Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterDarryl Macdonald, co-founder of the Seattle and Palm Springs film festivals, died Aug. 25.Macdonald joined the Palm Springs International Film Festival in 1989 as artistic director of the gathering founded by Sonny Bono, the artist-producer turned Republican congressman, to bring more tourism to the L.A.’s desert getaway.Macdonald worked with the festival until 1993.
Ten years later, he rejoined PSFF as executive director as the event was in danger of shutting down. He revived PSFF as an important early January stop on the Hollywood awards calendar.
Variety has celebrated its annual “10 Directors to Watch” honorees with a luncheon at PSFF for nearly a decade. Macdonald stepped down in 2015.
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