19TH ANNUAL NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY PACIFIC SALES ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS
Newport Beach, CA – May 7, 2018 – The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) presented by Pacific Sales announced the winners of the 2018 Festival. On May 3, the Festival wrapped up its eight day run with the Southern California Premiere of All Square starring Josh Lucas, Michael Kelly, Pamela Adlon, Tom Everett Scott, Jay Larson and Andrew Sikking at the Regency Lido Theater, followed by a glaa at the Via Lido Plaza. The Festival opened on April 26 with the West Coast Premiere of American Animals, followed by a gala featuring culinary tastings from over 30 of Orange County’s premiere restaurants, hosted bar by Tito’s Handmade Vodka and live performances from Grammy award-winning artist Side Deal and world-renowned dance company, Academy of Villains.
On April 28, the Newport Beach Film Festival celebrated outstanding contribution to global cinema at a special Honors event at the Newport Beach Country Club. The Festival’s selection committee reviewed more than 2,500 films. The Festival screened over 350 films, representing 50 countries. The films competed for Jury, Festival Honors and Audience Awards.
The 2018 Newport Beach Film Festival jury featured an impressive roster of film industry professionals, including Leah Sydney (producer, journalist and awards consultant), Bernardo Rondeau (Academy Museum of Motion Pictures), Melissa Hirschenson, (Senior Talent Agent at Innovative Artists Talent & Literary Agency), Larry Laboe, (President of Production at SXM), Jolene Rodriguez (Sony Pictures Entertainment), Christine Dávila (Creative Executive at Stage 1), Jennie Morris (Programming Strategy Lead at Facebook) KJ Relt (film programmer, writer and lecturer) and David Baxter (writer and producer).
NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL HONORS AWARDS
Artists of Distinction: Jessica Pare
A Canadian actress and singer, Jessica Pare made her Hollywood debut in Wicker Park and is known for her role on the AMC series Mad Men. Films she has starred in have been screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Icon: Paco Delgado
Paco was born in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain and has worked on films such as A Wrinkle In Time, Les Miserables, and The Danish Girl. He has been nominated for Academy Awards, and won the CDG award for his work in The Danish Girl.
Breakout: Nadine Haders
Nadine Haders is a costume designer known best for her work in the film Get Out. Previously, she had worked primarily in television costume design. Other films include Pay it Forward, The X-Files.
Newcomer: Joe Sill
New to the industry, Joe’s career jump started with the commercial Tesla – Modern Spaceship which he wrote, produced and directed. The commercial caught the attention of Elon Musk and many advertising agencies. He recently completed production on his first feature film Stray.
2018 AUDIENCE AWARDS:
FEATURE NARRATIVE FILM – Ride
FOREIGN FILM – The Drummer and the Keeper
DOCUMENTARY – Pick of the Litter
ACTION SPORTS – Time Well Spent
ART, ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN – Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With The Future
CULINARY – Cuban Food Stories
ENVIRONMENTAL – The Human Element
FAMILY – A Boy Called Sailboat
MUSIC – Up to Snuff
SHORT DOCUMENTARY – Aloha Aina Warrior
SHORT NARRATIVE – The Day of Matthew Montgomery
2018 JURY AWARDS
BEST FILM – All Square
BEST ACTOR – Michael Kelly – All Square
BEST ACTRESS – Rusty Schwimmer – Wild Honey
BEST DIRECTOR – Frank Berry – Michael Inside
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Tom Comerford – Michael Inside
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: HONORABLE MENTION – Rust
BEST DOCUMENTARY – Forever “B“
BEST DOCUMENTARY: HONORABLE MENTION – Minding the Gap
BEST SCREENWRITER – Timothy Brady – All Square
SHORT FILMS
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT FILM – DeKalb Elementary
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM – The Bare Knuckle Carer
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM – My Father’s Room
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: HONORABLE MENTION – Garden Party
BEST MUSIC VIDEO: Cold Little Heart
2018 FESTIVAL HONORS:
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DIRECTING – Shana Feste, Boundaries
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ACTING – Maika Monroe, Shotgun
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ACTING – Finn Wittrock, Locating Silver Lake
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE: Shane Graham, Ride
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: SCREENWRITING – Will Elliott, Kirk C. Johnson, Nicholas Rutherford, Robert Schwartzman – The Unicorn
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FOREIGN FILM – The Best of All Worlds
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: CINEMATOGRAPHY PRESENTED by ZEISS – Hunting Lands
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: EDITING – Juveniles
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: NARRATIVE FILM – Meerkat Moonship (Maantuig)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: NARRATIVE FILM – The Mad Whale
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY FILM – Social Animals
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY FILM – Kiss the Joy: The Story of Joan Lind Van Blom
SHORT FILMS:
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: SHORT – Homeless
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FOREIGN SHORT FILM – Voice (KOE)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ANIMATED SHORT FILM – Departure
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE – The Peculiar Abilities of Mr. Mahler – André Hennicke as Mr. Mahler
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY SHORT – The Girl and The Picture
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Fisk “Untitled Portrait”
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARY SHORT – Land of the Wind (Tierra del Viento)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FAMILY FILM SHORT – Bullies
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FAMILY FILM SHORT (FOREIGN) – Earthy Encounters Encounters (UK)
Attendance at the 2018 Newport Beach Film Festival was on par with last year’s attendance of 50,000 people. The Festival had the largest participation of International filmmakers and showcased films from over 58 countries. The Newport Beach Film Festival presented by Pacific Sales, is sponsored in part by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Karma Automotive, Fashion Island, and the City of Newport Beach.