Film festival organizers excited about expanding

Young Chang

NEWPORT BEACH -- Last spring, the downside of seeing a really great

film at the Newport Beach Film Festival was that you couldn’t tell your

friends to go see it.

Every piece -- feature lengths and shorts alike -- was screened just

once.But with $75,000 that the city recently budgeted for the festival,

organizers may offer multiple screenings, improve their seminar series

and expand their marketing areas for next April’s festival. The city’s

budget for the event is more than twice last year’s sum of $35,000.

“We have always hoped that we will be able to meet and exceed the

expectations the city has for the film festival,” Executive Director

Gregg Schwenk said. “So we were extremely pleased by their support.”

The 2001 film festival drew about 17,000 viewers in seven days to

Fashion Island with 56 feature film screenings, more than 100 short

films, post screening galas and a weekend seminar series with industry

experts.

It was a comeback from what was almost a disaster the previous year.

In the fall of 1999, Jeffrey Conner, organizer of what was then the

Newport Beach International Film Festival, had declared bankruptcy. But

Schwenk and community film lovers salvaged the 2000 festival, garnering

financial support, a guild and a renewed identity (minus the

“International”).

Sharon Wood, assistant city manager, acknowledges this bumpy past.

“I think we saw a great improvement in the organization and the way

the festival was run between the old group and the current group,” she

said. “And they brought all the venues for all the films they were

showing into Newport Beach, which hadn’t been done before.”

John Cassady, executive director of the Newport Beach Conference and

Visitors Bureau, added that the city’s restaurants, shopping venues and

hotels benefit from the festival’s visitors.

“There’s been a positive growth for the film festival here,” he said.

“It’s not only good for the people who come to visit here, but good for

the citizens of Newport Beach.”

Improvements for the 2002 festival include expanding the current

marketing base, which covers Los Angeles, the Inland Empire and San

Diego, to the Bay Area and Phoenix.

“Those areas tend to be a demographic that’s interested in what we’re

doing,” said Todd Quartararo, director of marketing for the festival.

Plans also include improvements to the seminar series. Last spring,

crowds lined up an hour early to grab seats. Panelists included

screenwriters David McKenna (“American History X”) and David S. Ward

(“The Sting”). Organizers were forced to turn people away.

“That’s our gift to the community,” Quartararo said. “There’s no

charge, and it’s a very high-caliber event. So the money from the city

will help us expand.”

Quartararo said the city’s contribution is encouraging for the

festival’s future.

“It’s great to have the support, both financially and

philosophically,” he said.

* Young Chang writes features. She may be reached at (949) 574-4268 or

by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .