Newport Beach Film Festival kicks off with screening of ‘The Absence of Eden’
The 24th annual Newport Beach Film Festival is back in town.
The weeklong event kicked off its run on Thursday with a red carpet premiere of “The Absence of Eden,” a drama directed by Marco Perego that focuses on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who wants to help an undocumented woman trying to escape a cartel and save the life of a young girl. The film features actors Zoe Saldaña, Garrett Hedlund and Adria Arjona.
Thursday’s opening screening at Regal Edwards Big Newport welcomed actors and actresses receiving awards throughout the festival. The screening was followed by an opening night party held at Fashion Island.
The festival includes 91 films, 14 of which will have their world premieres and 14 their U.S. premieres.
Centerpiece films come from streaming giant Netflix this year and include “May December,” directed by Todd Haynes and starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton; “NYAD,” directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and starring Annette Bening, Jodie Foster and Rhys Ifans; and “Rustin,” directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Colman Domingo.
Another centerpiece film, “Fingernails,” directed by Christos Nikou, stars Jeremy Allen White, Riz Ahmed, Annie Murphy, Jessie Buckley and Luke Wilson, is coming from Apple Original Films. The festival’s closing night screening of “The Holdovers,” directed by Alexander Payne and featuring actors Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa, is already sold out.
The festival typically attracts about 50,000 visitors annually.
For more details on the festival’s screenings or to buy tickets, visit newportbeachfilmfest.com.
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