Posted by Larry Gleeson
Newport Beach, CA – April 27, 2017 – The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) announced today the winners of the 2017 Festival. On April 27, 2017, the Festival wrapped up its eight day run with the Southern California Premiere of THE EXCEPTION starring Christopher Plummer, Lily James and Jai Courtney at the Lido Theater (3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach) with the post party in the Via Lido Plaza. The Festival opened with the West Coast Premiere of Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton.
The Newport Beach Film Festival celebrated outstanding contribution to global cinema at a special event during the 18th annual Festival at the Balboa Bay Resort on April 22. Additionally, The Festival’s selection committee reviewed more than 2,500 films. The Festival screened over 350 films, representing 50 countries. The films competed for Jury, Festival Honors and Audience Awards.
The 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival jury featured an impressive roster of film industry professionals, including Claire Best, CEO and owner of Claire Best & Associates, Hunt Lowry, producer and CEO/President of Rosework Films, Actor Robert Reed Carradine, Mike Repsch, Senior Vice President of Distribution and Sales at Breaking Glass Pictures, Arianne Rocchi, VP of Publicity at Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing, Larry Greenberg, Head of Acquisitions and Domestic Distribution for Ambi Media Group, Oscar Nominated writer/director Tom Van Avermaet, and Todd Slater, co-founder and partner at Blue Fox Entertainment.
Newport Honors Awards
Aishia tyler
Artist of Distinction Award
Aisha’s passion for volunteering and giving back to the community is reflected in her work beyond the lens. She has been involved in organizations such as Planned Parenthood, where she served on the board, the Trust for Public Land organization, International Rescue Committee, and the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Aisha has dedicated significant time towards the Wounded Warriors Project, a charity that offers services and programs to wounded veterans and their families. In correspondence to the Wounded Warriors Project, Aisha has visited veterans at the Walter Reed hospital and has had a veteran on her podcast, “Girl on Guy”, to talk about his story and his sacrifices. We’re lucky to have Aisha’s new feature film, AXIS, which she directed, in our festival program this year. With all of her charitable contributions and her diverse array of talents in filmmaking, we’re proud to award her the Artist of Distinction Award at this years NBFF Honors.
NAT SANDERS AND JOI MCMILLON
BREAKOUT AWARD
Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon are film editors who have recently been nominated for an Academy Award on the Best Picture Winner Moonlight. With Joi’s nomination, she was the first African-American to be nominated for the Editing Category. Moonlight also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing, which was Nat’s second time receiving the award, the previous being the film Short Term 12. We congratulate both Nat and Joi for having a truly Breakout Out Year in film and we can not wait to see what they will do in the future.
EOIN MAKEN
ONE TO WATCH
Eoin is currently shooting season 4 of Sony/NBC’s hit summer series THE NIGHT SHIFT playing the lead character of “TC”. He was last seen in theaters starring opposite Milla Jovoich and Ali Larter in Screen Gems’ franchise RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER, written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Last year he was also seen in theaters starring opposite Natalie Dormer and Taylor Kinney in Focus Features’ THE FOREST directed by Jason Zada, as well as being seen on TV in National Geographic Channel’s Emmy nominated event series KILLING JESUS, starring opposite Stephen Moyer, Rufus Sewell and Kelsey Grammer. Eoin also wrote, directed, and stars opposite Jack Reynor and Tom Hopper in the Independent feature LEOPARD which is available on Amazon. He is also known for his work in the hit BBC series MERLIN starring as the swashbuckling hero “Gwaine”, and recurred on the fourth season of Showtime’s Emmy-winning series THE TUDORS. He also starred opposite Emilia Fox in Mike Figgis’ SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF. Eoin can add to his multitude of talents, accomplished novelist, having published his first book KINGDOM OF SCARS which was short-listed for the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards in 2014.
2017 AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Feature Film – Don’t Tell
Foreign Film – Sami Blood (Sameblod)
Documentary – I’ll Push You
ACTION SPORTS – Under an Arctic Sky
Art, Architecture + Design – The Gamble House
FAMILY– Scales: Mermaids are Real
SHORT – Speechless
music – Man in the Camo Jacket
2017 JURY AWARDS
BEST FILM – Moon Dogs
Best Actor – Jack Parey Jones – Moon Dogs
BEST ACTRESS – Olivia Cooke – Katie Says Goodbye
Best Director – Len Collin – Sanctuary
Best Cinematography – Marden Dean – Boys in the Trees
Best Documentary – City of Joy
Best Documentary: honorable mention – Dateline – Saigon
BEST SCREENWRITER – Wayne Roberts – Katie Says Goodbye
SHORT FILMS
Best Narrative SHORT FILM – Enemies Within
Best Narrative SHORT FILM:HONORABLE MENTION: Thanks for Dancing
Best Documentary SHORT FILM – Refugee
Best Documentary SHORT FILM:HONORABLE MENTION – Seeing is Believing: Women Direct
Best AnimatED SHORT FILM – Second To None
Best AnimatED SHORT FILM: HONORABLE MENTION – Sisyphus
2017 FESTIVAL HONORS:
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DIRECTING – Doug Nichol – California Typewriter
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FEATURE FILM – Axis – Aisha Tyler, Director
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FEATURE FILM – Score: A Film Music Documentary – Matt Schrader, Director
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ACTING – David Tennant – Mad To Be Normal
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ACTING – Sam Elliott – The Hero
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ACTING – Seána Kerslake – A Date For Mad Mary
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ACTING – Olivia Holt – Class Rank
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: SCREENWRITING – Rick Darge – Zen Dog
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ENSEMBLE CAST – Heart, Baby – Gbenga Akinnagbe, Jackson Rathbone, Shawn-Caulin Young, Keir O’Donnell, Justice Leak, Shaun Brown, Ritchie Montgomery, Dana Gourrier, Quinton Aaron, Jamie Kennedy, Michael Badalucco, Abraham Benrubi , Big Freedia, Marcus Lyle Brown, Jay Huguley, Ann Cusack , Rick Shapiro , Gary Grubbs , Kerry Cahill, Tom Proctor
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FOREIGN FILM – Cardboard Gangsters
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: CINEMATOGRAPHY: Aerial Ireland
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: EDITING: Horn From the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story
SHORT FILMS
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING – The Spa
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING – Feeding Time
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING – The Boy by The Sea (De Jongen Bij De Zee)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: FORIEGN SHORT FILM – Night Dancing
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: DOCUMENTARYSHORT FILM – The Legendary Jerry G
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: ANIMATED SHORT FILM – Ropes in Life (Cuerdas en la Vida)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: BREAKOUR PERFORMANCE – Wang Nan – Bao
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING: MUSIC VIDEO – Kolshik
Attendance at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival was on par with last year’s record attendance of 50,000 people. The 18th annual Festival had the largest participation of International filmmakers and showcased films from over 58 countries with delegations attending from Australia, Germany, Ireland and Canada. The Newport Beach Film Festival is sponsored in part by City of Newport Beach, Visit Newport Beach, Experian, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Celebrity Cruises, Fashion Island and Los Angeles Times
(Source: Newport Beach Film Festival)
