‘The Invite’ to Receive Vanguard Award at 2027 Palm Springs Film Festival

Skip to content Director-star Olivia Wilde and castmates Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton and Seth Rogen will attend the Jan. 7 ceremony October 28, 2026 @ 10:00 AM Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in "The Invite" (A24) “The Invite” will receive the Vanguard Award at a ceremony at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Jan. 7, 2027. The Vanguard Award recognizes a cast and director in an “exceptional film project,” according to the Palm Springs Film Society. The festival runs Jan. 7-18. “With ‘The Invite,’ Olivia Wilde has made a film that is both comedic and deeply human,” festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said in a statement. “In addition to directing, she stars alongside three of the most compelling actors working today: Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton. Each of them brings something irreplaceable to this story, and … we are thrilled to honor this incredible team with this year’s Vanguard Award.” Wilde, Rogen, Cruz and Norton are all confirmed to attend the Jan. 7 event. A bitingly funny chamber piece that unfolds in the San Francisco apartment of a couple (Wilde, Rogen) who invites a pair of sexually adventurous neighbors (Cruz, Norton) for dinner, “The Invite” was written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones and premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival. Shortly after its Park City debut, it was acquired by A24 and grossed $60 million worldwide on a reported $6 million budget. This week, it earned four Gotham Award nominations, including Best Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, Outstanding Supporting Performance for Cruz, and the Gotham Audience Award. Last year, the Vanguard Award went to Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet”, and in 2025, to “Emilia Pérez,” both of which went on to earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture. Other previous Vanguard 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 two winners: “Green Book” and “The Shape of Water.”