Tuesday evening got a little brighter in the Coachella Valley when the 21st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival kicked off with its awards gala at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
When stars such as Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood stepped out of limousines, flashes snapped and fans cheered from behind barricades across the street.
Irenne and Don Tarnowski, who winter in Cathedral City and are from Vancouver, Canada, came back to the gala for a second year to try their luck at seeing honoree Mariah Carey. They met Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller and Dakota Fanning at last year's gala.
"You can't do this in Toronto. You can't do this in Hollywood," Don Tarnowski said.
The gala kicked off the festival, which runs through Jan. 18 and will feature almost 200 films.
Among them is the premiere of "Shoot the Hero," by Palm Springs director Christian Sesma.
"It's great to come full circle," he said as he walked the red carpet.
He was excited to see one of his inspirations, director Quentin Tarantino, who was among the evening's honorees.
Tarantino said he had an awards area in his home and joked that he was making room for more after the acclaim of his film "Inglourious Basterds."
Diablo Cody, who was honored for "Juno" two years ago and presented Tarantino with his award Tuesday night, said the weather was another bonus of returning.
"It's really exciting, a really amazing, refreshing event," said Cody, who wrote "Juno." "I couldn't be more excited about presenting to Quentin Tarantino."
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