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Saturday, 30 April 2011 08:41

Newport Beach Film Festvial 2011, "Conception"

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newport beach film festival 2011Of course the 1st thing you know about the Newport Beach Film Festival 2011 is that it's moved from its usual place at the Island Cinemas and over to Triangle Square.   They are remodeling the theaters at the Fashion Island location so for the bulk of the festival it's at the Newport Blvd. location.  Some venues remain the same: opening night was at Big Newport, The Regency Lido in Balboa remains the closing night and other venues will be used like The Regency Lido Theater and The Sage Hill Theater at Newport Coast.

The facade doesn't matter, really.  It's still the same well-run show inside.  I actually like Triangle Square for the festival because on the upper floor of the buidling is a large, open "square" where people can hang and talk.  If the venue itself was more populated with shops it would be perfect.  Unfortunately, since Nike Town left and other companies couldn't sustain their businesses there, there is a sort of ghost town feel to it when you're walking between the theater and anywhere else like the media room (the old Nike Town.)  Otherwise, it's actually quite nice since on that top floor you can grab a bite and a beer at Yardhouse and there's still a candy store open.  There are also shops and restaurants at street level.

What always amazes me about the NBFF is the volunteers.  I ask almost all of them the same question - why?  They all express some interest in film - some more than others - but I never get the sense that they're burning the blue flame for this business.  More like "it seemed like fun."  One young girl I talked to had been volunteering for four years - and she was just turning 21.  And, when asked, expressed only a marginal interest in making film a career choice.  I think she said something about journalism but I couldn't be sure.

There's also the "tea ladies and lords" as I call them.  The older volunteers who stand for hours on their SAS shoes, smiling and calmly telling the movers and shakers of SoCal that they can't enter the venue until the alloted time.  They are always friendly and fun, though - not a grump in the bunch.  They form the spine of the volunteer corp and I think the festival would be lost without them.  Perhaps if I get a chance I'll do a more in-depth interview with one of them. 

Last night I only attended the movie "Conception," a funny film by writer/director Josh Stolberg (see OCSWA intereview here.)  Despite a few technical gliches the film played to an enthusiastic audience of friends of Josh or his wife Leila Charles Leigh, and people who were attracted to the concept and star cast including David Arquette, Jonathan Silverman, Julie Bowen, and Sarah Hyland.

"Conception" keeps  you interested and laughing.  Josh has a terrific light touch and a sly vision of relationships.  Some of this was evident in the film "Good Luck Chuck" (which he wrote) but Stolberg really gets to stretch his legs here with these nine stories of love and sex.  You can see some autobiographical information in the nine couples who grace the stage.  These were perhaps the strongest moments.  

I had the sense that the Jonathan Silverman/Jennifer Finnegan and Jennifer Jostyn/Alan Tudyk scenarios were the ones with which Josh felt most comfortable.  The further he got from those couples, the weaker the material became.  

The  sarah hylandvery talented and funny Sarah Hyland is almost wasted - her story of "first-time" sex being perhaps the weakest and most deriative with no true insight in that scenario and no real surprises.  The "condom in the wallet since sixth grade" was a real shock since I felt like Josh was channeling  the 1980's film "Diner" - that's how old that particular piece of film Americana is.  

The Leah Pipes/Aaron Ashmore scenario started off well but ended weakly almost as if Josh had run out of material or insight by that point.  Perhaps if he had limited the amount of stories, he would have been in better shape in his narrative threads.

But, having said that and most importantly, I was never not amused by the deft and interesting moments that formed the stories about relationships and sexual congress between these couples.  To judge by the constant laughter in the theater, other people quite enjoyed themselves also.  Two girls who sat in front of me were particularly vocal about the "lost condom" moment.

This laughter and enjoyment is as much because of the terrific writing and acting as to the post production.  The editor, Naomi Sunrise Filaramo, deserves an Oscar for keeping all those stories congruent and moving.

Afterwards, Josh and some of the producers and cast held court for a Q&A that was nearly as funny and funsilverman as the film itself.  I had the feeling that had they given Josh all the time he wanted, he'd still be talking.  His pure love of film and "nice-guy" energy shines strongly in this film but more so in person.  

I had a great time at "Conception" - it was a wonderful start to the Triangle Square venue.  My hope is that I can spend a lot more time there this coming week.   "Conception" screens again on May 5th (7:30pm.)  I highly recommend it.

The Newport Beach Film Festival runs from April 28th to May 5th (info here) and features films from all over the world and includes local, young filmmakers and their shorts.  Colleges like OCC, CalState Fullerton and others are represented.  It's always great to go out and support these promising filmmakers and their programs so make a point of it. 

Hope to see you all at this great event. 

Read 1732 times Last modified on Wednesday, 05 August 2015 16:16
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Mark Sevi

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