Newport Beach Film Festival

  • Monster, ‘The Michoacán File,’ Frontiers Win Top Awards at 24th Newport Beach Film Festival

    Monster directed by Hirokazu Koreeda
    Hinata Hiiragi and Soya Kurokawa in Monster directed by Hirokazu Koreeda (Photo: Suenaga Makoto)

    The 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) announced its 2023 Awards winners with Jury Awards for Best Feature going to Monster directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, and Best Feature Documentary to The Michoacán File directed by Bernardo Arsuaga. Monster also won Jury Awards for Best Screenplay for Yûji Sakamoto and Best Actor for Eita Nagayama.

    Read more


  • William Shatner, Patricia Clarkson, and More to be Honored at Newport Beach Film Festival

    William Shatner in You Can Call Me Bill
    William Shatner in You Can Call Me Bill (courtesy Robert Muratore)

    Actors Patricia Clarkson, Eugenio Derbez, William Shatner, Glenn Howerton, and Jesse Williams, directors Todd Haynes and Jack Huston, along with producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller will be honored at the 24th edition of Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF).

    Read more


  • ‘The Absence of Eden’ Starring Zoe Saldaña to Open Newport Beach Film Festival

    Zoe Saldaña in The Absence of Eden, directed by Marco Perego
    Zoe Saldaña in The Absence of Eden

    The Absence of Eden, directed by Marco Perego and starring Zoe Saldaña, will open the 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF)on Thursday October 12 at the Edwards Big Newport. The festival will close with Focus Features’ The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne, on Thursday, October 19 at the Port Theatre.

    Read more


  • The Quiet Girl, Lovely Jackson and Four Samosas Lead Newport Beach Film Festival 2022 Award Winners

    The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) by Colm Bairéad
    The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) by Colm Bairéad

    The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) handed out its 2022 awards, with The Quiet Girl, the Irish film on a quiet, neglected girl sent away from her overcrowded, dysfunctional family to live with foster parents for the summer, winning the Jury award for Best Film. Lovely Jackson, the true life story of Rickey Jackson who spent 39 years on death row and in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, won for Best Feature Documentary.

    Read more


  • Eddie Redmayne, Aubrey Plaza, Jonathan Majors, Keke Palmer and More Honored at Newport Beach Film Festival

    Eddie Redmayne, Aubrey Plaza, Jonathan Majors, Keke Palmer honored at Newport Beach Film Festival
    Eddie Redmayne, Aubrey Plaza, Jonathan Majors, Keke Palmer honored at Newport Beach Film Festival

    Director Ron Howard along with Aubrey Plaza, Jonathan Majors, Keke Palmer and Patton Oswalt are among the individuals honored at the upcoming 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF). NBFF will also honor Eddie Redmayne, Colson Baker, Cooper Raiff, Anna Diop, Paul Feig, and Aimee Carrero.

    Read more


  • WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story Opens and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Closes Newport Beach Film Festival 2022

    Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
    Weird: The Al Yankovic Story by Eric Appel

    Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) will kick off its eight-day run on Thursday, October 13, with WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story starring Daniel Radcliffe​, ​Evan Rachel Wood​, ​Rainn Wilson​, Toby Huss​, ​Julianne Nicholson and ​Quinta Brunson. fresh from the Toronto International Film Festival, where it generated huge buzz and won the People’s Choice Award in the Midnight Madness category, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story. WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story is directed by Eric Appel and stars Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird Al” Yankovic in the unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician of our time. From a conventional upbringing where playing the accordion was a sin, Al rebelled and made his dream of changing the words to world-renowned songs come true. An instant success and sex symbol, Al lives an excessive lifestyle and pursues an infamous romance that nearly destroys him.

    Read more


  • Newport Beach Film Festival Announces 2022 Dates

    Newport Beach Film Festival
    Newport Beach Film Festival

    Attracting over 60,000 attendees, the Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) returns to Orange County, CA from October 13 – 20, 2022. The NBFF Honors and Variety’s “10 Actors to Watch” will take place on Sunday, October 16, 11:00am – 1:00pm.

    Read more


  • ‘The Falconer’ Belfast and Unzipped Take Top Newport Beach Film Festival 2021 Awards

    The Falconer directed by Adam Sjöberg and Seanne Winslow.
    The Falconer directed by Adam Sjöberg and Seanne Winslow.

    The Falconer directed by Adam Sjöberg and Seanne Winslow won the award for Best Film at the 22nd edition of the Newport Beach Film Festival, along with Best Cinematographer for Nicholas Bupp and Best Screenwriter for Adam Sjöberg / Seanne Winslow; and Best Documentary went to SET!

    Read more


  • Rosanna Arquette, Winston Duke, Regina Hall, Harvey Keitel Among Newport Beach Film Festival 2021 Honorees

    Rosanna Arquette, Winston Duke, Regina Hall, Harvey Keitel
    Rosanna Arquette, Winston Duke, Regina Hall, Harvey Keitel

    In addition to showcasing over 300 films, the 2021 Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) will honor Rosanna Arquette, Winston Duke, Regina Hall, Harvey Keitel, Thomasin McKenzie, Simon Rex and Jeffrey Wright. The 22nd edition of the Festival will be held in person from October 21-28, 2021.

    Read more


  • Coronavirus Forces Film Festivals Cancellations and Postponements (LIST)

    San Francisco International Film Festival
    San Francisco International Film Festival

    The coronavirus, (COVID-19) pandemic is having a devastating impact on film festivals with many postponing or cancelling outright. Major festivals such as San Francisco International Film Festival and RiverRun International Film Festival have canceled, while others such as Richmond International Film Festival and Florida Film Festival have been postponed until the Summer or Fall.

    Read more


  • Ximan Li’s IN A NEW YORK MINUTE to World Premiere at Newport Beach Film Festival

    IN A NEW YORK MINUTE
    IN A NEW YORK MINUTE

    IN A NEW YORK MINUTE from first time writer/director Ximan Li will have its World Premiere at the 2019 Newport Beach Film Festival on Sunday, April 28, 2019.

    Read more


  • Newport Beach Film Festival 2018 Award Winners – ALL SQUARE Wins Best Film

    [caption id="attachment_29145" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]All Square All Square[/caption] The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) wrapped up its eight day run with the Southern California Premiere of All Square starring Josh Lucas, Michael Kelly, Pamela Adlon, Tom Everett Scott, Jay Larson and Andrew Sikking.  At the awards ceremony, All Square won the award for Best Film, along with Best Actor for Michael Kelly. The Newport Beach Film Festival screened over 350 films, representing 50 countries, that competed for Jury, Festival Honors and Audience Awards.

    NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL HONORS AWARDS

    Artists of Distinction: Jessica Pare A Canadian actress and singer, Jessica Pare made her Hollywood debut in Wicker Park and is known for her role on the AMC series Mad Men. Films she has starred in have been screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival. Icon: Paco Delgado Paco was born in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain and has worked on films such as A Wrinkle In Time, Les Miserables, and The Danish Girl. He has been nominated for Academy Awards, and won the CDG award for his work in The Danish Girl. Breakout: Nadine Haders Nadine Haders is a costume designer known best for her work in the film Get Out. Previously, she had worked primarily in television costume design. Other films include Pay it Forward, The X-Files. Newcomer: Joe Sill New to the industry, Joe’s career jump started with the commercial Tesla – Modern Spaceship which he wrote, produced and directed. The commercial caught the attention of Elon Musk and many advertising agencies. He recently completed production on his first feature film Stray.

    2018 AUDIENCE AWARDS:

    FEATURE NARRATIVE FILM Ride FOREIGN FILM The Drummer and the Keeper DOCUMENTARY Pick of the Litter ACTION SPORTS Time Well Spent ART, ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future CULINARY Cuban Food Stories ENVIRONMENTAL The Human Element FAMILY A Boy Called Sailboat MUSIC Up to Snuff SHORT DOCUMENTARY Aloha Aina Warrior SHORT NARRATIVE The Day of Matthew Montgomery

    2018 JURY AWARDS

    BEST FILM All Square BEST ACTOR Michael Kelly – All Square BEST ACTRESS Rusty Schwimmer – Wild Honey BEST DIRECTOR Frank Berry – Michael Inside BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Tom Comerford – Michael Inside BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: HONORABLE MENTION Rust BEST DOCUMENTARY Forever “B“ BEST DOCUMENTARY: HONORABLE MENTION Minding the Gap BEST SCREENWRITER Timothy Brady – All Square

    SHORT FILMS

    BEST NARRATIVE SHORT FILM DeKalb Elementary BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM The Bare Knuckle Carer BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM My Father’s Room BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: HONORABLE MENTION Garden Party BEST MUSIC VIDEO Cold Little Heart

    2018 FESTIVAL HONORS:

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DIRECTING Shana Feste, Boundaries OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ACTING Maika Monroe, Shotgun OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ACTING Finn Wittrock, Locating Silver Lake OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE Shane Graham, Ride OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: SCREENWRITING Will Elliott, Kirk C. Johnson, Nicholas Rutherford, Robert Schwartzman – The Unicorn OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FOREIGN FILM The Best of All Worlds OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: CINEMATOGRAPHY PRESENTED by ZEISS Hunting Lands OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: EDITING Juveniles OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: NARRATIVE FILM Meerkat Moonship (Maantuig) OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: NARRATIVE FILM The Mad Whale OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY FILM Social Animals OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY FILM Kiss the Joy: The Story of Joan Lind Van Blom

    SHORT FILMS:

    OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: SHORT Homeless OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FOREIGN SHORT FILM Voice (KOE) OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ANIMATED SHORT FILM Departure OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE The Peculiar Abilities of Mr. Mahler – André Hennicke as Mr. Mahler OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY SHORT The Girl and The Picture OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY SHORT Fisk “Untitled Portrait” OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY SHORT Land of the Wind (Tierra del Viento) OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FAMILY FILM SHORT Bullies OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FAMILY FILM SHORT (FOREIGN) Earthy Encounters Encounters (UK)

    Read more