The Newport Beach Film Festival kicks off its Celebration of the Big Screen – Orange County Register on October 13th

Thursday will be a strange opening to an eclectic week.

The 23rd Newport Beach Film Festival opens Thursday night with a screening of “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” kicking off a week celebrating storytelling and the big screen. There is an opening party at Fashion Island.

The festival will feature hundreds of screenings leading up to its closing night on October 20th, using four different cinemas to show the myriad films that have been curated this year – the Regal Edwards Big Newport, The Lot at Fashion Island, the Port Theater in Corona del Mar and the Starlight Triangle 8 in Costa Mesa.

The offer ranges from feature films to documentaries and short films to animations. Films take a look at the environment, action sports, the culinary world, music and more.

Filmmakers from several local colleges join storytellers from around the world in the series of titles.

This year, the festival is presenting an Irish Spotlight on October 16, which organizers describe as the largest celebration of Irish cinema in North America. It will include the premiere of three films, The Ghost of Richard Harris, The Quiet Girl and Joyride.

Screening for the first time in North America, The Ghost of Richard Harris follows the well-known Irish actor’s three sons as they discover who their father was.

Fittingly, the Newport Beach Festival even has an Irish surf film showing. The documentary Keep it a Secret recalls a 1972 surfing competition and the beginnings of Irish surfing.

There are also spotlight events featuring films from Canada, Mexico, Europe and the Pacific Rim.

The festival partners again to celebrate Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch for 2022, presented on October 16 alongside its own annual honorees, including Ron Howard with the Variety Legend/Groundbreaker Award and Eddie Redmayne with the Icon Award .

The Sunset Food & Wine Series and other parties accompany the Luxury Lifestyle Film Festival, which concludes on October 20 with the Closing Night Feature Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and a party at the Sherman Library & Gardens.

Ticket prices range from $10 for short films to $50 for Spotlight screenings with access to the party. Most demonstrations cost between $15 and $25 and can be purchased online. Some performances are already sold out.

Information and tickets: newportbeachfilmfest.com