Category: Orange County News

The Newport Beach Film Festival is having quite the year. The Festival’s second annual TV Fest in June featured sold-out panels featuring Seth McFarland, Sebastian Maniscalco, Andy Cohen, and the casts of “Landman” and “Shrinking.” Then last month the Festival launched “The Process Unlocked,” a new SoCal PBS television conversation Read More

Some of the best professional men’s and women’s beach volleyball players in the world return to Newport Beach Pier October 17 and 18 for the fourth annual Hoag Newport Beach 4-Man Volleyball Invitational, a two-day celebration of elite competition, entertainment and the Newport Beach lifestyle. The field includes world No. Read More

So many films, so little time. With over 300 films (many of them short subjects) in the 2026 Newport Beach Film Festival, it’s impossible to watch them all over the eight days of the Festival, which runs October 15-22. Here are a few that stand out. Featuring The Houston Ballet, Read More

By Aya El-Djoundi | Special to the NB Indy Life is a passing moment. We are all passing moments. We live through life’s moments. I like to think of us as passing moments who bring something unique and special to the scene. Then suddenly everything becomes a memory. We obviously Read More

By Faith Luevanos | Special to the NB Indy From director Šimon Holý comes “Chica Checa,” a heartwarming film that steals the show at the 2026 Newport Beach Film Festival. The film follows Zdena, a widow who lives a quiet, solitary life in a small Czech village. When her son Read More

By Sandra M. Borges | Special to the NB Indy “I’m interested in ordinary people, doing extraordinary things,” said Yaniv Rokah, director of “Follow Me,” which screens October 18 and 20 at the Newport Beach Film Festival The feature documentary offers an inside look into Gidon Lev’s life as a Read More

By Camden Tucker | Special to the NB Indy Christy Wegner’s feature documentary “All American Girls” tells the story of how American Girl creator Pleasant Rowland’s brand centered around messages of empowerment and encouraging girls to voice their opinions, later exploding into a phenomenon that has shaped the lives of Read More

The documentaries that focus on music run the gamut from smooth jazz to rock and roll to an intimate look at a musical songstress. “Smooth World,” which has its World Premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival, is described as an exploration of the critically loathed world of Smooth Jazz Read More

The 52nd Candlelight season officially began with Candlelight Kickoff on Thursday, August 6, hosted by co-chair Kate Levering-Jahangiri and her husband, Reza Jahangiri at their stunning Newport Beach home overlooking the Back Bay, with a record-breaking turnout. The gathering offered guests a celebratory preview of the Center’s annual fundraising gala, Read More