Film Festivals

UCI's 14th Annual Latin American Film Festival Starts Today!

Orange County has been really good to us cinephiles lately. Apart from the Vietnamese International Film Festival, the ongoing Newport Beach Film Festival, and the Cinema Orange series at OCMA, we now rejoice as UC Irvine hold its 14th annual Latin American Film Festival this week. It's a modest fe ... More >>

News & Notes as Newport Beach Film Festival Opens Tonight with Doc Broadway Idiot

The greatest thing about last Thursday's Newport Beach Film Festival issue was that I freely said with pride that I was on the cover, the idea being people assumed that was a reference to the rock-hard abbed fellow holding the giant film reels, not the "By Matt Coker" type on the lower right.Those w ... More >>

ViFF: Cinema Viet

The Vietnamese International Film Festival showcases a national and diaspora movie industry on the rise

Drake Doremus' Breathe In Wins National Distribution; Fourth-Quarter Release Set

We told you last month about Santa Ana native Drake Doremus' film Breathe In getting picked up for international distribution. Now, the other distribution shoe has dropped.

International Rights Picked Up for Breathe In from OC's Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones

Breathe In, the latest film from former Orange County theater wunderkinds Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones, has been picked up for non-North American distribution following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last month.

Park City's Breakouts

The movies to know from Sundance—and the year ahead

Sundance 2013: Sex with James Franco, Sultry Scarlett Johansson and Daniel Radcliffe's Jew-Fro

Sundance 2013: America's Black Indie Film Renaissance

Quentin Tarantino's Unchained Malady

The legendary director emerges from a chaotic couple of years with his most ambitious film to date, 'Django Unchained'

Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones Prepare to Breathe In Sundance Film Fest Again

Home is swell, but ff Orange County-raised filmmakers Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones really want to feel the love, they go to Utah--Park City to be more precise and the Sundance Film Festival to be preciser.It was announced Monday that Breathe In, the latest independent film directed by Doremus wi ... More >>

Ava DuVernay's Moment Becomes a Movement

The 'Middle of Nowhere' writer/director looks to the future of black film

Anaheim Film Festival, After "Inaugural" Hiccups, Sets Summer of 2013 Roll Out

The five-day Anaheim Film Festival & Media Arts Expo opens Oct. 24 at the Ultraluxe Anaheim Cinemas at GardenWalk. It says so on the nonprofit Anaheim Film Arts Society's website. But if we've learned anything about showbiz, it's don't always believe your lying eyes.

Newport Beach Film Festival's Social Network

A curated sample of socially relevant offerings at the 2012 festival

Touch, Romantic Drama from Vietnamese-American Manicurists' Point of View, Premieres

​The Weekly has told you before about films from the burgeoning Vietnamese-American community, but a new one opening today in Orange also has cross-over appeal.Writer/director Minh Duc Nguyen's Touch tells the story of a white mechanic in Los Angeles striking up an unlikely friendship with a Vietn ... More >>

What Is SxSw And Why The Hype?

​As many have you have likely heard in the past few days, South-by-Southwest, better known in the written form as SxSw, has descended onto Austin for its 25th rendition. What exactly is SxSw? For those of you not aware, SxSw used to be a cool event that took place in Austin every March when p ... More >>

Will Drake Doremus' Like Crazy Sell and Rent Like You-Know-What on DVD and Blu Ray?

​Orange-born, Santa Ana-raised filmmaker Drake Doremus' 2011 movie Like Crazy is available starting today on DVD and Blu Ray. Co-written by Doremus and Corona del Mar's Ben York Jones, Like Crazy is the most adult of the filmmaker's three features (the other two being Spooner and Douchebag).

"Orange County Bum Chronicles Documentary" in Downtown Santa Ana

A thoughtful citizen took the time to "document" the homeless in downtown Santa Ana last year. The three-minute "short" probably won't make the Sundance Film Festival, and it has only 15 views on YouTube (three of which are mine). Gentle readers, is the homeless problem getting better or worse in S ... More >>

Sundance, In Crisis

The 2012 fest was thick with the anxieties of our times

Irvine International Film Festival Is Full of Hidden Gems

Jack Kaprielian and Kevin Derek bring the unscreened to OC

The Artist Adds 1st Ever OC Film Society Best Picture Award to New York Film Critics Honor

​The Orange County Film Society screening of the sorta-silent, black-and-white, buzz-deserving The Artist Monday night drew a packed audience to the historic Lido in Newport Beach, insider stories from executive producer Richard Middleton and supporting actors James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Mille ... More >>

[UPDATED with Director Hating 3D:] Bong Joon-ho Opens Busan West Festival at Chapman University with 3D Version of The Host

​UPDATE, NOV. 12, 9:37 A.M.: Introducing a new 3D version of his 2006 South Korean smash hit The Host to Friday's opening night Busan West Asian Film Festival audience at Chapman University's Knott Studios, director Bong Joon-ho said, "I don't like 3D."Cue nervous audience laughter and a smatteri ... More >>

Kevin Smith Screens Red State Twice Tonight; Co-Writer Ben York Jones Rolls Like Crazy

​Director Kevin Smith continues his Red State barnstorming in Long Beach tonight, presenting the Westboro Baptistesque shoot 'em up twice--and sticking around each time to take audience questions. Meanwhile, over in Newport Beach, there's a members-only screening of Santa Ana-bred filmmaker Drake ... More >>

Fred Durst Douchebag vs. Drake Doremus Douchebag

Douchebag the movie.​Before Drake Doremus' Like Crazy won the dramatic Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the Orange-born writer-director's previous dramedy Douchebag was nominated in the same category at the same prestigious event the year before. Now, as reported earlier on ... More >>

12 Newport Beach Film Festival Picks from Movie Critics Far and Wide

​This week's edition of OC Weekly includes 12 films that most excite the Newport Beach Film Festival programmers who selected them--in honor of the 12th year of the county's most-established cinextravaganza.But what of those other trend-setters: universally beloved film critics? Your humble servan ... More >>

Vietnamese Film Festival Hits Final Three Days

Heightened US-Vietnamese relations​This weekend is you last chance to witness firsthand the emerging, impressive Vietnamese film industry at the Vietnamese International Film Festival in Orange County.Tonight's films air at the Bower's Museum in Santa Ana and include a 56-minute movie about the Ha ... More >>

'Spooner' Is Love Crazy

Recently crowned Sundance king Drake Doremus' early promise is evident in his directorial debut

Into the Mystic

Cults and the uncertain futures dominate Sundance

Sundancing With Ben York Jones and Like Crazy

The huge film festival success through the eyes of its co-writer, an OC boy

Like Crazy at Sundance: WE WON!!!!!!

​There's a lot of recapping to be done, but before anything else, last night--WE WON THE GRAND JURY PRIZE!!!!!!! The big one! Not only that, Felicity was awarded a Special Jury Prize for Best Actress! A prize is not given every year, unless deemed appropriate. The whole team was in disbelief. For ... More >>

Like Crazy, Indie Drama From OC's Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones, Wins Sundance Grand Jury Prize

​Like Crazy, the little indie darling at Sundance by former Santa Anan and second-time U.S. Dramatic Competition entrant Drake Doremus, won the prestigious film festival's grand jury prize last night.Co-written by Doremus and his childhood friend Ben York Jones, a Chapman University film school gr ... More >>

Like Crazy at Sundance: Let's Get Social

​It's madness to think how fast the week has gone. Friday, and I'm still pinching myself, expecting to wake up. An informal study I've been conducting via highly advanced methods of verbal interaction (having a conversation, some call it) seems to indicate most filmmakers here, including myself, a ... More >>

[UPDATED] Like Crazy, Latest Film From OC-Bred Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones, Is First Sundance Sale

​UPDATE, JAN. 23, 2:51 P.M.: The reaction to Like Crazy getting picked up from Ben York Jones:"I'm completely overwhelmed. I don't think anyone here with the film has gotten more than an hour or two of sleep in the past 36 hours. Those negotiating were up all night doing so, and the rest of us w ... More >>

Bread and Tulips

Bowers Museum

To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Celebrated Tonight at South Coast Village

​Fans of Boo Radley, crusading lawyers and middle school book report fodder unite!Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird was published 50 years ago, and the Regency South Coast Village Theatre in Santa Ana is celebrating with a screening of Robert Mulligan's much-beloved movie version, which came out ... More >>

Anaheim International Film Fest Opens With Hot Waifs, a Cool Video and a Windy Director

​The inaugural Anaheim International Film Festival opened Wednesday night at GardenWalk with five movie programs, a lauded UK director with a gift for gab, creepy Knott's Berry Farm Halloween Haunt extras, incredibly tall waifs gliding across the red carpet in incredibly high heels and a packed-in ... More >>

Anaheim International Film Festival Theater Site is a No-Brainer

​The announcement that UltraStar Cinemas at GardenWalk in Anaheim will be the official theater venue for the inaugural Anaheim International Film Festival (AIFF) packs all the wallop of heavily favored Jeff Bridges getting the last best actor Oscar.Seeing as how the festival office and its May pr ... More >>

Anaheim International Film Festival Previews With Temecula Wines, Short Films on a Loop and Super Sexy Manny Medrano

​A "historic moment" happened last night on the third level of the GardenWalk outdoor shopping mall (just follow the Disney Tower of Terror shadow)--historic not just for Anaheim but California and the whole world as we know it, according to Sinan Kanatsiz.www.facebook.com/anaheimfilmAIFF co-found ... More >>

Anaheim International Film Festival to Roll in October

​The Anaheim International Film Festival (AIFF), not to be confused with the ongoing movie-promoting theme park at Harbor and Katella, debuts in October, "marking the addition of a world-class cultural event to Orange County and the international film festival circuit," according to organizers. Th ... More >>

Sundance Report: Sitting on a Bus With Colin Hanks

"Orange County" star​From a Friday morning plane ride to Salt Lake City with Todd Lowe to a Saturday afternoon bus ride through Park City with Colin Hanks. Since it's a confirmed fact everything happens in threes, one wonders what the next mode of transportation/young star combo will b ... More >>

SoCal Film Festival Rolls in Huntington Beach

Above are trailers to 17 pictures playing at the fifth anniversary SoCal Film Festival, which kicks off tonight at Huntington Beach Central Library and over the next 10 days will present 204 feature films, documentaries and shorts.

[Special Screenings] Festival Mania!

[Special Screenings] Local Showings of 'Dr. No,' 'Dr. Strangelove,' 'Suzuka,' More

Laugh Gently

Craig Shoemaker

SoCal Independent Film Festival: Opening Night

The library certainly isn't quiet tonight. There's a red carpet outside, though nobody's walking on it. There are some surprisingly nice T-shirts for sale. And everyone here is totally approachable – can this really be a film festival? Indeed. It's the opening night of the SoCal Independent Film ... More >>

Lumieres Descendent: Thierry Fremaux

Cannes artistic director

Special Screenings

Movie of the Week: Camille

Slack jawed, Hounddog, and Mr. Donohue (not) at the movies

If there's one thing OC Weekly has in plentiful supply, it's Catholics of varying stripes-- devout, cafeteria, lapsed, vigorously lapsed, potential anti-pope-- with colorful and occasionally bizarre stories from their contacts with Holy Mother Church and its numerous franchises and subsidiaries. Fr ... More >>

Why Film Critics Fight

Our reviewers go warhead to warhead over Why We Fight

Big Screen Blowouts

Prepare your bums for funky film fests