Make ’em laff, virtually! Palm Springs International Comedy Festival 2020

Film · Theater
mad, mad, mad, etc. made in palm springs

For those of you having trouble eking out a grin behind a face mask, we have just the solution. Laff, guffaw, giggle, chuckle, and bray like a hyena in your mask-free living room from October 11 – 18. That’s when the Palm Springs International Comedy Festival offers a reprieve from the grim realities of life under a pandemic.

The festival gives a showcase for deserving talent, across award categories for best comedians, sketch artists, shorts, features, TV pilots, Web series and animation from around the globe, with a screenplay competition awarding the best feature, shorts and TV pilots. The competition features 15 categories and 28 awards with submissions judged by top entertainment industry professionals. It’s major!

Founding Board Members, Actress/Producer/ Kat Kramer and Actress/Producer/Philanthropist Karen Sharpe Kramer, the family of the legendary Oscar Award winning Director/Producer/Writer Stanley Kramer, seen above with festival director, Paul Cruz, will be handing out the “Stanley Kramer Mad World Comedy Award for Best in Comedy Directing.” Stanley Kramer directed some of the most iconic, award-winning films including the star-studded comedy blockbuster It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which was filmed largely in the Palm Springs area.  

The Festival has drawn participants from all over the world including Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, Netherlands, China, France and Canada. What do they all have in common? The butt of their jokes — the United States. No, just kidding. We Americans know there is absolutely nothing amusing about the state of our nation right now.

We were delighted when two funny ladies were recognized at a prior festival, in 2018, with “Comedian of the Year” award going to Kathy Griffin, and Illeana Douglas awarded as a ‘Pioneer in Comedy.” We wrote about it at the time … and things haven’t gotten much funnier since.

But let’s try to have some fun. And people, stay safe.


Palm Springs International Comedy Festival | October 11 – 18

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