The Newport Beach Film Festival spans across several venues in town including Lido Theater ( right ).
become a pivotal stop on the For Your Consideration tours in the race for the Oscars . It ’ s been quite a game changer and we ’ re getting every major celebrity and film that ’ s campaigning stopping in Newport . It ’ s been just tremendous for us and it ’ s really catapulted us into the conversation on the road to Oscar .”
Schwenk notes that the festival couldn ’ t happen without its dedicated staff members — a team of about 25 year-round , doubling closer to event time — plus approximately 500 volunteers and 50 interns throughout the year .
The event ’ s industry partnerships have also grown over the years . “ We host not one but two of Variety ’ s major 10 to Watch programs ,” Schwenk says . “ There ’ s no other festival in the world that does
Star-studded red carpet events are another part of the festival .
that . We host not one but two ‘ Awards Chatter ’ [ sessions ] … with Scott Feinberg and The Hollywood Reporter . Cannes has one . … We have incredible films , we have amazing venues , but the relationships that we have with the industry and the creative community has been a real hallmark of our success .”
The festival also brings top filmmakers to give talks . “ When we had Ron Howard out , people were talking about how gracious he was in giving of his time ,” Schwenk says . “ And that ’ s really reflective of the kind of experiences that we have . … We bring in people who want to be engaging with our audience . The same is true with Eddie Redmayne and Adam Sandler . … We really try to bring celebrities and VIPs that people will find interesting .”
A MARQUEE EVENT Schwenk emphasizes that this festival is not just for Hollywood ’ s movers and shakers , but for all to enjoy .
“ Even after 25 years , we still get people saying , ‘ I thought it was only for people in the industry ,’ ” he says . “ The festival is for our community and it ’ s something that everyone can participate in . If you ’ ve ever wanted to go out and get red carpet ready and … and feel like a VIP , the Newport Beach Film Festival is the experience for you .”
Schwenk says he wants community members to feel welcome and experience the festival . “ We bring the industry , we bring the creative community here to Orange County for everyone ,” he says .
Organizers review more than 3,000 film submissions to choose approximately 300 to show at the festival , which draws 58,000 attendees . This year ’ s films had not been announced as of press time . But the festival kicks off with a popular opening night party at Fashion Island featuring “ world-class entertainment , 30 of the area ’ s top restaurants sampling their signature bites , hosted bars by Tito ’ s and others , and it ’ s a spectacular way to kick off the festival with 2,000 of your closest friends ,” Quartararo says .
Last year , the festival experimented with keeping the opening night stage up throughout the weekend at Fashion Island for programs like a book signing and a conversation with music producer Mark Ronson , who worked on the “ Barbie ” movie . This year , the festival is partnering with Fashion Island ’ s StyleWeekOC , which runs from Oct . 16-20 .
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