The Newport Beach Film Festival is one of Orange County’s crown jewels. Held each year at the end of April throughout Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, this annual event showcases both local and international talent as they veil new projects through their visual story-telling. This year the festival is celebrating their 19th Anniversary and with tickets starting at $15 it’s an affordable price-point for all to enjoy.

300+ movies participated this year so it was really difficult to decide which film to watch; however based on times and dates I decided to check out a documentary on identical twins who live identical lives. Little did I know that the short  I picked granted me an afternoon of five shorts documentaries.

Upon checking into the theater, volunteers scanned my confirmation and handed me my ticket. I then proceeded to the theater and was given a sheet of all the film titles and asked to vote on the best film for an “audience choice award”. Two of the shorts were produced by Chapman University film students (Yay- alma mater!) which focused on the lives of the Mawali people in Africa, one was focused on the impact of plastic straws, another showcased how fishing the traditional way versus commercial fishing impacts fish flavor, and of course the film I initially choose fed my curiosity on the lives of identical twins.

After all documentaries were shown, representatives from the films featured went to the front to answer a brief Q&A regarding the film and potential future projects. I was very impressed by the quality of films and felt more informed about these various topics covered. I even made a pledge to stop using plastic straws and look forward to attending this event next year.

What type of movies do you enjoy seeing?

XOXO,

Rockstar