Peter Sarsgaard speaks on Newport Beach Film Festival in Live Awards Chatter Podcast
Peter Sarsgaard, the veteran character actor who has received some of the best notices of his career this year for his performance on the Apple TV+ drama series Presumed Innocent and in the Paramount film September 5, will receive the Newport Beach Film Festival‘s Performer of the Year Award (Actor) and record an episode of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast live in front of a festival audience, NBFF announced on Tuesday.
Sarsgaard’s award presentation and podcast recording will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 23, during the 25th edition of NBFF, which will run Oct. 17-24.
The fest also announced its film lineup, which includes 112 films from 19 countries, including 16 world premieres, 10 U.S. premieres, 16 North American premieres, 13 West Coast premieres, and 10 Southern California Premieres
This year’s NBFF will open on Oct. 17 with the world premiere of Simon West’s Old Guy, with West and star Chrostoph Waltz in attendance, and it will close on Oct. 24 with a screening of Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, a Searchlight film starring Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as cousins who take a trip together to Europe in honor of their late grandmother. Meanwhile, centerpiece screenings during the fest will include Blitz, Hard Truths, Nightbitch, The Piano Lesson, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and September 5.
The fest will also celebrate the stars of several of this season’s biggest TV shows: David Alan Grier and Wendi McLendon-Covey for St. Denis Medical (Outstanding Achievement in Comedy Award on Oct. 18) and Jane Lynch for Only Murders in the Building (Outstanding Achievement in Comedy Award on Oct. 22). Additionally, the fest will screen the season five premiere episode of Paramount+ and CBS Studios’ Star Trek: Lower Decks, followed by a discussion with creator and executive producer Mike McMahan and voice actors Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, and Jerry O’Connell.
Additionally, on Oct. 19, New York Times bestselling author Stassi Schroeder will participate in a conversation and book signing for her new book You Can’t Have It All: The Basic B*tch Guide to Taking the Pressure Off. And On Oct. 20, Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood will be presented with the career achievement award in costume design.
“This year’s programmed lineup unites exciting upcoming awards contenders with filmmakers from all over the world to create an incredible experience for our 25th-anniversary audience,” Gregg Schwenk, CEO, and executive director of NBFF, said in a statement. “We are honored to be sharing this selection of awe-inspiring storytelling with our loyal Orange County audience, and we are looking forward to announcing more events in the weeks approaching the Festival.”
In terms of other notable screenings…
The festival will host the world premiere of Pay Dirt: The Story of Supercross, directed by Paul Taublieb and narrated by Josh Brolin; the West Coast premiere of Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue, directed by Jill Campbell and starring Elle Macpherson, Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, and Tyra Banks; a screening of Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, directed by Matthew Miele with the subject Bob Mackie in attendance; and a screening of Sidelined: The QB and Me, with Siena Agudong and Noah Beck in attendance.
The full list of Centerpiece films follows.
- “Blitz” (United Kingdom), Director Steve McQueen
- “Bob Trevino Likes It”(United States), Director Tracie Laymon (Southern California Premiere)
- “Hard Truths” (United Kingdom), Director Mike Leigh
- “Lost & Found In Cleveland” (United States), Director Marisa Guterman & Keith Gerchak (World Premiere)
- “Love Me”(United States), Director Andrew Zuchero & Sam Zuchero
- “My Dead Friend Zoe” (United States), Director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- “Nightbitch”(United States), Director Marielle Heller
- “Porcelain War”(Australia, Ukraine, United States), Director Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev
- “September 5” (Germany), Director Tim Fehlbaum
- “Sew Torn”(Switzerland), Director Freddy Macdonald (West Coast Premiere)
- “Small Things Like These”(Ireland), Director Tim Mielants
- “Stealing Pulp Fiction”(United States), Director Danny Turkiewicz (California Premiere)
- “The End” (Ireland), Director Joshua Oppenheimer
- “The Piano Lesson”(United States), Director Malcolm Washington
- “The Seed Of The Sacred Fig” (Germany), Director Mohammad Rasoulof
The Spotlight section:
- “Everything’s Fifty Fifty”(Germany), Director Alireza Golafshan (North American Premiere)
- “For The Last Journey” (Sweden), Directors Filip Hammar & Fredrik Wikingsson (North American Premiere)
- “Memoir Of A Snail” (Australia), Director Adam Elliot
- “Prodigies”(France), Director Frédéric & Valentin Potier (North American Premiere)
- “Rioja: The Land Of A Thousand Wines” (Spain), Director Jose Luis Lopez-Linares
- “Silvio” (Brazil), Director Marcelo Antunez (North American Premiere)
- “The Trainers” (Italy), Director Andrea Jublin (North American Premiere)
- “The Wise Guy”(United Kingdom), Director Sam O’Mahony (North American Premiere)
- “Waves” (Czech Republic), Director Jiří MÁDL (Southern California Premiere)
Other films screening at NBFF (in alphabetical order):
- “Pay Dirt: The Story of Supercross”(United States), Director Paul Taublieb (World Premiere)
- “7 Beats Per Minute”(Canada), Director Yuqi Kang (Southern California Premiere)
- “76 Days Adrift”(United States) Director Joe Wein
- “American Cats: The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly” (United States), Director Todd Bieber (West Coast Premiere)
- “Another German Tank Story” (Germany) Director Jannis Alexander Kiefer (U.S. Premiere)
- “Ari’s Theme” (Canada), Director Jeff Lee & Petry Nathan Drillot (U.S. Premiere)
- “Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips” (United States), Director John Edward Makens
- “Arze” (Lebanon), Director Mira Shaib (West Coast Premiere)
- “Bastards of Soul” (United States), Director Paul Levatino
- “Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue” (United States), Director Jill Campbell (West Coast Premiere)
- “Bigger Than Art” (Spain), Director Alvaro Porras Gonzalo & Fernandez de Cordova (U.S. Premiere)
- “Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion” (United States), Director Matthew Miele
- “Bob Noto, World’s Finest Palate” (Italy), Director Francesco Catarinolo (North American Premiere)
- “Bonjour Switzerland” (Switzerland), Director Peter Luisi
- “Bound” (United States), Director Isaac Hirotsu Woofter
- “Breakup Season” (United States), Director H. Nelson Tracey (California Premiere)
- “Brooklyn, Minnesota” (United States) Director Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen (West Coast Premiere)
- “Bull Run” (United States), Director Alfredo Barrios (World Premiere)
- “Butterfly Tale” (Canada), Director Sophie Roy
- “Champions of the Golden Valley” (United States), Director Ben Sturgulewski (California Premiere)
- “Counted Out” (United States), Director Vicki H Abeles (Southern California Premiere)
- “Daughters of Ghafouri” (United States), Director Matthew Charles Hall (World Premiere)