Film Festival Announces Award in Bono’s Honor

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The Palm Springs International Film Festival honored four people Saturday night--but the real tribute went to someone else.

Organizers announced a new award dedicated to the memory of Sonny Bono, who founded the festival nine years ago.

The two-term Republican congressman and former Palm Springs mayor died Monday in a ski accident in South Lake Tahoe. He was 62.

The award, named after Bono, will be handed out next year and will honor someone “who had a vision to do something different that stands out,” said festival executive director Craig Prater.

“How can I thank you, and how can I express my gratitude to each and every one of you?” Mary Bono said, addressing the black-tie dinner for 600. “I know if he were here, he’d be working the room right now.”

Mary Bono also agreed to chair a committee to plan a monument to her late husband in Palm Springs.