Newport Beach Country Club Magazine Winter 2020 | Page 38
From left: actor Pierce Brosnan, The Side Deal band members and actor Will Ferrell at past iterations of the film festival
Audience members are asked to
take in each production and then
give feedback to the filmmakers.
big screen,” Schwenk explains. “Twenty years ago,
no one was talking about the internet as a forum
where we could be playing short films on a regu-
lar basis. Netflix, Amazon, those things were very
much in their infancy, and we were one of the
few outlets for short films. We are very proud of
that fact.”
While short films are still a big part of the fes-
tival, the event has developed into a well-known
cinematic celebration over the years, often host-
ing premieres and drawing big-name actors,
directors and other industry insiders to the
screenings, parties and award ceremonies.
The festival is perhaps best known for pre-
senting the North American premiere of
“Crash,” which went on to win an Academy
Award for Best Picture in 2005. The festival also
presented the U.S. premieres of “The Cove,”
which later won an Oscar for Best Documentary,
and “Waitress,” which was nominated for several
awards and also snagged some honors.
Building on the festival’s two-decade
momentum, this year is shaping up to be one
for the books.
CARVING A NICHE
While features may get the most attention, the
festival’s special programs are not to be over-
looked. And, for some of these niche categories,
inspiration comes from the festival’s surround-
ings. Newport Beach is beautiful, but it’s also a
city that prides itself on sports, luxury develop-
ment and aquatic activities.
Given what Schwenk calls “the natural
strengths of Newport Beach,” certain segments
of the festival have evolved into marquee pro-
grams over the years. For example, the festival
now boasts the top Action Sports program in
the United States (based on the number of films
screened), which makes sense considering the
proliferation of local surfers, skaters, mountain
bikers and stand-up paddleboarders that grace
our share of the coastline.
A couple other programs that are exceptionally
well-curated is the festival’s Art, Architecture &
Design Film Series as well as the Culinary Film
Series, the latter of which showcases movies
about food and different kitchen-related experi-
ences and professionals.
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NEWPORT BEACH COUNTRY CLUB MAGAZINE
NE W PO R TB E AC H C C .C O M
BO
Film festival co-founders Greg Schwenk (left) and
Todd Quartararo (right) with actor Simon Pegg