In spite of our professed regional loyalty to Marin, there’s no denying the allure of Orange County. With palm trees, tons of swimmable beaches, world-class shopping and balmy weather, life behind the Orange Curtain doesn’t seem too shabby. But now there is a different set of curtains that’s garnering the county a lot of attention — movie theater curtains. The Newport Beach Film Festival, now in its 19th year, has become the fastest growing film festival in the nation, drawing over 55,000 attendees. The festival shows bigscreen features as well as action sports film debuts and, much like the Mill Valley Film Festival, hosts galas and awards ceremonies. Beyond film, the fest also holds an in-depth architecture and design series focused on the United Kingdom. Catch some flicks while you nab some rays; the fun begins on April 26 and goes through May 3.
This article originally appeared in Marin Magazine’s print edition under the headline: “SoCal Cannes“.
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
