The Newport Beach Film Festival kicks off April 24. The event, which is in its 15th year, has attracted film aficionados with its multigenre slate of studio and independent films from emerging and seasoned filmmakers from around the world.
The nonprofit festival is celebrated among the top film festivals in the U.S., according to Daily Variety, which rates all film festivals worldwide.
This year it premiers 350 films from 50 countries and is expected to draw upward of 50,000 people over its eight-day run.
It’s also expected to generate $10 million for the local economy, according to Visit Newport Beach Inc.
From nearly every perspective—from filmgoer to filmmaker to local business to area resident—it’s been a boon and helped cement Newport Beach’s reputation as the “Cannes of California.”
Gregg Schwenk and Todd Quartararo founded the festival in 1999, envisioning just that sort of recognition.
They knew it would take time and planned accordingly.
Both are passionate film lovers, but their creative sides are balanced with a deep interest in the “business side of the movie business,” Schwenk said.
Private Enterprise
They hail from private enterprise. Schwenk spent 15 years in mergers and acquisitions, first with Citigroup Inc. and then McGladrey. He’s still involved in investment banking and is an adjunct professor at California State University-Fullerton.
Quartararo spent a decade as a public relations guru to such clients as Taco Bell and Sprint PCS before founding Quartararo & Associates in 1997.
The pair, using lessons gleaned from their business careers, reached out to the city of Newport Beach, local hotels, restaurants and entertainment outlets for financial and in-kind support to get the festival started.
The city was an enthusiastic supporter; there had been another film festival in Newport Beach that folded in 1996 due to poor organization, according to published reports at the time, and it was eager to capitalize on the cachet a successful film festival could create, said Steve Rosansky, president and chief executive of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce and a former mayor and city councilman.
Schwenk and Quartararo understood that in order for the festival to succeed, they needed to build it rationally and carefully.
“We went out and pounded the pavement,” Schwenk said.
They sought out “best-in-class brands” for sponsorships to create a solid financial foundation, and the initial ones were key. The city ultimately provided $40,000 for the event startup. The Irvine Company, Absolut Vodka and others together provided more than $100,000 in funding.
That first year, when Schwenk and Quartararo invited filmmakers to submit their film creations, they were giving them an opportunity to participate in an event the founders believed had true long-term potential. Fifteen thousand people attended the inaugural event.
Today, it relies on sponsorships, ticket sales and contributions from the city and others.
One of the keys to the festival, Quartararo said, is that the organizers and film reviewers understand its audience.
Every other year, the festival partners with sociology professor Sam Gilmore of University of California-Irvine to commission a study about the people who attend.
The average attendee is 34, has an undergraduate or advanced college degree, and annual income of $150,000 to $175,000. Forty percent hail from outside the immediate area. Of those, 20% to 25% are involved in the film industry in Los Angeles.
“The audience is excellent,” Schwenk said. “They’re not jaded. They’re enthusiastic and eager to see these great films.”
This year, 2,500 films were submitted for the festival. Each is reviewed five times, a process that takes six months. Reviewers choose the strongest films in each festival category: feature film, short film, documentary, short documentary, action-sports feature, action-sports short, youth film, college student short, and music video.
A strong relationship with independent filmmakers is a significant aspect of the event. It premiered Oscar-winner “Crash” in 2004, as well as “(500) Days of Summer” and “The Cove,” both in 2009.
Twitter film “140” and “Five Star Day” also premiered at the festival, which has a strong action-sports film category. “Red Bull Project X” premiered at the festival in 2010.
Film distributors attend the event and are one of the draws for filmmakers. “Crash” is one of the films that have gained a distributor through the festival.
The event has grown, even while other regional festivals downsize. Two years ago, it added two venues.
Now Schwenk and Quartararo are developing partnerships with Orange County companies to help continue to elevate the stature of the event while providing corporate partners with an outlet for entertaining top customers.
“We will provide a unique, top-of-the-line, red carpet experience for our partners’ top clients,” Schwenk said.
In exchange, partner corporations provide underwriting, film sponsorships, and other support.
Schwenk and Quartararo said they don’t plan to increase the number of films the festival showcases.
“Three hundred to 350 films seems to be the sweet spot,” Quartararo said. It’s a manageable number that is still ‘filmmaker friendly.”
They also emphasized their partnerships with nonprofit groups. There are three dozen, from Alzheimer’s and autism groups to environmental organizations, that the festival invites to introduce films addressing their areas of expertise.
Earning Acclaim
The festival will feature an array of nightly special events, including red-carpet premieres, filmmaker Q-and-As, fashion shows and more.
Schwenk is quick to stress that although the local economy benefits from the activity that swirls around the event, it’s about more than money.
“The Newport Beach Film Festival offers people something special and unique,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be able to spotlight international films in the world-class setting of Newport Beach.” n.
