The Newport Beach Film Festival is a film festival

Film festival

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 held in Newport Beach, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, that showcases more than 350 films to more than 30,000 attendees annually.

Established in 1999 after the failure of an earlier film festival series in the same location, the festival features independent films from around the world and the U.S. Since its beginnings, the festival has presented many acclaimed films, including Crash (in its 2005 premiere), Dogtown and Z-Boys

Dogtown and Z-Boys

Dogtown and Z-Boys is a 2001 documentary film directed by Stacy Peralta. Using a mix of film the Zephyr skateboard team shot in the 1970s by Craig Stecyk and more recent interviews, the documentary tells the story of a group of teenage surfer/skateboarders and their influence on the history of...

, Dust to Glory

Dust to Glory

Dust to Glory is a documentary about the famous Baja 1000 off-road race. Filming occurred throughout the 2003 event. The film is directed by Dana Brown of Step Into Liquid fame. The film was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro. The film score was by Nathan Furst.-Cast:Mario Andretti, Sal Fish, Jimmy...

, Just Like the Son

Just Like the Son

Just Like the Son is an American feature film written and directed by Morgan J. Freeman. The film was Freeman’s third from an original screenplay and shot during the summer of 2005 in New York City and Wilmington, North Carolina...

, Joint Security Area

Joint Security Area (film)

Joint Security Area is a 2000 South Korean film starring Lee Young Ae, Lee Byung-hun and Song Kang-ho. It was directed by Park Chan-wook and is based on the novel DMZ by Park Sang-yeon...

, Layer Cake

Layer Cake (film)

Layer Cake is a 2004 British crime thriller produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn, in his directorial debut. It is based on the novel Layer Cake by J. J...

, Sexy Beast

Sexy Beast

Sexy Beast is a 2000 British-Spanish crime drama film directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, and Ian McShane. Produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was Glazer's debut feature film, who had previously been a music video director for videos such as Rabbit in Your Headlights for...

, the Cove

The Cove

The Cove is a 2009 documentary film that analyzes and questions Japan's dolphin hunting culture. It was awarded the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film is a call to action to halt mass dolphin kills, change Japanese fishing practices, and to inform and educate the public about the...

, and Spellbound

Spellbound (documentary)

Spellbound is a 2002 documentary that was directed by Jeffrey Blitz. The film follows eight competitors in the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Documentary Feature; Yana Gorskaya's editing won the ACE Eddie award for best editing of documentary...

, as well as anniversary screenings of classics such as The French Connection

The French Connection (film)

This article is about the 1971 film. For the British fashion label, see French Connection .The French Connection is a 1971 American crime film directed by William Friedkin. The film was adapted and fictionalized by Ernest Tidyman from the non-fiction book by Robin Moore...

, Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard (film)

Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 American film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett...

, and The Outsiders

The Outsiders (film)

The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. The film was released in March 1983...

, and the 50th anniversary of the Jim Henson Company.

The festival also pioneered a Community Outreach Program through which they partner with over 30 non-profit organizations in Orange County

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

from various sectors including the arts, health and human services, the environment, education, children’s causes and alumni clubs. The Newport Beach Film Festival Community Outreach Program provides a forum for each organization to further its mission through the medium of film and co-host a film screening during the Festival. Each organization is paired with a film that is likely to attract an audience interested in its cause. Groups in the program are given an opportunity to speak to film audiences prior to the screenings and display information at the theater.

The festival hosts a blog, NBFF Filmmaker's Five, a Q&A with directors, writers, producers and actors from films participating in the festival each year.