Newport Beach Film Festival

April 11, 2002 12 AM PT

Share via
- Facebook
- X
- Email

A schedule of events through April 19. Films will be shown in four

venues: Edwards Big Newport, 300 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach;

Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach; and Edwards Island 1 and 2,

999 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. Unless otherwise marked, tickets

are $7 and may be purchased by calling (949) 253-2880 or online at

www.newportbeachfilmfest.com.

THURSDAY

7:30 p.m.

The Bank

Edwards Big Newport

o7 Australia, 2001

f7 Director: Robert Connolly

Screenwriter: Robert Connolly

Cast: David Wenham, Anthony La Paglia, Sibylla Budd

Running time: 106:00

o7 “The Bank” is a thriller about banking, corruption and revenge.

Jim Doyle is a genius searching for a formula that can predicf7 to7

future stock market crashes. The potential in Jim’s software fires the

imagination and greed of Simon O’Reilly, the CEO of Centabank. When

O’Reilly brings Doyle on board at the bank, greed and ethics start to

war.

f7 * Opening night gala will be held after the film in Palm Garden at

the Four Seasons Hotel. $75. Black tie optional.

FRIDAY

11 a.m.

The Children of Siberia (Sibirijas Berni)

Edwards Island 1

o7 Latvia, 2001

f7 Director: Dzintra Geka

Screenwriter: Dzintra Geka

Running time: 53:00

o7 In 1941, more than 15,000 Latvians, including about 4,000

children, were deported to Siberia. During this period, the men were sent

to Gulag and the women to Krasnojarska and Tomska. Today some 400

deported children still live in Latvia and Siberia.

Aftermath: Remnants of War

Lido Theater

o7 Canada, 2001f7

Director: Daniel Sekulich

Running time: 74:00

o7 A war has a dirty secret: it never really ends. “Aftermath” weaves

archival images and personal stories to paint a powerful portrait of

lingering devastation based on the book by Donovan Webster.

11:30 a.m.

Short Films: Bucket O’ Shorts

Edwards Island 2

Foursome

o7 Four buddies meet for their weekly golf outing and discover

there’s more behind their friendships than golf.

Cusp

o7 A spirited 12-year-old girl hits the wall of early adolescence.

Her fierce struggle to retain her sense of self, despite the onslaught of

other voices, denotes the unique experience of a girl coming of age.

Within an Endless Sky

o7 Sailing amid clouds, in a world where floating castles share the

sky with creatures that soar on wings of gold, a young boy contemplates

his place within a society of reason and intellect.

The Last Gunshot

o7 A vivid depiction of the familial implications of apartheid in

South Africa during the 1980s unfolds as Helen, a white teenager,

befriends Sophie, a battered, black servant in need of medical

assistance.

From the Beginning (Da Capo)

o7 A pianist gets to relive life’s moments as he sits down to watch

his “life-movie” in a theater where everyone gets a chance to see their

own film.

Wonder

o7 Eric rents out the extra room in his apartment to Sophia, a

mysterious 17-year-old who ran away from her home in upstate New York.

Meemo

o7 Meemo and Janice’s happiness is threatened when she is stricken

with Alzheimer’s disease and he finds himself unprepared to face the

world without his companion.

Noon

Dangerous Summer (Baiga Vasara)

Edwards Island 1

o7 Latvia, 2000

f7 Director: Aigars Grauba

Screenwriter: Aigars Grauba, Andrejs Ekis, Pauls Bankovskis

Cast: Uldis Dumpis, Arturs Skrastins, Inese Cauna, Janis Reinis,

Eduards Pavuls

Running time: 112:00

o7 Historical melodrama set in 1940, when independent Latvia is

occupied. The love between a Prussian girl and a Latvian radio

journalist makes them confront the atrocities of World War II

politics.f7

1 p.m.

Bark

Lido Theater

o7 United States, 2001

f7 Director: Kasia Adamik

Screenwriter: Heather Morgan

Cast: Lisa Kudrow, Hank Azaria, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Tergesen,

Heather Morgan

Running time: 94:00

o7 A professional dog-walker has gradually stopped using speech and

assumed the identity of a canine. This causes no end of concern and

embarrassment for her husband, who consults their veterinarian, his

slackerish best friend and a psychiatrist. f7

2 p.m.

Battleship Texas: The Lone Star Ship

Edwards Island 2

o7 United States, 2001

f7 Director: Tim Holland

Screenwriter: Brad Thompson

Running time: 46:00

o7 This documentary recounts the glorious history of the USS Texas,

the last surviving Dreadnought-style ship in the world, and the only ship

left to have actively served in both World Wars.

Manuela Saenz

Edwards Island 1

o7 Venezuela, 2000

f7 Director: Diego Risquez

Screenwriter: Leonardo Padron

Cast: Beatriz Valdes, Mariano Alvarez

Running time: 97:00

o7 In 1856, a young writer named Herman Melville is hatching the idea

for “Moby Dick.” Melville searches Venezuela for Manuela Saenz, Simon

Bolivar’s most passionate lover. He tries to save Manuela from her death

by plague, while her obsession over Bolivar continues.

3 p.m.

Obaachan’s Garden

Lido Theater

o7 Canada, 2001

f7 Director: Linda Ohama

Running time: 94:13

o7 At 25, Hiroshima-born Asayo Murakami boarded a ship to Canada to

marry a man she had never met. Running away from a secret past, she

arrives in Canada a picture bride. Delicately peeling back the layers of

her grandmother’s life, Linda Ohama presents a searingly powerful and at

times heartbreaking portrait of the times, as she discovers Asayo’s past.

3:30 p.m.

To Protect & Serve

Edwards Island 2

o7 United States, 2001

f7 Director: Joseph Perez

Screenwriter: Joseph Perez

Cast: Jake Wall, Lee Corbin, Ben Murphy, Angela Harry

Running time: 88:00

o7 This urban satire is guided by a young documentarian out to dispel

the ideologies society has toward cops. In the course of try to come to

grips with his own past issues with cops, he finds that in the end, being

a cop is a complex calling, a lovef7 -o7 hate relationship, both

fulfilling and disillusioning.

4 p.m.

Short Films: There’s Something Fun in My Shorts

Edwards Island 1

Bored of the Rings

o7 Has the addition of all the new Olympic events left you bored of

the rings? Watch the U.S., Russia and Australia battle for gold in the

latest Olympic event, penmanship.

Battleship Contempkin

o7 Parisian lovers, trapped in their Left Bank apartment on a rainy

afternoon, play a humorously perverse version of the popular American

board game.

Farmer McAllister’s Thinkin’ Machine

o7 Down on McAllister’s farm, there is a haggard man, a shed, an evil

wife and a bucket-headed robot -- not to mention a lust that will test

the limits of marriage and metal fatigue.

The Deadline

o7 Three animators struggle to make a film as the deadline looms.

Peeping Tom

o7 Teetering just south of puberty, Thomas Harris wishes to finally

see his dream woman naked. Thomas’ wish comes true, and he stays up all

night watching her, but pays the price.

eMale

o7 To win the grand prize for the Squat-n-Win.com contest, Dale must

be welded inside his apartment, alone, for a year, living entirely off

the Internet.

Get Skinny

o7 Finally sick of media standards, three friends hit critical mass,

kidnap a model and force her to do the unthinkable.

I Pie (A Love Story)

o7 A look behind the scenes as a master pie-maker works at his labor

of love.

Flush

o7 An over-the-top comedy that propels human ingenuity and human

frailty to new levels, all in the name of love and hygiene.

Pearl Harbor II: Pearlmageddon

o7 It’s the day after the day that will live in infamy.f7

Boobie Girl

o7 The onset of puberty has a young girl praying for larger breasts.

Safetyman

o7 A two-dimensional icon comes to life in this animated short.

5 p.m.

Short Films: A Short Look At Us

Lido Theater

The Dangerous Love of Alfie Zeegman

o7 Alfie’s imaginary friend AJ comes up with movie plot schemes to

“get the girl,” but when he tries to put them into action, the plans end

in injury to others.

Both of Them (Tous Les Deux)

o7 The symbolic story of our world. Our Love. Our hate.f7

Jitters

o7 A horny ladies’ man convinces his somewhat-sexually inexperienced,

soon-to-be-married best friend that he needs one last wild escapade

before tying the knot. f7

Infidel

o7 Unable to get it on with both his mistress and his wife, Mike

discovers his most intimate desires are trapped by his own

superficiality.

It’s A Shame About Ray

o7 Ray drops dead while watering his lawn, and it is discovered that

his records in the afterlife are incomplete. He must then endure an

interrogation to determine his fate.

Eight

o7 Through a series of sometimes comic and sometimes bitter

vignettes, the lives of eight strangers collide.

6 p.m.

You Don’t Know What I Got

Edwards Island 2

o7 United States, 2000f7

Director: Linda Duvoisin

Running time: 85:00

o7 A celebration of ideas, convictions and passions of five diverse

women. The documentary features singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco,

activist/poet Linda Finney, police officer Julie Brunzell,

artist/architect Myrtle Stedman and housekeeper Jimmie Woodruff.

6:30 p.m.

The Broken Wings of Elijah Footfalls

Edwards Island 1

o7 United States, 2001

f7 Director: Gabriel Judet-Weinshel

Screenwriter: Gabriel Judet-Weinshel

Cast: Gabriel Judet-Weinshel, Franck Dinet, Nina Egli

Running time: 45:00

o7 Elijah Footfalls, a lonely street juggler, discovers a vagabond

circus troupe in a wooded valley. The film charts Elijah’s love affair

with Nina, the fire breather, and his friendship with Ilja Wax, the

circus director. Using only eight lines of dialogue, Footfalls tells a

distilled story about the essentials of human love and longing.

8 p.m.

The Bronze Screen

Edwards Island 1

o7 United States, 2001

f7 Director: Alberto Dominguez, Nancy de los Santos, Susan Racho

Screenwriter: Nancy de los Santos, Susan Racho

Running time: 88:01

o7 This documentary explores the contributions of Latinos in film

over the past 100 years. Spotlighting the prominent stories that Latinos

have made in cinema history.

f7 * Gala will be held after the movie at the El Torito Bar and

Grill. $35. Dress casual.

Polyester

Lido Theater

o7 United States, 1981

f7 Director: John Waters

Screenwriter: John Waters

Cast: Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey

Running time: 86:00

o7 This film, presented in Odorama, tells the story of betrayed

housewife Francine Fishpaw. After her husband, Elmer, walks out on her

for his trashy secretary, Sandra, Francine’s life starts falling apart.

Music written by Blondie’s Deborah Harry.

f7 * A post-film gala will be held at the Newport Fish Co. $45. John

Waters will appear. Unusual attire.

8:30 p.m.

Joint Security Area (Gong Dong Kyung Bi Ku Yuk)

Edwards Island 2

o7 Korea, 2001

f7 Director: Chan Wook Park

Screenwriter: Chan Wook Park

Cast: Lee Young Ae, Song Kang Ho, Kim Tae Woo

Running time: 110:00

o7 A bloody shootout at the Korean DMZ leads to a tortuous

investigation of murder, friendship and the disarming beauty of

cigarettes and late night conversation. Major Sophie Jang heads an

investigative team responsible for uncovering the truth but soon finds

that no one recalls anything beyond the facts of the official record.

Newport Beach Film Festival

More on this Subject