Fall has become film festival season in Orange County with four signature festivals holding screenings during the next six weeks starting in October. Three of these festivals are hitting milestone anniversary years – the Newport Beach Film Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and the OC Film Fiesta and Viet Film Fest have each reached the 15th installments of their respective festivals. Orange County cinema lovers can expect a diverse lineup of films and a variety of community events from these upcoming festivals.
OC FILM FIESTA
The 15th OC Film Fiesta in October will mark the festival’s quinceañera year, also known as the traditional celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday that signifies her passage to womanhood.
“Whenever you start a festival, you don’t know how long it’ll last,” said Victor Payan, founding director of Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA), a media arts organization that leads various programs, including the OC Film Fiesta. “We’re very excited to have made it to 15 years, and we’re excited for all the programming that has blossomed around the festival.”
MASA has grown to offer media arts programs such as the South Main Art, Retail and Technology (SMART) Walk showcasing technology-based art, businesses, career opportunities and training programs (taking place this Saturday) and the Millennial Producers Academy where participants are paired with local advocacy and cultural organizations to produce content about important societal issues.
More than 40 films will be featured among both in-person screenings and screenings that will be virtual, which the festival began offering in 2020 after seeing how online offerings attracted audiences across the country.
In keeping with its mission of presenting global traditions and multicultural films, the OC Film Fiesta will screen works from Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina, Nepal, Turkey, Portugal, England and elsewhere.
OC Film Fiesta screenings include the Orange County premiere of director Patrick Perez’s “Say a Little Prayer,” starring Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Luis Fonsi, Vannessa Vasquez, Jackie Cruz and Vivian Lamolli. The romantic comedy tells the story of Adela, played by Vasquez, who is pressured by her grandmother to say a prayer to St. Anthony – the patron saint of ‘all things lost’ – to aid in her search for love. After Adela and her friends join in on the prayer, they receive some unexpected visitors.
The festival will also find ways to honor classics, such as an anniversary screening of the 1979 neo-noir film “Boulevard Nights.” The film follows two brothers in East Los Angeles, each with his own story. One brother, Raymond, demonstrates the life of an auto shop worker who left his former gang while his brother, Chuco feels a sense of belonging being part of a gang and struggles to meet family expectations.
“That vision we started of celebrating multicultural heritage has spread with all our programs, so now we are celebrating O.C.’s and the nation’s diversity,” Payan said. “Seeing how we’ve been able to not just celebrate, but nurture the media arts community in Santa Ana and O.C. as we reflect on 15 years is something we’re really excited about.”
When: In-person screenings Oct. 3-12; virtual screenings Oct. 3-27
Where: AMC Orange 30 in Orange; TVGB Digital Maker Space in Santa Ana
Cost: $75 for full festival pass; $50 for virtual-only pass; free screenings included; for ticketed screenings, $10 for general admission and $5 for students, teachers, military/veterans and Santa Ana residents.
Contact: ocfilmfiesta.org
PHOTO 1: A scene from “New Wave,” a film that shares the stories of Vietnamese American teenagers in the 1980s who find an outlet with Eurodisco music. PHOTO 2: A scene from “Ru,” a film that focuses on a formerly wealthy Vietnamese family that settles into a Québec town after fleeing their homeland as boat people. PHOTO 3: A scene from “Ru,” a film that focuses on a formerly wealthy Vietnamese family that settles into a Québec town after fleeing their homeland as boat people. PHOTO 4: A scene from “The Empathizer,” a film in which Vietnamese expatriates who are business owners, athletes and artists are interviewed by director Fred Le. PHOTO 5: A scene from “The Empathizer,” a film in which director Fred Le travels to Vietnam to understand why his mother chooses not to return to her home country. Images courtesy of Viet Film Fest
VIET FILM FEST
Between in-person and virtual screenings, this year’s Viet Film Fest will showcase a total of 11 feature films and 39 short films. The festival’s selection represents work from the U.S., Vietnam, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and more.
All films submitted for consideration at the festival are either made by individuals of Vietnamese descent, feature the Vietnamese community, or connect to issues that are relevant to them.
“For all of us at (the Viet Film Fest), it’s flattering to know there’s such an interest, and it’s an indication that hopefully we’re doing something right,” said Eric Nong, artistic director for the Viet Film Fest. “Our goal at the end of the day is to showcase the totality of the Vietnamese experience, whether those stories are in the U.S., Vietnam, Europe or elsewhere.”
Festival screenings include:
Opening night film “Ru” based on the novel of the same name by Kim Thúy. Director Charles-Olivier Michaud’s “Ru” focuses on a formerly wealthy Vietnamese family that settles into a Québec town after fleeing their homeland as boat people. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
“The Empathizer,” a film in which director Fred Le travels to Vietnam to understand why his mother chooses not to return to her home country. In the film, Le interviews Vietnamese expatriates who are business owners, athletes, artists and students. They reveal to him what they have learned about Vietnam during both their personal Western upbringings and their present-day experiences in Vietnam.
“New Wave” centers around the stories of Vietnamese American teenagers in the 1980s who find an outlet with Eurodisco music, influencing Vietnamese American “New Wave” music as a result. Filmmaker Elizabeth Ai focuses on the lives impacted by this musical movement, including New Wave icon Lynda Trang Dai and Ian “DJ BPM” Nguyen.
When: Virtual screenings from Oct. 5-20; in-person screenings on Oct. 11, 12 and 13
Where: The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana
Cost: $16 general admission; $14 for seniors and high school students; $18 for general admission on opening night; $16 for seniors and high school students on opening night; 4 p.m. screenings on Friday, Oct. 11 will be free