Newport Beach Film Festival pivots online after months of delays in light of COVID-19

The Newport Beach Film Festival, in its annual tradition, was scheduled for April when the first sweeping statewide closures shuttered movie theaters and called for its postponement.

The festival, now in its 21st iteration, was then rescheduled for August, with organizers planning to take precautionary measures such as physical distancing, no-contact temperature checks for attendees, single-use food containers, sanitizing stations and thorough cleaning of theaters between screenings.

But, as Orange County remained — along with dozens of other counties — on the state’s watchlist through late August, the festival was postponed a second time.

Now in October, movie theaters are able to operate indoors in Orange County at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever number is fewer. The county is currently in the red or “widespread” tier, which is the second-most stringent tier of the state’s reopening guidelines.

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But Todd Quartararo, co-founder of the Newport Beach Film Festival, said that out of an abundance of precaution, they ultimately decided to pivot to a wholly virtual festival instead.

The Newport Beach Film Festival kicked off online Thursday but will continue through Sunday and it includes 40 feature-length narrative and documentary films in addition to 231 short films.

The festival also includes what it calls “industry talks,” which are a series of discussions with industry professionals such as Don Burgess and Corinne Bogdanowicz. Industry talks are free and open to the public.

“The festival was originally postponed to August as a physical festival,” Quartararo said. “Due to multiple shutdowns and an abundance of caution, the festival moved to a virtual format. The health and safety of our filmmakers, attendees and sponsors is of the upmost importance.”

Quartararo said that a physical festival would normally have “incredible” moviegoer experiences and visitors would be able to go to live question-and-answer forums in addition to enjoying after parties and Newport Beach. But, in light of the pandemic, organizers felt that having a virtual version of the festival was a way for the festival to still showcase its 2020 lineup while keeping visitors safe.

Organizers said an average of 56,000 people attend yearly.

“We look forward to returning to as best to normal as possible next year with a physical festival for April 8 [through] 15, 2021,” Quartararo said. “However, we have found some benefits of the virtual format with its ability to attract a new audience.”

“We are currently looking at incorporating some virtual elements to our festival next year,” Quartararo said.

Full Newport Beach Film Festival passes are available for $75 and tickets to individual screenings are $10 at newportbeachfilmfest.com.

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