Film festival has breakout, banner year

Deirdre Newman

A record number of film aficionados flocked to view the diverse

offerings at the Newport Beach Film Festival this year.

The festival, which wrapped up on Sunday with an extra day of

showings, drew about 25,500 people, a 21% increase from last year,

said Todd Quartararo, director of marketing.

“We’re really excited,” Quartararo said. “We really kind of view

year five as our breakout year. We’ve hit that critical mass and

we’re already starting our planning for next year.”

As usual, the festival showcased the myriad attractions Newport

Beach has to offer, Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce president

Richard Luehrs said.

“The festival brings a great deal of attention to our community,”

Luehrs said. “And part of our mission is to promote the local

community here and the film festival does that in spades.”

This year, the festival brought in high-quality films and big-name

actors, like Alan Arkin -- the recipient of this year’s lifetime

achievement award. The festival featured 350 films from all over the

world and ran from April 15 until Sunday.

One of the new aspects of the festival this year -- repeating some

of the favorite flicks, known as “deja viewings,” which led to the

extra day of showings -- drew a fair amount of viewers, Quartararo

said. Next year, officials will work to promote the second viewings

online more, he added.

Actress Emma Caulfield, who starred in and co-produced

“Bandwagon,” an improvised mockumentary about her and her character’s

work with a developmentally disabled woman, said the festival

provided a burst of momentum for the film. The film stood out as a

beacon of innovative filmmaking, earning a special mention with the

Maverick award.

“We had a great reception for the film, capped off by winning the

Maverick award, which we were really excited about,” Caulfield said.

And the environment at the festival was tremendously supportive,

Caulfield said.

“Everyone was so friendly -- they created such an engaging,

productive atmosphere,” she said. “I really felt they were in support

of the filmmakers, with very little political [hassle]. It was nice

to be around people who really have a love of film.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.