Newport Beach Film Festival to close Thursday night with ‘The Exception’ and a gala

The 18th annual Newport Beach Film Festival will close Thursday night with a celebration and a screening of “The Exception,” starring veteran actor Christopher Plummer.

“The Exception,” also featuring Lily James and Jai Courtney, will end the eight-day festival at 8:15 p.m. at the Lido Theater at 3459 Via Lido.

It will be followed at 10 p.m. by an outdoor gala at Via Lido Plaza with entertainment and hors d’oeuvres prepared by Orange County restaurants including La Vida Cantina, Pizzeria Ortica and Del Frisco’s Grille, plus a bar hosted by Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

The movie is about a German soldier during World War II who tries to determine whether the Dutch resistance has planted a spy to infiltrate the home of Kaiser Wilhelm in Holland. During his investigation, the soldier falls for a young Dutch Jewish woman.

Tickets to the closing-night film and party are $95. Guests must be 21 or older.

The festival, which opened April 20, will present more than 60 films throughout the day Thursday, including “Augie,” a documentary about Corona del Mar resident Augie Nieto, who continues to work to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease; “Under an Arctic Sky,” featuring Huntington Beach surfer Timothy Reyes; and “Frei Otto: Spanning the Future,” produced by Newport Beach resident Simon Chiu.

By the time it ends, the festival will have showcased more than 350 films from 50 countries and is expected to have welcomed more than 55,000 guests.

For more information and tickets, visit newportbeachfilmfest.com.

kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi