Film festival to donate some proceeds to Japanese recovery

As a tie-in to JapanOC, a portion of the proceeds from select screenings at the Newport Beach Film Festival will benefit the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, a festival organizer announced Tuesday.

Part of the money generated from ticket sales for closing-night screenings and films showcased in the JapanOC film series will benefit multiple charities’ relief efforts, including the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross, festival cofounder Todd Quartararo said.

The films included in the JapanOC series are “Redline,” directed by Takeshi Koike; “Inclusion,” directed by Ken’ichi Oguri; “Cast Me if You Can,” directed by Atsushi Ogata; and “Time Traveler: the Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” directed by Masaaki Taniguchi.

Japanese films have been included in the festival lineup in past years, however, this is the first year that the festival has screened films specifically for JapanOC.

The films will be part of the closing events of JapanOC, a collaboration among the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and Carnegie Hall, which aims to bring a diverse selection of Japanese arts and cultural events to Southern California locations from October to April.

The anime film, “Redline,” will play twice — as the JapanOC spotlight film in the Monday Night Asian Showcase on May 2 at the Edwards Newport Cinemas Big Newport location and at 3 p.m. May 3 at the Lido Theatre in Newport Beach.

The first screening will be followed by an after party will follow hosted by Stella Artois and Absolut at the Fashion Island Koi Pond Courtyard.

Tickets and more information can be found at https://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/2011/.