Newport Beach Film Fest: Peter Sarsgaard Set for Performer of the Year Honor and Live ‘Awards Chatter’ Pod, Lineup Announced (Exclusive)

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.

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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.”

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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 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 (World 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):

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• “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 (World 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)
• “Finding Happy” (United States), Director Maria Bertrand
• “For The Living” (United States), Director Marc Bennett & Tim Roper (World Premiere)
• “Hunting Matthew Nichols” (Canada), Director Markian Tarasiuk (World Premiere)
• “Hvaldimir, Conversation with a Spy Whale” (France), Director Jerôme Delafosse & Fabrice Schnöller
• “I Need You: 53 Years of the Band America” (United States), Director Dustin Elm & David Breschel (World Premiere)
• “Ice Maiden” (Australia), Director Nathaniel C.T. Jackson & James Blannin-Ferguson
• “Isabel’s Garden” (United States), Director Kit Rich
• “Jazzy” (United States), Director Morrisa Maltz (Southern California Premiere)
• “Just a Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers” (United States), Director Sean Hanish (West Coast Premiere)
• “Kiss of the Con Queen” (Thailand), Director Tom Waller (Southern California Premiere)
• “Laws of Man” (United States), Director Phil Blattenberger (North American Premiere)
• “Life’s A Bitch” (Belgium ), Director Xavier Seron (U.S. Premiere)
• “Lost Nation” (United States), Director Jay Craven
• “Luther: Never Too Much” (United States), Director Dawn Porter
• “Luto” (Ireland, Mexico), Director Andres Arochi Tinajero (North America)
• “Max Dagan” (United States), Director Terre Weisman
• “Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero” (United States), Director Karen Drastal, JP Karliak & Anthony Hand (Southern California Premiere)
• “Mistura” (Peru), Director Ricardo de Montreuil (Southern California Premiere)
• “Modernism, Inc.” (United States), Director Jason Andrew Cohn
• “New England Modernism: Revolutionary Architecture in the 20th Century” (United States), Director Jake Gorst
• “Newport and Me: Seymour Beek” (United States), Director Celeste Dennerline & Edward Olen
• “Old Guy” (United States), Director Simon West (World Premiere)
• “Our Blue World” (Ireland), Director Ruán Magan (U.S. Premiere)
• “Paper Flowers” (United States), Director Mahesh Pailoor
• “Peace for Armenia: The Plot to Destroy the First Christian Nation” (United States), Director Douglas Kalagian (California Premiere)
• “Poison” (Luxembourg), Director Désirée Nosbusch
• “Poultry Form Chelladurai” (India), Director Seenu Ramasamy (World Premiere)
• “Queen of the Ring” (United States), Director Ash Avildsen (West Coast Premiere)
• “Ransom ’79” (Ireland), Director Colm Quinn (North American Premiere)
• “A Real Pain”(United States), Director Jesse Eisenberg
• “Reawakening” (United Kingdom), Director Virginia Gilbert (U.S. Premiere)
• “Renee Gracie – Fireproof” (Australia), Director Frances Elliott & Samantha Marlowe (North American Premiere)
• “Ronnie O’Sullivan; The Edge of Everything” (United Kingdom), Director Sam Blair (U.S. Premiere)
• “Saturn” (United States), Director Eric Esau (West Coast Premiere)
• “Schindler Space Architect” (United States), Director Valentina Ganeva (West Coast Premiere)
• “Séance” (United States), Director Vivian Kerr (World Premiere)
• “Shaping the Future” (United States), Director Robert Helphand (World Premiere)
• “Sharko” (Australia), Director, Luke Graham (North American Premiere)
• “Sidelined: The QB and Me” (United States), Director Justin Wu
• “Sitting Still” (United States), Director Gina Angelone (California Premiere)
• “Six Inches of Soil” (United Kingdom), Director Colin Ramsay (U.S. Premiere)
• “Sono Lino” (United States), Director Jacob Patrick (Southern California Premiere)
• “Space Cowboy” (United States), Director Bryce Leavitt & Marah Strauch
• “Takin’ Care of Business” (United States), Director Tyler Measom (West Coast Premiere)
• “The Best of the Best: Jazz From Detroit” (United States), Director Daniel Loewenthal (West Coast Premiere)
• “The Blind Sea” (Australia), Director Daniel Fenech (North American Premiere)
• “The Cigarette Surfboard” (United States), Director Ben Judkins (California Premiere)
• “The Donn of Tiki” (United States), Director Alex Lamb & Max Well
• “The G” (Canada), Director Karl R. Hearne (U.S. Premiere)
• “The Last of the Sea Women” (United States), Director Sue Kim
• “The Paper Bag Plan” (United States), Director Anthony Lucero (West Coast Premiere)
• “The Short Game” (United States), Director Frank Sanza (World Premiere)
• “The Strangers’ Case” (Jordan), Director Brandt Andersen
• “The Trouble with Mr Doodle” (United Kingdom), Director Jaimie D’Cruz, Ed Perkins & Alex Nott
• “The Wedge” (United States), Director Brent Weldon (World Premiere)
• “The Wonder and the Worry” (United States), Director David Baker (California Premiere)
• “Thirsty” (United States), Director Emily Abt (World Premiere)
• “Tracing the Divide” (United States), Director Jack Zakrajsek (Southern California Premiere)
• “Trigger Happy” (United States), Director Tiffany Kim Stevens (Southern California Premiere)
• “Unega | Tales of the Guardians” (United States), Director Nikola Lakic (California Premiere)
• “Universal Language” (Canada), Director Matthew Rankin
• “Whatever It Takes” (United Kingdom), Director Jenny Carchman
• “Why Dinosaurs?” (United States), Director Tony & James Pinto (California Premiere)
• “Women of Carbon” (United States), Director Basia Myszynski & Leonard Myszynski (California Premiere)