My Experience at the 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival (As an Intern)

I completed my first grad school internship at the Newport Beach Film Festival, working in the office in the months leading up to the festival and then working at the actual festival. I was a shorts programming intern primarily and also worked during theater operations, so as a result, I got to see a lot of films, watching nine features and short film programs. This was the first festival I've attended since 2019, so it felt good to have this experience again. Here are mini-reviews of all the films I saw at this year’s festival, in the order I saw them.

Opening Night Red Carpet

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story - I was very lucky to find a decent seat for the opening night film and was so glad I got to watch this movie in theaters because it was hilarious. I had thought that the idea of a biopic that’s mostly exaggerated seemed odd, but it’s pretty obvious in the film what’s not true, especially once you get to the second half. I told the director that the third act reminded me of the movie Adaptation in that it goes off the rail in the third act, but this film sets it up a lot better so it feels less surprising. I love what they did with “Eat it” and “Amish Paradise,” and the end credits song is hilarious (even though I don’t think it’ll be nominated for an Academy Award, though I’d be happy if it did). It also features one of the most trippy drug high scenes of all time. Also, the real Dr. Demento was at the screening.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Screening

Environmental Short Docs - This was the first program that I assisted for and was focused on the environment, making it possibly the easiest program to market.

The Scientist’s Warning - This movie is long, but it’s an engaging portrait piece and a film that expands the world on the crisis that definitely inspires action.

Big Water Summer: A Creation Story - This was an interesting story about a Navajo farm that highlights an important issue on the reservation that I think needs more awareness.

Winter Worm Summer Grass - This film was on a very unique subject matter, but the first act was too slow and probably should have been cut. It didn’t become engaging until they started to discuss caterpillar fungus.

Short Interesting People Docs - This program featured documentaries that were portraits of people and all fit together really well. This was the overall best of the two documentary short programs I worked on.

The Prospector - This was an interesting portrait of a National Gold-panning champion that’s best advantage is that it’s showcasing competitions that I had no idea existed. It also could have fit in the environmental shorts block because it shared similar themes.

Entering Pornland: Darren - I enjoyed this film a lot more than I anticipated and found it rather well-made. However, I have been informed that some of the information is misleading, so my opinions have become mixed.

Lalito 10 - This had a very Covid-related subject matter and was very engaging, but it also felt a tad too long, but that was clearly just my opinion since it won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Short.

Jumping Into Fire - This entirely archival film was very interesting and covered an unexplored part of World War II history, but I felt it ended very abruptly. I could see why they ended it then, but I felt that there was more story to tell.

A Very Fragile Thing - I found the subject of the fight for Ethiopian democracy to be very relevant to today’s climate and I thought this was an interesting film.

Nice to Meet You All - This had some interesting filmmaking techniques, but I felt it needed better structure, since it seemed to be divided in half, but I thought the two narratives could have blended together a lot more.

Con Su Pluma en Su Mano: The Ballad of Gustavo Arellano - Even though this film already has the bias of being done by a Chapman graduate and supervised by a current professor (who showed it in my class the following week), I still found this an excellent film about a very funny subject. I also like the fact that Gustavo is a Chapman graduate, which he revealed during the Q&A. It also won the Audience Award for Best Local OC Short.

Festival Sign at Wednesday Night Party.

Manifest West - This is very different from most off-the-grind narratives I’ve seen or have heard of and definitely seems to endorse the idea that living off-the-grind is not the best place to grow up. It has a dark undertone and an ambiguous ending. It was good but ultimately didn’t leave as much of an impression as other films.

Four Samosas - This film was produced by and stars a classmate of mine at Chapman, and was a very enjoyable low-fi heist comedy. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this and felt that it had a lot of indie charm that overcame any issues it has. I’m not surprised that it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature because it was a packed and enthusiastic crowd.

Irish Living in a Shorts World - This was the first of two Irish narrative short blocks I helped program.

First Date - This film was a cross between comedy and drama that I’m not quite sure found the right balance. I also found the meaning of the ending somewhat confusing.

Mildly Different - While I liked how this film puts you in the perspective of the autistic protagonist, it felt too long and needed a stronger narrative structure to it, as the ending didn’t feel as set up as it could have been. I also felt that the misdiagnosis was going to be more of a plot point but was ultimately dropped.

Throw Your Heart Over First - This was an intriguing single-take film that offers a lot of sympathy toward the protagonist and puts him in an impossible situation.

Bestial Ones - This isn’t the type of film I would gravitate towards, but I thought it had a good message at its heart.

Burn It All - I was not liking this film at all at first, since it seemed to be another film in the trend of films about angry people, which is a trend I find hard to watch, but it had a very strong moral that turned me around on this film, so much so that I wish I could see more narratives that approached the subject of anger like this.

Red Carpet at the Regal Edwards Big Newport.

Irish A-Short-ment - This was the second of the two Irish short blocks and the strongest of the two overall.

An Irish Goodbye - I really enjoyed this film as I found it both hilarious and heartwarming. I wish the ending was more resolved but I thought it ended in a good place.

Bad Boy Buck - I found this short very weird and I was definitely not the right audience for it.

Imbas Forosnai - While this film was very well done, I wasn’t into the subject matter and I wish it offered a little bit more character work. I do appreciate the director’s interest in making films about actual Irish folklore.

Not My Sister - I was expecting the title to be a little more literal, but I found it a well-made character-driven drama.

Warts & All - I got to meet the main actor ahead of time and really enjoyed this romantic drama. I thought the ending was rather jarring, but after speaking to the director, I realized a detail that I had missed because of an issue with the projection, and I’ve grown to like it a lot more. It also won the Audience Award for Best International Narrative Short.

Short Relationships - This was my favorite overall shorts block and the last of the ones I assisted with.

Sissy - I thought this was a very touching and moving film with a very clever fantasy element. I thought it was by the numbers until the midway twist that made it so touching.

Time - I thought this film had an interesting and moving twist to it (that I was able to figure out, but not everyone in the screening was able to), but I thought it felt a little slow.

Blinkers - I thought this film had an interesting subject matter and dilemma, though I wish it had a slightly stronger ending.

The Stupid Boy - I was so emotionally affected by this, that I thought it was based on a true story, even though it was completely fictional. I thought it had a very strong message that is very relevant in our troubling times.

The Long Walk Home - I thought this was a well-made modern adaptation of the Prodigal Son parable, though while it was well-edited, I felt that the second act was somewhat rushed. I also appreciated the Bible quote used at the end.

Merit x Zoe - I thought this had a great twist that was very emotionally affecting. I’m not big on military narratives, but I thought this one was very well done, and the social issue it tackles is very important to raise awareness of.

Heart Land - This film was added at the last minute to the program and was a more upbeat way to end the program after the depressing previous film. It could have been stronger, but I appreciated its political and social relevance.

Display at Regal Edwards Big Newport for The Baja Bug Movie, which won the Audience Award for Best Local OC Feature.

Patrick and the Whale - This film has breathtaking underwater cinematography, including an unforgettable upside-down shot at the surface of the ocean, and an interesting narrative. I learned quite a bit about whales through this documentary. My biggest critique is that the first act introduced a lot of ideas until refining what the story was actually about, making it slightly confusing at first. It did win the Audience Award for Best Environmental Feature.

Favorite Narrative Films - Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Four Samosas, Burn It All, An Irish Goodbye, Warts & All, Sissy, The Stupid Boy

Favorite Documentary Films - The Scientist’s Warning, Con Su Pluma en Su Mano: The Ballad of Gustavo Arellano, Patrick and the Whale