Newport Beach Country Club Magazine Winter 2020 | Page 39

MARQUEE
MOMENTS
Left: guests at an after-party; middle: actor Chris O’Dowd; right: the crew for “Another Kind of Wedding”
Historically, the festival has always been very
passionate about documentaries. In fact, in
its second or third year, a small group led by
Schwenk mused on converting the festival into
an all-documentary event. Though this did not
come to pass, the festival has developed a repu-
tation for screening some of the best documen-
taries in the world, and many people return year
after year solely for these factual films.
MUST-ATTEND EVENTS
In addition to movies, the festival features several
grand events worth attending. This year’s Opening
Night Gala is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, at
Fashion Island with more than 30 of the top local
restaurants crafting signature dishes punctuated by
what Schwenk deems “outstanding entertainment
that will really wow the audience.” The Closing
Night Gala will take place on Thursday, April 30, at
Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa with
similar food and entertainment.
In between, other signature events include
the Friday Night Showcase and Saturday Night
Centerpiece—held Friday, April 24 and Saturday,
April 25, respectively—both of which are galas that
will kick off the festival weekend by showcasing
some of the world’s top film industry players as
well as special culinary artists, fashion brands and
other premier partners. Then, on Sunday, April 26,
a VIP reception will be held at Balboa Bay Resort in
celebration of Variety magazine’s 10 to Watch hon-
orees, which have previously included the likes of
actors Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir
Patrick Stewart and more. Also check out the festi-
val’s Seminar Series, hosted by the Newport Beach
Civic Center, with past topics including screenwrit-
ing, directing, acting, film financing,
plus other subjects within the world of film.
At the end of the day, the festival’s philosophy
is straightforward, but effective. It is, quite simply,
what keeps people coming back year after year. As
Schwenk puts it, “We’ve always focused on trying
to find the very best films for our community, films
that will resonate not only from a global perspective
on the festival circuit, but also with the residents of
Newport and the surrounding communities.”
—Ashley Probst also contributed to this article.
Left: actress Kate Beckinsale; right: honorees for Variety magazine’s 10 to Watch program on stage during
an awards presentation in 2019
N E WP O R T B E A CHCC .CO M
GREGG SCHWENK,
CO-FOUNDER OF THE
NEWPORT BEACH FILM
FESTIVAL, HIGHLIGHTS
SOME OF THE EVENT’S
BIGGEST MILESTONES.
Achieving strong recog-
nition by the industry as
reflected by its partnership
with Variety magazine:
“Variety puts together their
10 to Watch program,”
Schwenk says. “We’re
the only film festival in
the world that is home
to three of those pro-
grams: 10 Brits to Watch,
10 Cinematographers to
Watch and 10 Actors to
Watch. There’s no other
festival in the world—not
Cannes, not Sundance,
not Toronto—that is home
to three of the major pro-
grams with Variety. I think
that’s [a] testament to the
types of events we put on
and, most importantly, our
keen eye on what is the lat-
est trend and who are some
of the people at the lead-
ing edge of their craft.”
Moving past 50,000
people attending the
festival: “It’s one thing to
put on an event, [but] it’s
another thing to grow to
that size and consistently
maintain, if not build on,
that audience,” he says.
The ongoing, positive
feedback received from
the community—both
in Newport Beach and
the filmmaking world:
“Over the years, the
festival has garnered …
stellar reviews from film-
makers who’ve been to
film festivals around the
world, whether it’s Berlin
or Dublin,” Schwenk
says. “… They’ll say that
Newport stands out as
one of the best in the
world—an incredible back-
drop for an international
film festival. I’m really
proud of that feedback.”
NEWPORT BEACH COUNTRY CLUB MAGAZINE
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