Festival announces lineup

Elia Powers

A heavy dose of documentary films, and a series of galas featuring

appearances by filmmakers and actors highlight the sixth annual

Newport Beach Film Festival, which released its programming lineup

today.

More than 300 films will be shown during the 10-day event, which

runs from April 21 to April 30 at theaters throughout Newport Beach.

About 250 filmmakers and 25,000 film fans are expected to attend the

festival, executive director Gregg Schwenk said.

Seventy-two documentaries, dealing with topics such as ballroom

dancing, start-up companies and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will

be screened.

“There are some amazing true stories that are more interesting

than anything people could make up,” said Todd Quartararo, co-founder

and director of marketing for the festival.

One of the most highly anticipated documentaries is “Ringers: Lord

of the Fans,” a film that delves into the lives of “Lord of the

Rings” junkies and mulls the movie’s cultural impact, Quartararo

said.

Snagging the film’s West Coast premiere was a big deal for the

Newport film festival, Schwenk said.

“There had been rumors for weeks about this film showing here,”

Quartararo said. “It’s been talked about in chat rooms, and people

have been looking forward to the release.”

“Ringers: Lord of the Fans” is showing April 23 with a

celebration afterward at the Fashion Island Hard Rock Cafe. It is

part of the Spotlight film series that takes place each night new

films are screened. Schwenk said the Friday night Spotlight film,

“Layer Cake,” which received national attention at the Sundance Film

Festival, is also getting buzz from film aficionados.

Schwenk also pointed to Norwegian surf film “Monster Thursday,”

which makes its West Coast premiere on April 24 as an anticipated

release. The festival is looking to bring the movie’s directors and

cast from Norway, he said.

The festival is also trying to book stars from the opening night

film “Crash.” The star-studded cast includes Sandra Bullock, Don

Cheadle, Matt Dillon and Brendan Fraser.

“Crash” is making its United States premiere at the Newport Beach

Film Festival on April 21.

“Our focus is accessibility and variety,” Schwenk said. “This

festival is for all of Orange County.”

Schwenk said the festival placed an emphasis this year on

post-movie galas. Following the screening of “Crash,” a

$100-per-person event will be held at the Fashion Island Courtyard.

“We’ve outgrown every ballroom in Newport Beach,” he said. “This

is going to be a very large event.”

Schwenk said there is a decidedly international flavor to this

year’s festival. French, Italian and Irish films are included in the

Spotlight film series.

The Awards Night Gala is held on April 29, featuring the top films

from the festival in features, shorts and audience choice categories.

Participating theaters are Edwards Island Cinemas, Lido Theater,

Orange County Museum of Art, the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive

Center, Edwards Big Newport and Fashion Island.

Tickets to the festival go on sale at noon today at

www.newportbeachfilmfest.com or by calling (866) 623-3849.