PALM SPRINGS — Regina King will be presented with the Chairman’s Award for “If Beale Street Could Talk” at the 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) Awards Gala.

The Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart and Entertainment Tonight, and presented by American Express, will be held on Thursday, Jan. 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs Jan. 3-14.

“Whether she’s acting, producing or directing, Regina King is an amazing creative talent,” Festival Chairman Harold Matzner said in a prepared statement. “In her latest film If Beale Street Could Talk, she gives an outstanding performance as Sharon Rivers, a mother supportive of her daughter whose fiancé is thrown in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.  For her performance in this challenging role, which has received much critical acclaim, it is our honor to present the Chairman’s Award to Regina King.”

King joins previously announced honorees Glenn Close, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Rami Malek, Melissa McCarthy and the film Green Book. Past recipients of the Chairman’s Award include Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, George Clooney, Richard Gere, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon.

Based on the novel by James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk is the story of Tish, a newly engaged Harlem woman who races against the clock to prove her lover’s innocence while carrying their first-born child to term. It is a celebration of love told through the story of a young couple, their families and their lives, trying to bring about justice through love, for love and the promise of the American dream. The film from Annapurna Pictures is written and directed by Barry Jenkins and stars KiKi Layne, Stephan James Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Michael Beach, Dave Franco, Diego Luna, Pedro Pascal, Ed Skrein, Bryan Tyree Henry and Regina King.

For her role in If Beale Street Could Talk, King received a Best Supporting Actress award from the New York Film Critics Circle and National Board of Review and a Best Supporting Female nomination for the Independent Spirit Awards.  Her other film credits include Boyz n the Hood, Poetic Justice, Higher Learning, Friday, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Jerry Maguire, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Enemy of the State, Daddy Day Care, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, Ray. Her TV credits include American Crime, which she won two Emmy Awards — for two different characterizations —and was nominated for a third, 227, Southland, The Leftovers and Seven Seconds, which she received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series.  Among her directorial credits are episodes of This Is Us, The Good Doctor, Shameless, Animal Kingdom, Pitch, Greenleaf, Being Mary Jane and Scandal and the BET Network telefilm Let the Church Say Amen.

In addition to King, the celebrated list of talents who have been honored in recent years includes Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem, Cate Blanchett, Mary J. Blige, Sandra Bullock, Jessica Chastain, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Gal Gadot, Tom Hanks, Holly Hunter, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Meryl Streep and Reese Witherspoon. Call 760-969-7533 for Gala tickets or tables, 760-778-8979 or 800-898-7256 for Film Festival information or visit www.psfilmfest.org.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, welcoming 135,000 attendees last year for its lineup of new and celebrated international features and documentaries.

The Festival is also known for its annual Film Awards Gala, a glamorous, black-tie event attended by 2,500, presented this year by American Express and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight.  The Film Awards Gala honors the year’s best achievements in cinema in front of and behind the camera.