Fall has become film festival season in Orange County with four signature festivals holding screenings during the next six weeks starting in October. Three of these festivals are hitting milestone anniversary years – the Newport Beach Film Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and the OC Film Fiesta and Viet Film Fest have each reached the 15th installments of their respective festivals. Orange County cinema lovers can expect a diverse lineup of films and a variety of community events from these upcoming festivals.
OC FILM FIESTA
The 15th OC Film Fiesta in October will mark the festival’s quinceañera year, also known as the traditional celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday that signifies her passage to womanhood.
“Whenever you start a festival, you don’t know how long it’ll last,” said Victor Payan, founding director of Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA), a media arts organization that leads various programs, including the OC Film Fiesta. “We’re very excited to have made it to 15 years, and we’re excited for all the programming that has blossomed around the festival.”
MASA has grown to offer media arts programs such as the South Main Art, Retail and Technology (SMART) Walk showcasing technology-based art, businesses, career opportunities and training programs (taking place this Saturday) and the Millennial Producers Academy where participants are paired with local advocacy and cultural organizations to produce content about important societal issues.
More than 40 films will be featured among both in-person screenings and screenings that will be virtual, which the festival began offering in 2020 after seeing how online offerings attracted audiences across the country.
In keeping with its mission of presenting global traditions and multicultural films, the OC Film Fiesta will screen works from Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina, Nepal, Turkey, Portugal, England and elsewhere.
OC Film Fiesta screenings include the Orange County premiere of director Patrick Perez’s “Say a Little Prayer,” starring Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Luis Fonsi, Vannessa Vasquez, Jackie Cruz and Vivian Lamolli. The romantic comedy tells the story of Adela, played by Vasquez, who is pressured by her grandmother to say a prayer to St. Anthony – the patron saint of ‘all things lost’ – to aid in her search for love. After Adela and her friends join in on the prayer, they receive some unexpected visitors.
The festival will also find ways to honor classics, such as an anniversary screening of the 1979 neo-noir film “Boulevard Nights.” The film follows two brothers in East Los Angeles, each with his own story. One brother, Raymond, demonstrates the life of an auto shop worker who left his former gang while his brother, Chuco feels a sense of belonging being part of a gang and struggles to meet family expectations.
“That vision we started of celebrating multicultural heritage has spread with all our programs, so now we are celebrating O.C.’s and the nation’s diversity,” Payan said. “Seeing how we’ve been able to not just celebrate, but nurture the media arts community in Santa Ana and O.C. as we reflect on 15 years is something we’re really excited about.”
When: In-person screenings Oct. 3-12; virtual screenings Oct. 3-27
Where: AMC Orange 30 in Orange; TVGB Digital Maker Space in Santa Ana
Cost: $75 for full festival pass; $50 for virtual-only pass; free screenings included; for ticketed screenings, $10 for general admission and $5 for students, teachers, military/veterans and Santa Ana residents.
Contact: ocfilmfiesta.org
PHOTO 1: A scene from “New Wave,” a film that shares the stories of Vietnamese American teenagers in the 1980s who find an outlet with Eurodisco music. PHOTO 2: A scene from “Ru,” a film that focuses on a formerly wealthy Vietnamese family that settles into a Québec town after fleeing their homeland as boat people. PHOTO 3: A scene from “Ru,” a film that focuses on a formerly wealthy Vietnamese family that settles into a Québec town after fleeing their homeland as boat people. PHOTO 4: A scene from “The Empathizer,” a film in which Vietnamese expatriates who are business owners, athletes and artists are interviewed by director Fred Le. PHOTO 5: A scene from “The Empathizer,” a film in which director Fred Le travels to Vietnam to understand why his mother chooses not to return to her home country. Images courtesy of Viet Film Fest
VIET FILM FEST
Between in-person and virtual screenings, this year’s Viet Film Fest will showcase a total of 11 feature films and 39 short films. The festival’s selection represents work from the U.S., Vietnam, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and more.
All films submitted for consideration at the festival are either made by individuals of Vietnamese descent, feature the Vietnamese community, or connect to issues that are relevant to them.
“For all of us at (the Viet Film Fest), it’s flattering to know there’s such an interest, and it’s an indication that hopefully we’re doing something right,” said Eric Nong, artistic director for the Viet Film Fest. “Our goal at the end of the day is to showcase the totality of the Vietnamese experience, whether those stories are in the U.S., Vietnam, Europe or elsewhere.”
Festival screenings include:
Opening night film “Ru” based on the novel of the same name by Kim Thúy. Director Charles-Olivier Michaud’s “Ru” focuses on a formerly wealthy Vietnamese family that settles into a Québec town after fleeing their homeland as boat people. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
“The Empathizer,” a film in which director Fred Le travels to Vietnam to understand why his mother chooses not to return to her home country. In the film, Le interviews Vietnamese expatriates who are business owners, athletes, artists and students. They reveal to him what they have learned about Vietnam during both their personal Western upbringings and their present-day experiences in Vietnam.
“New Wave” centers around the stories of Vietnamese American teenagers in the 1980s who find an outlet with Eurodisco music, influencing Vietnamese American “New Wave” music as a result. Filmmaker Elizabeth Ai focuses on the lives impacted by this musical movement, including New Wave icon Lynda Trang Dai and Ian “DJ BPM” Nguyen.
When: Virtual screenings from Oct. 5-20; in-person screenings on Oct. 11, 12 and 13
Where: The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana
Cost: $16 general admission; $14 for seniors and high school students; $18 for general admission on opening night; $16 for seniors and high school students on opening night; 4 p.m. screenings on Friday, Oct. 11 will be free for Santa Ana residents.
Contact: vietfilmfest.com
NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL
In its 25th year, the Newport Beach Film Festival will deliver a full schedule of screenings and experiences for this milestone anniversary. Guests can expect more than 100 feature films and more than 300 short films representing 54 countries.
“Bringing the best in entertainment and film to Orange County for a quarter of a century has been a real joy,” said Gregg Schwenk, co-founder and CEO of the Newport Beach Film Festival. “Newport Beach Film Festival is the largest celebration of cinema in coastal California. It’s unique because we like to take the passive aspect of film going and make it active by having someone associated with the films there to talk about them.”
Throughout the week, guests can enjoy live discussions with cinematographers, composers and costume designers for films, plus awards celebrations with celebrity guests.
The festival will offer screenings from a variety of film categories, such as action, sports, architecture, culinary cinema and international arthouse film.
A total of 25 restaurants will do signature tastings for the festival.
Opening the festival on Thursday, Oct. 17 at Edwards Big Newport will be “Old Guy” directed by Simon West and starring Christoph Waltz. The feature film tells the story of an aging contract killer, played by Waltz, who is assigned to train a Gen Z prodigy assassin. To follow the screening will be the festival’s Opening Night Party at Fashion Island where guests can enjoy music, entertainment and hors d’oeuvres prepared by award-winning Orange County restaurants.
The closing film will be director Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” starring himself and Kieran Culkin as two cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their grandmother. The pair face old tensions as they encounter more of their family history along the way.
The 25th Newport Beach Film Fest will include a variety of in-person events.
When: In-person screenings and events, Oct. 17 to 24
Where: Newport Beach: The Lot, Edwards Big Newport, Fashion Island, Lido Marina Village, Lido Plaza, Lido Theater, Sherman Gardens & Library; Costa Mesa: Triangle Cinemas, Time Night Club; Corona Del Mar: The New Port Theater
Cost: General admission from $15; opening night film and gala $225
Contact: newportbeachfilmfest.com
PHOTO 1: Guests attend a film screening at last year's Coast Film and Music Festival. The festival focuses on action sports and conservation in media arts. PHOTOS 2 - 4: Panel discussions at last year's Coast Film and Music Festival were one of many activities that accompanied film screenings. PHOTO 5: An art workshop at last year's Coast Film and Music Festival was one of many activities that accompanied film screenings.
Images courtesy of Coast Film and Music Festival
COAST FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL
What started off as a film festival without a theater has now expanded to a sprawling nine-day event with films, conversations with filmmakers and athletes, live music, art workshops and outdoor activities in Laguna Beach. The city has come to know this event as the Coast Film and Music Festival, a celebration of the outdoors and action sports in media arts.
“The first year we started, we had no idea it would grow and be as accepted by the community as it was,” said Ben Warner, who co-founded the festival alongside partner Enich Harris. “Now we’re past the fifth year, which in the events business means we’ve proven our business model and we want to lean into what we hope to become in the future.”
Warner recalls the festival’s first year when it rented a space in Laguna Art-A-Fair and set up a single screen to show its featured films. But after having sold more tickets than they originally planned, Warner said, festival organizers set up a second screen to accommodate the public’s interest. That community support set the precedence for the growth Coast Film would experience in only a few years.
Coast Film has cemented its identity as an adventure and sports film festival, with sponsors that value conservation and outdoor activities that will accompany the film screenings during the festival. This includes hiking, paddle boarding, and a group mountain bike ride in Laguna Beach.
“When we were investigating the idea of starting this festival, we found the passion of outdoor experiences were equal, whether you’re a surfer, snowboarder or skier,” Warner said. “But not all our films are about sports. They’re all inspirational stories and they’re about advocates for nature who feel the responsibility to protect what they love for their careers and future generations.”
Among a pool of 400 submissions from local and global filmmakers, Coast Film has curated around 80 films for festival-goers this year.
In this year’s lineup, featured works aligned with the festival’s mission include 2024 film “Beyond the Fantasy,” which follows the adventures of real-life skiers and snowboarders pursuing their sport in the natural beauty of the snow and mountains.
There will also be films dedicated to other artistic topics, such as the 2024 documentary “Porcelain War,” which tells the real-life story of Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya and Andrey who choose to stay in their country amid the current conflict and destruction. The film won the 2024 Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize.
“The power of film is incredible,” Warner said. “We want people to walk away having watched at least one film about a subject matter that maybe they didn’t know much about before. Film has the ability to build community, which we really felt in our first festival and we want to continue that.”
The Coast Film & Music Festival will host film screenings, conversations with filmmakers and athletes, and various community activities.
When: In-person screenings and events, Nov. 9-17
Where: Laguna Beach: Rivian South Coast Theater, Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center, Festival of Arts
Cost: General admission three-day pass $115; VIP nine-day pass $500
Contact: coastfilmfestival.com
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