land," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Fablemans," and "The Trial of the Chicago 7," as well as "Green Book" and "The Shape of Water."