Newport Beach Film Festival Schedule

The Newport Beach Film Festival will screen films and hold events

through Friday. 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 can be

purchased by calling (949) 253-2880 or online at

www.newportbeachfilmfest.com.

TODAY

11 a.m.

The Bank

Lido Theater

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

Short Films: Youth Shorts

Edwards Island 1

Mean People Suck

o7 When Katie poses the question, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever

done to somebody else?” her friends realize they’re in for some

excitement.

f7

Blue Haven

o7 A coming-of-age story of friendship, dreams and love told through

the eyes of Henry Nichols, who has lived and breathed skating ever since

he can remember.

f7

Quest for the Holy Porcelain

o7 Eight-year-old Wesley Clark has a problem. Monster movies and

lemonade prove to be a dangerous mix in the middle of the night.f7

The Last Race

o7 A fast-paced look into the world of underground street racing

where a young racing addict attempts to avoid the pitfalls of his illegal

pastime.

f7

WHOA

o7 An urban opera about a man being at the wrong place at the wrong

time.

f7

Satellite

o7 A street-wise teenager struggles to understand what it means to be

a man -- and what it doesn’t mean.

f7

A Little Redemption

o7 In an urban, working-class neighborhood, a drug-abusing young man

befriends a poverty-stricken and fatherless boy.

f7

11:30 p.m.

The Ashes of the Volcano (Las Cenizas del Volcan)

Edwards Island 2

o7 Spain, 2001f7

Director: Pedro Perez-Rosado

Running time: 87:00

o7 Six years after an armed revolt in southwest Mexico by the

Zapatista Army, a Spanish director returns to the area where he filmed

his documentary “The Pain of the Dream” to meet up once more with the

protagonists of that story.

f7

1:30 p.m.

The Power of Truth -- according to The Dalai Lama

Edwards Island 2

o7 Denmark, 2001

f7 Director: Irene Greve

Running time: 60:00

o7 During a visit to Copenhagen in 2000, The Dalai Lama said “The

power of truth is stronger than the power of gun.” This film is made of

interviews and statements filmed during that visit to Denmark, juxtaposed

with new and exceptional footage from inside Tibet and the Tibetan exile

community in Dharamsala. f7

Short Films: USC Short Film Showcase

Lido Theater

Motherly Love

o7 If only it were unconditional.

f7

Waking Mele

o7 Mele relates the last days with her ailing twin brother, Egg, as

they searched with their childhood home.

f7

Safe Journey

o7 Fate will lead you where you belong.f7

Size of It

o7 A documentary about four overweight women who love who they are.

f7

A World Apart

o7 Jessica and Myla grow up friends, classmates and confidants in

homes separated by an alley, but worlds apart.

f7

Hairy

o7 Bald man gets hair. Bald man gets woman. Bald man must choose.f7

2 p.m.

The Jimmy Show

Edwards Island 1

o7 United States, 2001

f7 Director: Frank Whaley

Screenwriter: Jonathan Marc Sherman, Frank Whaley

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Carla Gugino, Frank Whaley, Lynn Coen, Robert

Whaley

Running time: 96:00

o7 Jimmy is a failed New Jersey inventor who abandons his work to

become a standup comic. Audiences on the amateur comedy circuit aren’t

known for their gentility and following several disastrous shows Jimmy

takes up a new “profession” -- boozing.f7

3 p.m.

Desperado Square (Kikar Ha’halomot)

Edwards Island 2

o7 Israel, 2000

f7 Director: Benny Torati

Screenwriter: Benny Torati

Cast: Muhammad Backri, Yona Elicam, Nir Levi, Sharon Beginiano

Running time: 97:00

o7 In a small village in Israel, a family patriarch has passed away.

On the morning of the commemoration day, Nisim, the man’s son, has a

dream in which his father appears and orders him to open the closed

family cinema one more time to screen a movie. His mother objects to both

the movie and the opening of the theater.

f7

4 p.m.

The Cabbie (Yun Zhuai Shou Zhi Lian)

Edwards Island 1

o7 Taiwan, 2001

f7 Director: Zhang Hua-Kun, Chen Yiwen

Screenwriter: Zhao-bin Su

Cast: Tai Bao, Hsiu-Ying Cheng

Running time: 94:00

o7 When taxi driver Su Daquan has a gun held to his head, it makes

him think about his life and his relationships with his family. He comes

to the realization that he is fallen in love with a young police woman,

and he commits every moving violation possible just to see her.

f7

Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime

Lido Theater

o7 United States, 2001

f7 Director: Peter Jaysen

Running time: 75:00

o7 William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy have shared an experience which

few could imagine and fewer could possibly comprehend until now. These

friends whose careers have taken them beyond mere stardom and transformed

them into cultural icons share their “Star Trek” experiences.

f7

5 p.m.

Girl Fever

Edwards Island 2

o7 United States, 2002

f7 Director: Michael Davis

Screenwriter: Michael Davis

Cast: Chad Donella, Erinn Bartlett, Jennifer Morrison

o7 One winter day, artist Sam meets Hope, a woman with an incredible

smile. The next time they meet, the lady has lost her smile and won’t say

why. Sam makes it his goal to uncover her mysterious depression.

f7

5:30 p.m.

Stan Lee: Mutants, Monsters and Marvels

Lido Theater

o7 United States, 2002

f7 Director: Scott Zararin

Running time: 60:00

o7 The creator of Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk, Stan Leetells

his life story, along with filmmaker Kevin Smith.

f7

6 p.m.

The Trespasser (O Invasor)

Edwards Island 1

o7 Brazil, 2001

f7 Director: Reto Brant

Screenwriter: Marcal Aquino, Beto Brant, Renato Ciasca

Cast: Marco Ricca, Alexandre Borges, Paulo Miklos, Malu Mader

Running time: 97:00

o7 A story of power, friendship and betrayal set in Sao Paulo.

Estevao, Ivan and Gilberto have been friends and partners for over 15

years when Estevao threatens to break up the partnership. Ivan and

Gilberto decide to eliminate their friend by hiring a professional

killer.

f7

7 p.m.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Lido Theater

o7 United States, 1962

f7 Director: Robert Mulligan

Screenwriter: Harper Lee, Horton Foote

Cast: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton

Running time: 129:00

o7 Based on the book by Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird” stars

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era South who

defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge.

f7 * Film and 50th anniversary gala afterward will honor Elmer

Bernstein, who wrote the film’s score. Gala will be held at the Lido

Diner. $25. Dress business casual.

According To Spencer

Edwards Island 2

o7 United States, 2001

f7 Director: Shane Edleman

Screenwriter: Marissa Ribisi, Meridith Morton, Shane Edelman

Cast: Jesse Bradford, Mia Kirshner, David Krumholtz, Brad Rowe, Marisa

Ribisi and Giovanni Ribisi

Running time: 97:00

o7 Spencer rents room in a ramshackle mansion owned by two hipster

doofusses -- budding filmmakers who continually disrupt Spencer’s life as

they busy themselves shooting their most personal movie. They ask Spencer

to play the lead in return for rent-free living and he agrees, only to

find out that he is the star of a porn film.f7

8 p.m.

Rodents (Ratas, Ratones, Rateros)

Edwards Island 1

o7 Equador, 2001

f7 Director: Sebastian Cordero

Screenwriter: Sabastine Cordero

Cast: Carlos Valencia, Marcos Bustas

Running time: 107:00

o7 The world of Salvador, a young and naive petty thief, is about to

be shaken with the arrival of his cousin Angel, an ex-convict in search

of easy money and a hideout.

f7

9 p.m.

Short Films: The Polyester Prince Road Show 2002 Tour

Edwards Island 2

Memoirs

o7 A journey into the psyche of the gypsy mind.

f7

Joe’s in Love

o7 Follow our hero as he falls in love in this animated piece.

f7

In Search of the Famous Hoosier Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

o7 Eating may never be the same after you have traveled the little

known roads and restaurants of rural Indiana.

f7

Tiny Planet

o7 Hold on to your seat as we circumnavigate the world.

f7

Hotel Central

o7 Things may never appear as they were once you’ve checked in.

f7

Super Acht Wurst Salat

o7 We webble, we wobble, but we don’t fall down.

f7

The Chad Lawler Story

o7 Glam rock is not dead.

f7

Super Super 8 2000

o7 A brief documentary on the 2000 Polyester Prince European Tour.

f7

Guardian

o7 With an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, anything

can happen.

f7

The Red Letters

o7 A visceral journey into a cinematic paradise.

f7

9:30 p.m.

Markova: Comfort Gay

Lido Theater

o7 Philippines, 2001

f7 Director: Gil Portes

Screenwriter: Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr.

Cast: Dolphy, Loren Legarda, Eric Quizon, Jeffrey Quizon

Running time: 97:00

o7 The story wanders from one man’s freedom as a homosexual after the

death of his abusive brother to his capture and escape from the carnal

brutality of Japanese soldiers, and to a lifetime’s worth of healing. f7