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Harold Matzner

We’ve announced the Palm Springs International ShortFest lineup!

June 13, 2024June 10, 2024 by Harold Matzner
We’ve announced the Palm Springs International ShortFest lineup!

We’ve announced the full lineup of programming for this year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival’s ShortFest! Our film talent includes Francesca Scorsese, Bella Thorne, Emma …

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Palm Springs International Film Society Receives Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

June 7, 2024June 5, 2024 by Harold Matzner
Palm Springs International Film Society Receives Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

The Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Immediate Past Chairman Harold Matzner is pleased to celebrate that The Palm Springs International Film Society has been awarded …

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Palm Springs International Film Society Expands Youth Programs in the Coachella Valley

June 7, 2024May 14, 2024 by Harold Matzner
Palm Springs International Film Society Expands Youth Programs in the Coachella Valley

The Palm Springs International Film Society is expanding its youth programs for students in the Coachella Valley. Alumni from the Palm Springs International ShortFest and …

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Shag Designs the Palm Springs International ShortFest’s 2024 Poster

June 7, 2024May 8, 2024 by Harold Matzner

This week, we unveiled this year’s stylish ShortFest poster- designed by Palm Springs art star Shag! This year’s design honors the festival’s 30th anniversary and …

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Harold Matzner and Spencer’s Restaurant Featured in the Spring 2024 Issue of ‘P.S. I Love You’ Magazine

May 1, 2024 by Harold Matzner
Harold Matzner, founder of Spencer's Restaurant in Palm Springs

The Spring 2024 Issue of P.S. I Love You Magazine is out, and you can find a familiar face in its pages! The Foodie issue …

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Celebrate the Palm Springs International ShortFest’s 30th Anniversary with Us!

April 23, 2024 by Harold Matzner

The Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Immediate Past Chairman Harold Matzner ispleased to announce that The Palm Springs International ShortFest is returning for its 30th …

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Get Ready for The McCallum Theatre’s 2024-2025 Season!

April 19, 2024 by Harold Matzner

The McCallum Theatre has announced its 2024-2025 season, and it’s going to be dazzling!Best of all, we get two more months of theater! The McCallum …

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The Palm Springs International Film Society Announces 2025 Dates

April 4, 2024 by Harold Matzner
Palm Springs Film Festival Awards 2024

The Palm Springs International Film Society announced that the 2025 Film Awards will take place on Friday, January 3 rd at the Palm Springs Convention …

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The Palm Springs International Film Awards are early predictors of Oscar winners again in 2024

April 3, 2024March 26, 2024 by Harold Matzner

The 2024 Awards Season started in Palm Springs and ended at the Oscars. Over the past few months, we have watched our 2024 Awards recipients …

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A Winter of Philanthropy in Palm Springs

March 20, 2024 by Harold Matzner

Harold is thrilled to support the Desert’s many charities that strengthen our community. Harold would like to thank his fellow donors who joined him in …

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What does the Palm Springs Film Society do outside the Film Festival?

March 5, 2024 by Harold Matzner

The 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala raised $2.8 million for the Palm Springs International Film Society, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization whose …

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Harold Matzner Honors Friend and Philanthropist JoAnn McGrath

February 26, 2024 by Harold Matzner

Harold Matzner joins the McGrath family and our Desert community in mourning JoAnn McGrath. With her passing last week, the Coachella Valley lost one of …

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All Palm Springs International Film Awards Honorees Receive Academy Award Nominations

February 20, 2024 by Harold Matzner

All 11 honorees recognized at the Palm Springs International Film Awards on January 4 received Academy Award nominations. In addition, three of the event presenters …

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Get to Know the Film Festival’s New Chairman Chandi

February 13, 2024 by Harold Matzner

At last month’s Palm Springs International Film Festival and Awards Gala, we all met a new, enthusiastic face: Nachhattar Singh Chandi. As the newly-appointment Chairman, …

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Chairman Chandi Reflects on Harold Matzner’s Legacy as Film Festival Chairman for 24 Years

February 7, 2024February 7, 2024 by Harold Matzner

The morning after the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala, Variety held their annual Creative Impact Awards and 10 Directors to Watch Brunch. The …

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Harold Matzner
Entrepreneur, humanitarian, and philanthropist, Harold Matzner, has made his home in the desert for more than 30 years. The owner of Palm Spring’s popular Spencer’s Restaurant and CEO of a NY/NJ based branding, advertising and marketing company, Harold is credited with revitalizing the Palm Springs International Film Festival and founding the successful business concept of targeted “shared mail”.
In 2017, the year of his 80th birthday, Harold was one of the eleven men and women selected nationally by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans as a member and inducted by Judge Clarence Thomas in the courtroom of the United States Supreme Court. Harold was also honored with a special 24-standard page birthday section in the The Desert Sun and a two-part front page story in Palm Springs Life in the November and December editions. He was honored in November 2017 by the General Patton Memorial Museum with the dedication of the Matzner Tank Pavilion and three World War II operating tanks, and in the same month was honored by the McCallum Theatre for 10 years of service as Chairman and for being the first person to give the Theatre $5 million or more.
He also rescued and revived the world famous Palm Springs Tennis Club and turned its lunchroom into Spencer’s, one of the City’s hottest see-and-be-seen restaurants. Spencer’s is named after his beloved 110-pound Siberian husky. Mr. Matzner is in his 11th year as the Chairman of the Board of the McCallum Theatre, his 14th year as Chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and is the long-time Executive Vice Chairman of the Palm Springs Art Museum. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Eisenhower Medical Center and Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center. He also chairs several charity fundraising events each year.
He has received many awards from the charities that he supports. He has been honored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals as the “Philanthropist of the Year”, and for the past six years he has served as Honorary Chair of the local National Philanthropy Day event. He has also been recognized by Gilda’s Club as the “Man of the Year”, by the McCallum Muses as “Man of the Year”, the City of Palm Springs with the “Richard M. Milanovich Community Service Award”, as “Angel of the Year” by Angel View Children’s Foundation, as “Businessperson of the Year” by the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Waring “Lifetime Achievement Award”, “Richard M. Milanovich Humanitarian Award” by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, and by Desert Samaritan’s as “Samaritan of the Year”, and will be honored in May by the Coachella Valley Symphony, to name a few. Mr. Matzner has been a benefactor to many other non-profits, both here and on the East coast.
Mr. Matzner is one of the Palm Springs valley’s largest donors to philanthropy and has contributed more than $70 million to area non-profits since 2000. Among the many local charities benefiting from his philanthropic efforts are the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, AIDS Assistance Program, Desert Symphony, American Cancer Society, The Living Desert, Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, Coachella Valley Symphony, General Patton Memorial Museum, ACT for MS, College of the Desert, Eisenhower Medical Center, Desert AIDS Project, Desert Cancer Foundation, Palm Springs Animal Shelter, Jewish Family Services of the Desert, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), StandWithUs, Neuro Vitality Center, Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre, Temple Isaiah, Bighorn BAM (Behind a Miracle), Tools for Tomorrow, Palm Springs Air Museum, Mizell Senior Center, Well in the Desert, FIND Food Bank, Pegasus Riding Academy, LGBTQ The Center, Equality California, and the Human Rights Campaign.
He is credited with the key leadership role in creating Palm Springs’ Measure J (a 1% sales tax increase that has helped to fund a $200 million downtown revitalization program, while providing an additional surplus of $12 million per year to rebuild the city’s infrastructure). He is a community activist. He earns no money from any of his activities in Palm Springs, including his restaurant, Spencer’s.
Mr. Matzner’s star is located at the foot of his friend Sonny Bono’s statue in the heart of Palm Springs.

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In 2017, the year of his 80th birthday, Harold was one of the eleven men and women selected nationally by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans as a member and inducted by Judge Clarence Thomas.

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  • We’ve announced the Palm Springs International ShortFest lineup! June 10, 2024
  • Palm Springs International Film Society Receives Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts June 5, 2024
  • Palm Springs International Film Society Expands Youth Programs in the Coachella Valley May 14, 2024
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