Newport Beach Film Festival 2008

A young man finally returns home only to find he has to murder his Father's beloved dog and lead the family to victory in a high stakes game of donkey basketball. At least there's the sexy checkout girl. Familiar Strangers follows the long-awaited return of Brian Worthington to his family for an all-American Thanksgiving in rural Virginia. It should be great—until his newly divorced sister trashes the turkey, and he is pressured into killing the one member of the family everyone loves unconditionally - their dog Argus. That's kind of stressful, especially since Brian suspects his Dad loves the dog more than he loves him.

Short films screening in this program include: The Abattoir, The Red Gold, The Replacement Child, Unconditional

A Nazi soldier returns home to his childhood farm with the intent of convincing his father to retreat with him to Berlin, but finds that his father has been harboring a family of Jews.

A young Arab-American boy refuses to believe his father was arrested by the F.B.I. Instead, he believes he was abducted by aliens, but neither his brother nor his stressed stepmother will believe him.

In this short documentary, I interview three professors and one activist about the misconceptions of the word 'feminism,' the possible reasons behind the misconceptions, and the possible implications.

Music in Motion Film Composers reveal the process of creating the right music to capture a genre, create a story’s heart and reveal the intent of a film. With the generous support of the Newport Beach Arts Commission, the Newport Beach Film Festival is proud to present a series of interactive panels that focus on the art of filmmaking. This free educational event will feature talented and distinguished film industry professionals. The Festival invites you to attend and go behind the scenes with some of the industry’s leading filmmakers as they share their extensive knowledge and insight into the business and art of today’s entertainment world. FILM COMPOSITION PANELISTS Moderator: Richard Kraft (Film Music Agent, Kraft – Engel Management) Richard Sherman (Mary Poppins, Jungle Book, Aristocats, Parent Trap, Winnie the Pooh, Bedknobs and Broomsticks --- and Disneyland attractions: It's a Small World, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh) Christopher Lennertz (Meet the Spartans, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Comebacks, Medal of Honor (video games), Supernatural) Debbie Lurie (Sydney White, An Unfinished Life, Drop Dead Sexy, Spiderman 2 & 3, Dreamgirls) David Kitay (Over Her Dead Body, Date Movie, Ice Harvest, Harold and Kumar) All Seminars are FREE and seated on a first come, first served basis.

Finding Chance is an emotive story about influence and revelation, two strong requirements in making a decision. Regardless of their relation to one another, all characters are in immediate positions to make definitive decisions in their lives; some small, others life changing, but what remains constant throughout is the silent and invisible realm of influence and inspiration that they all possess and unknowingly use, thus forever changing the paths of 'fate' for each person as they continue their life-long search for opportunity and chance.

Bernie Edwards has just landed his dream job. The BIOTECH CORPORATION is looking for eager, young scientists to aide in the development of their new genetic manipulation division. When Bernie's experiment goes horribly awry, his newly found dream degenerates into a living nightmare, where the bizarre is probable and destruction is inevitable.