Film Festival Gets Renewed Push

Newport Beach is moving “full steam ahead” to host an international film festival after community leaders voted to resurrect the idea since the collapse last month of the 4-year-old Newport Beach International Film Festival.

“We are looking forward to closing the chapter on the old festival and starting afresh,” said Gregg Schwenk, a member of the Newport Beach Economic Development Committee who sits on the newly formed board of directors of what will be called the Newport Beach Film Festival.

A spokesman for the new festival said a groundswell of support prompted business and educational leaders and movie buffs to put together a new entity to maintain a festival in Newport.

Organizers are quick to point out that “international” has been dropped from the event name only to show it is not affiliated NBIFF, which had become plagued by financial and logistical problems that led founder Jeffrey S. Conner to file for bankruptcy in September.

They said the new festival will remain international in scope, attracting filmmakers from around the globe. New to the mix will be a strong educational component with seminars organized by Chapman University’s school of film and television, UC Irvine’s division of Arts and Humanities and, they hope, by Hollywood’s directors, actors and screenwriters guilds.

Most events will be held in Newport Beach, according to spokesman Todd Quartararo--something organizers said is important to festival supporters in the community.

“We want to bring this festival back to Newport Beach, not spread throughout the county,” as it was becoming, Quartararo said. “We want to give the festival a heart and soul right here in Newport Beach.”

Organizers hope to turn the event--with its fresh set of legs--into a destination festival like those set in other picturesque locales such as Cannes, Sundance and Telluride.

“Newport Beach has a cachet to it that fits nicely with the glamour of film and we hope to capitalize on that,” said Rosalind Williams, president of the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau and new festival board member.

No date has been set for the new festival’s premiere, although spring is the target. “That will be decided soon,” Williams said. “We have lots of work to do and not much time to do it in.”