The 19th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival presented by Pacific Sales will screen the West Coast’s largest celebration of Irish Cinema from April 26 – May 3, 2018 in Southern California. Highlights include an Irish Showcase Celebration, premieres of feature length narrative and documentary films, two Irish Shorts programs, and Q&As with Irish filmmakers and actors.
On Sunday, April 29th, 2018, the Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) will present its Irish Showcase, an evening celebration of Celtic cinema and culture. The event will feature the premiere of the three highly anticipated Irish films, Maze (2017), The Drummer and the Keeper (2017), and Michael Inside (2017), followed by a festive post-screening party.
MAZEBased on the true story of the 1983 Maze High Security Prison breakout, Maze (directed by Stephen Burke) follows the development of a prisoner’s improbable friendship with his warden, who was born on the opposite side of North Ireland’s political divide. As the film unravels, it becomes clear that the prisoner is grooming the warden for use in his master plan of escape, resulting in serious consequences for the both of them.
The Drummer and the KeeperThe Drummer and the Keeper (directed by Nick Kelly) opens as a rock drummer begins occupational therapy for his recent bipolar diagnosis. As part of his therapy, he takes up soccer, where he encounters a teen with Asperger’s syndrome. While the two don’t get along at first, they eventually develop a mutual friendship as they help each other cope with their conditions and the world around them. Actor, Jacob McCarthy, received the Rising Star Award at the 2018 Irish Film and Television Awards for his performance in The Drummer and the Keeper.
Winner of the Galway Film Fleadh’s Best Irish Film, the Cork Film Festival’s Audience Award and Best Film at the 2018 Irish Film and Television Awards. Michael Inside (directed by Frank Berry) brings audiences an unforgettable on-screen experience. Caught holding drugs for his friend’s older brother, eighteen-year-old Michael is sentenced to three months in prison for a crime he did not commit. Once inside, he is befriended by an older drug dealer and exposed to severe violence and intimidation.
The Irish Showcase films will screen on Sunday, April 29th, 2018 (6:00pm: Maze, 6:15pm: The Drummer and the Keeper, 6:30pm: Michael Inside) at Edwards Big Newport (300 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660). The post-screening celebration will take at 8:00pm at Muldoon’s Irish Pub (202 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660) and will feature music and hosted hors d’oeuvres.
Admission to an Irish Spotlight Film and the Post-screening Party is $25.00.
For ticket information and updates visit www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com
The Festival is extremely proud to shine a spotlight on the exceptionally strong filmmaking community in Ireland. With seven feature films and seventeen short films from Ireland in the Festival lineup, our 2018 program represents the largest celebration of Irish film on the West Coast of the United States. Gregg Schwenk, CEO – Newport Beach Film Festival
The Newport Beach Film Festival Irish Showcase is presented by Guinness and supported by Aer Lingus – LAX to DUB Direct, Culture Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Irish Film and Television Academy, Irish Film Institute, Galway Film Fleadh, The Irish Film Board, Irish America Magazine, The Ireland Funds, Irish Screen America, Richard Harris International Film Festival, and the Audi Dublin International Film Festival.
The Newport Beach Film Festival will present the International Premiere of The Camino Voyage (directed by Dónal Ó Chéilleachair), U.S. Premiere of Making the Grade (directed by Ken Wardrop), West Coast Premiere of Kissing Candice (directed by Aoife McArdle), and the West Coast Premiere of Zoo (directed by Colin McIvor).
The Festival will celebrate outstanding short films from Ireland. Two Irish short film programs will screen on Sunday, April 29th: Irish Coffee & Shorts at 12:00 pm at The LOT in Fashion Island (999 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660) and Shorts O’ the Irish at 3:00 pm at Edwards Big Newport (300 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660). The Irish Shorts programs are curated collections of some of the strongest Irish films on the international festival circuit and feature several North American Premieres. Irish short films screening at the NBFF include Acorn, Ancients Lights, Bless Me Father, The Date, Departure, Heart Overheard, Hey Ronnie Reagan, Homecoming, Late Afternoon, Lost Memories, Perilous Sea, Pernicio, Ronnachaí Buí, Sasha of the Sea, Smithy & Dickie, Time Traveller, and A Timely Gift.
Admission to the (non-Showcase) Irish feature length narrative and documentary films and the Irish Shorts programs is $15.00. For ticket information and updates visit www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com.
Celebrated as one of the leading lifestyle film festivals in the United States, the Newport Beach Film Festival seeks to bring to Orange County the best of classic and contemporary filmmaking from around the world. Committed to enlightening the public with a first-class international film program, a forum for cultural understanding and enriching educational opportunities, the NBFF focuses on showcasing a diverse collection of studio and independent films from around the globe. The 19th annual Newport Beach Film Festival runs April 26 – May 3 and will spotlight over 350 films from around the world. The Newport Beach Film Festival presented by Pacific Sales, is sponsored in part by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Karma Automotive, Fashion Island, Compass Real Estate and the City of Newport Beach.