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

A24’s The Invite has been tapped to receive the Palm Springs International Film Awards’ Vanguard Award, the first of a string of honors that will be announced as part of the 2027 Palm Springs Film Festival‘s opening-night gala January 7.

The film’s director-star Olivia Wilde and her co-stars Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton are slated to attend the gala, which annually kicks off the festival in the SoCal desert. The Vanguard Award is given in recognition of a director and cast’s collective work on an exceptional film project, with past recipients including Hamnet last year as well Green Book and The Shape of Water before they went on to with the Best Picture Oscar.

The Invite centers on dinner party between two neighboring couples spirals into an unpredictable evening of revelations and desire, revealing the hilarity and humanity in the complexities of marriage, intimacy and relationships.

The pic hit theaters in late June becoming one of the year’s top-grossing limited debuts. It has grossed $61.2 million to become an indie summer hit both domestically and overseas.

“With The Invite, Olivia Wilde has made a film that is both comedic and deeply human. In addition to directing, she stars alongside three of the most compelling actors working today: Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton,” said festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “Each of them brings something irreplaceable to this story, and together they’ve created something that has stayed with audiences long after the credits roll. We are thrilled to honor this incredible team with this year’s Vanguard Award.”

The Invite premiered this year at Sundance and earlier in the week picked up a co-leading four nominations at the Gotham Film Awards including for Will McCormack and Rashida Jones’ adapted screenplay.