Film fest fix at the Lido Theater

Luis Pena

The Newport Beach Film Festival will give a taste of what is to come

in April by exhibiting the Canadian film “Long Life, Happiness and

Prosperity” at 7 p.m. today at the Lido Theater.

The Newport Beach Film Festival will celebrate its fifth

anniversary exhibiting classic and new films by independent

filmmakers and studios from around the world. The festival will

screen more than 300 films during its April 15 through 25 run, said

Gregg Schwenk, executive director of the film festival. The festival

will also have seminars, symposiums and special events through out

the week.

“We’re a festival that celebrates the best in classics and

contemporary filmmaking,” Schwenk said.

The festival brings exposure not only to Newport Beach but to the

rest of Orange County by bringing in over 20,000 attendees, Schwenk

said.

“One of the nicest facets of the festival that we’ve been able to

pioneer is partnering with other charities and nonprofits,” Schwenk

said. “It’s a unique opportunity for the community to come together.”

A few years ago, the festival started its special spotlight

series, which selects between four and eight films every year for

special screenings outside of the festival’s 11-day run. The films

are usually retrospective or anniversary screenings or North American

or Orange County premieres.

“Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity” is the spotlight film for

today’s screening. The ensemble film is about a lonely single mother

in Vancouver whose 12-year-old daughter decides to help her find love

and a better life by using Taoist magic spells. These magic spells

backfire, letting a butcher win the lottery and causing a security

guard to lose his job.

“I just thought it had such a wonderful appeal to all age groups

as well as showing the Chinese Canadian community in the Vancouver

area,” said Keiko Beatie, director of program development and special

projects for the film festival.

“We had screened the film a year ago in Toronto and really fell in

love with it,” Schwenk said. “It’s a very nicely done film --

positive, upbeat, well crafted and well acted.”

Actress Christina Ma, who portrays the character Ada Lai in the

film, will be making an appearance at the screening.