The Newport Beach Film Festival is a leading celebration of film, art, and coastal culture in the United States.
A lively blue carpet stretched across the entrance of Regal Edwards Big Newport, welcoming an impressive lineup of guests including Renée Zellweger, composer Graham Reynolds, CEO of NBFF Greg Schwenk, and Jacob Elordi, who appeared for photo ops ahead of the premiere. I had the pleasure of interviewing both Reynolds and Schwenk, whose passion and creative insight captured the spirit of the evening.
On the blue carpet, I caught up with NBFF Co-Founder and CEO Greg Schwenk and Blue Moon composer Graham Reynolds to talk about the festival’s milestone year and the creative process behind the film.
Gregg Schwenk, Co-Founder and CEO of the Newport Beach Film Festival, shared his excitement on the red carpet about this year’s edition.
Ruchel: Tell us about this year’s NBFF.
Gregg: Our opening night short features the directorial debut of Renée Zellweger. We’re excited to have Richard Linklater’s new film, Blue Moon, as our feature. We’re also thrilled to have composer Graham Reynolds here with us. Again, for us, it continues a wonderful tradition of celebrating great music. And so, we’re tremendously excited for a great festival — with 120 features, 270 shorts, and 18 special events, we really encourage people to come to the festival, have a great time, go shopping, spend a day at the beach, and then a night at the movies.
Ruchel: What makes this year’s festival special compared to previous years?
Gregg: I think every year is different. But for all of us, this was a year we really wanted to make good on our promise to change things up for the next 25. Bringing back an opening night short and celebrating music even more through our partnership with Fashion Island and OC Style Week are testaments to our growth and continued evolution.
Graham Reynolds, Composer of Blue Moon, also stopped by for a quick blue carpet chat.
Ruchel: Linklater’s films often balance realism with introspection — how did you translate that feeling into the music for this film?
Graham: It’s a very intimate film. The music is in the room. There’s a piano in the room, and the whole film basically takes place in one room. So it had to be realistic — I left mistakes, left errors, kept it a little raw, but tried to maintain that intimacy throughout without letting it get boring.
Ruchel: How does it feel to have your work featured at the opening of the Newport Beach Film Festival — and to see audiences experience it live for the first time?
Graham: I love watching any film with a new audience and hearing what works and what doesn’t because every audience is different and reacts in its own way. And any opening is always special.
Inside the theater, following Greg Schwenk’s opening remarks and warm welcome to the audience, he introduced Renée Zellweger and her directorial debut, the animated short narrative They, which she both directed and wrote. Zellweger took the stage and said:
“Thank you for having us along for your opening night. ‘They’ was done on kitchen Zooms with my friends over several years. We began back in the COVID lockdown. Y’all remember that? We collaborated for several years. It’s a 7-minute short. It is hand-drawn. It is hand-painted. Y’all remember those Saturday morning cartoons of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s? Like a lot of you here, I’ve been a lifelong fan of animation as an art form and how it enables a gentle and playful opportunity to examine sometimes more complex subject matter. The idea stemmed from a conversation I had with a friend while watching the news about the deterioration of social discourse and our allegiance to one another, and about the healing power of collaboration and acknowledging that we need one another. I’m just going to say thank you again, Greg, and to the Newport Film Festival. It is an honor to be part of your beautifully curated program and to be here in this wonderful city. And thank you for sharing your evening with us.”
Following her heartfelt introduction, the theater lights dimmed, and the animated short They began to play.
Opening night set the stage for an unforgettable week at the festival, as the West Coast premiere of Blue Moon dazzled audiences in the heart of Newport Beach. Directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, and Bobby Cannavale, the film drew thunderous applause and set a sophisticated tone for the cinematic celebration ahead. Before the screening, guests were treated to a live performance by Pacific Chorale, whose harmonies set an elegant prelude to the screening.
The night concluded with a vibrant Opening Night Gala at Fashion Island, where festivalgoers dined, danced, and toasted to the cinematic journey ahead.
With its perfect blend of glamour, creativity, and coastal charm, the Newport Beach Film Festival once again proved why it remains one of the most anticipated film events on the West Coast — a celebration of storytelling that continues to shine brighter each year.
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