By Paul Bartelt
Newport Beach, Ca. April 20th is the opening night of the 18th annual Newport Film Festival, screening over 350 films from 50 countries, hosting 25 spotlight and special events and producing numerous seminar programs. Gregg Schwenk, chief executive of the festival, said this year they received more than 2,500 applications.” We offer a number of special opportunities and experiences for the community, and what is wonderful is that people can interact with members in the film industry,” said Schwenk. Films will be shown in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa theaters through April 27. Over 55,000 guests are expected to attend the annual eight-day film festival. Opening night will feature “Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton”, a professional surfer. Film categories include; art, action sportsl, music video films, a narrative category and documentaries. International films from Europe, the Pacific Rim, Australia and Latin America. For the full schedule information and tickets, visit newportbeachfilmfest.com