Newport Film Festival comes to a close

The little castle said it all.

Set on copper-colored reels of film, blocky and beige the way sand

castles really are, the Newport Beach Film Festival award symbolized the

message of the past seven days: a dream built almost from scratch, from

and for nothing more than perhaps the sandy setting and namesake of

Newport Beach and the art of filmmaking.

Fourteen winners took home this symbol of a dream, thus marking the

end of a yearlong effort and the beginning of next year’s planning.

Both filmmakers and mere film lovers packed a theater at Edwards

Island 7 Cinemas in Fashion Island Thursday for the film festival’s

closing awards ceremony. After a year spent screening more than 150

films, after a week of 56 feature-film showings and more than 100 short

pieces, seven in each category were awarded.

In the feature category, “Making Love (Canone Inverso),” an Italian

film, won for best feature. “Keep the River on Your Right,” an American

work, won for best documentary. Rob Morrow won best director for “Maze,”

an American film; the American film “The Annihilation of Fish,” won for

best cinematography; “Maze” also won best screenplay; “Making Love” took

the audience award for best feature; and “Amargosa,” an American film,

won the audience award for best documentary.

Marjoe Aguiling, director of features programming for the festival,

said selecting the winners was difficult.

“But I feel very content about the jury system,” he said. “And I feel

that we have suitable winners in this year’s film festival.”

In the shorts category, “. . . (dot dot dot)” won for best director;

“The Rain” won best drama; “Dancing Cow” won best comedy; “The $5 Movie”

took home best story; “One Day Crossing” won for best cinematography;

“Sunday’s Game” won the audience award and “Defending the Super$ave” won

for best short film.

Executive director Gregg Schwenk said he is pleased with this year’s

winners and that the jury members did “an exceptional job” screening

movies everyday.

“And I am extremely pleased at all facets of the film festival,” he

said. “The responses from the filmmakers and community have been

tremendous.”

Though organizers have not completed counting this year’s attendance

numbers, they estimate a higher number than last year, which totaled

about 20,000 visitors.

Todd Quartararo, director of marketing for the festival, said all

that’s left now is next year. He’ll be working through this weekend, he

said, to start putting together potential sponsorships for the 2002

festival. The staff is wasting no time looking ahead, but will also look

at what worked and didn’t this year.

“One of our goals is to add second screenings,” he said, for people

who watch a film, love it and tell all their friends to go watch it.

“What worked really well this year was having all the screenings here, in

Fashion Island.”

Last year’s festival was held both at Edwards Cinema and at the Orange

County Museum of Art.

“We want to grow, but we want to keep intimate,” Quartararo said.

FEATURE FILMS

BEST FEATURE: “Making Love (Canone Inverso)”

BEST DOCUMENTARY: “Keep the River on Your Right”

BEST DIRECTOR: Rob Morrow for “Maze”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: “The Annihilation of Fish”

BEST SCREENPLAY: “Maze”

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE: “Making Love”

AUDIENCE AWARD BEST DOCUMENTARY: “Amargosa”

SHORT FILMS

BEST DIRECTOR: “. . . (dot dot dot)”

BEST DRAMA: “The Rain”

BEST COMEDY: “Dancing Cow”

BEST STORY: “The $5 Movie”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: “One Day Crossing”

AUDIENCE AWARD: “Sunday’s Game”

BEST SHORT FILM: “Defending the Super$ave”